These Post Shredded Wheat spots are brilliant, not because they’re funny and quirky and weird (though they are)–but because they’re true to brand heritage.
Anyone who’s seen or read Road to Wellville knows that all the original cereal magnates were all bats**t insane!
All the greatest advertising is true to the original idea that made the brand great in the first place, and this is no exception. A classic.
I love Crispin Porter Bogusky’s work for Burger King. It’s always fresh and inventive.
But there’s a slight problem: Burger King itself sucks.
The food’s OK–better than McDonald’s in my book–but the service is terrible.
I went in today to buy a grilled chicken sandwich. Everything was fine until I asked for extra lettuce and tomatoes. Then the 20-year-old behind the counter looked at me like I was from Mars. She stared…and stared…and stared.
Then, without so much as an “Excuse me, sir,” she went to get the manager and the two of them had what appeared to be a complicated mathematical discussion about the extra 30 cents I was being charged. Neither of them acknowledged my presence at all. So now I was being ignored by two “service” people.
Finally, I walked and went to Quizno’s, where they know something about service–and the food is way, way better for about the same price.
Why do I bother to tell this story? Because the TV spots promised me one experience–quirky, witty, hip and fresh–and the restaurant gave me another one entirely.
Now, you might think that’s just the nature of advertising. But I beg to disagree.
The purpose of advertising is to put the best face on a product. It’s not to blatantly misrepresent a product or make stuff up out of thin air. Doing that is the fastest way to put yourself out of business.
The VW bug is not sold as a luxury car. Axe is not sold as a cologne for women (though many have probably tried it).
And Burger King should not be sold as a place that’s hip, witty and different when the people who work there don’t know how to say “excuse me” or add 30 cents to four dollars.
Now. Does an ad agency have control over hiring practices or customer service? No.
Do the have the ability to suggest changes to those things?
Yes. Yes, they do.
And that is the next great step in the evolution of the ad agency.
I love this campaign because there’s actual thinking behind it–both from a marketing geek (below the line) perspective and a creative one.
Creatively it’s really fresh–it repositions the old-fashioned Quaker Oats Man as some kind of space alien. Which, since he’s clearly not human, he might as well be. (He’s already been used in commercials in a slightly creepy way–not unlike the Burger King “King.”)
On a marketing level, it’s all about how all oats products give you energy, fight heart disease, and promote health–as opposed to oatmeal specifically, or granola bars, etc.
I love this and can’t wait to see what they do next.
Memorable advertising doesn’t have to be expensive advertising. Here’s a great campaign of “wild postings” in the wildest sense of the word: a printer, a roll of tape, a scissors, and some telephone poles. (Found on Boing Boing.)
Peanut butter’s been getting a bad rap lately. Remember when it was all about kids having a good time and dogs getting their mouths stuck together? Not to mention that it makes a great sauce for Thai food and an amazing midnight snack right out of the jar.
Unfortunately, when people think peanut butter today, they think salmonella.
Got a Big Idea to help peanut butter start flying off the shelves again? Comment below. (Here’s one to get you started: take the “dangerous” rep of peanut butter and make it a positive! Get McGyver, Jack Bauer, etc. to endorse peanut butter as the food of America’s working-class heroes, the people who put their lives on the line every day.)
As usual, the New York Times Magazine has discovered some amazing, hilarious, and wonderful ideas this year, including eating kangaroo meat to help avert global warming. They’re all presented in this interactive feature. If you’re a fan of ideas (and if you’re not, why would you be reading this?), check it out.
