scAD Wars is brought to you by Advertising Design professor Sean Trapani’s Copywriting for Broadcasting class.
Bananas over chocolate
KENNETH ZEIGLER
Beethoven. Dylan. Simone. Waits. Howe. Each was an epic songwriter with an epic portfolio of masterpieces. And for each masterpiece, someone, somewhere, is regarding it as his or her greatest. But to an artist whose greatest accomplishment stands without any others to lean on, a 500-pound knuckle-dragging herbivore might be the only thing to help keep it from falling into obscurity. The Cadbury Company, with the help of Phil Collins’ actual drummer, kept “In the Air Tonight” from becoming “In the Air a Long Ass Time Ago.” This is a great ad.
Musical animals are a time-tested format. From Ralf of the Muppets to the Country Bear Jamboree and the heartwarming clumsiness of cats playing a piano, this format has only begun to be explored as a marketing tool. Cold-hearted naysayers who sneer at forest critters and their attempts to break into the mainstream dismiss the spot as creative abandonment — ideas without direction made popular by society’s collective lack of an attention span exceeding the length of an eyelash.
But I say they’re all wrong. Let’s admit it doesn’t have a definable strategy. But is that such a big deal? This isn’t a war. It’s advertising. War without strategy will get you killed. Advertising without strategy might get you a Clio Award. If having no strategy at all is attributable to the ad’s unconventional subject matter, then maybe it’s also to blame for its viral status and subsequent cult following of hipsters, ad junkies and hardcore zoologists. The numbers speak for themselves. And gorillas.
Monkey Business Gone Sour
ANNE BRONSVELD
Today, when we think of the greatest advertising, we often think of the weirdest advertising. After all, weird is what sticks out in our minds. We all remember two sheep boys chatting over a tree stump, or a little lad who’s super excited about “berries and cream.” And if we’ve spent any time in Great Britain, or on YouTube lately, we probably remember a gorilla seriously rocking out to Phil Collins. But do we all remember which products those spots are for? Accurately?
There is a fine line between what has come to be known as “oddvertising” and weird for weird’s sake, and between great advertising and great entertainment. The Skittles sheep boys and Starburst little lad spots not only function as entertainment, but also as successful advertising. The same cannot be said for Cadbury’s gorilla.
It is, of course, every company’s dream to run a commercial that creates buzz. But that buzz is of no use if it’s not linked to the product or brand image. Gorillas are kind of cool. “In The Air Tonight” is beyond cool; the tension that builds before that drum solo hits is pure genius. But that double shot of coolness is in no way associated with chocolate. The commercial has no strategy. Cadbury says, “It’s just an effort to make you smile.” Sure, I’m smiling, but I’m definitely not remembering it’s Cadbury who put that smile on my face. Great music video? Sure. Great commercial? Not so much.
