there’s no tv spot like an old tv spot

Adviews is open for business with hundreds of vintage TV spots, all credited to the original agencies. Hours of fun. Note: you can only view them through iTunes! What the hell?

Orkin spots – does “campaign” still mean what it used to?

I recently blogged about the Orkin “Pizza/Cockroach” spot. Love it or hate it, or get sick and throw up from it, if you saw it you remembered it.

Now Orkin has a second spot, with a giant termite asking to use the phone because his car broke down–you know, like a traveling salesman.

My reaction: seen it. If it had been on DVR, I would have fast-forwarded past it. Instead, I reached for the “off” button on the remote.

This brings up a bigger question.

In the old days when print and TV ruled, a campaign typically meant “3 similar spots” or “3 similar print ads” or a combination of these plus more. The idea was that repetition would drill home the brand positioning – repetition was the advertiser’s friend.

Now I’m not so sure. With the Web the dominant medium for display ads and DVR technology dominating the way we watch TV, the way we define campaign has got to get a lot looser – fast.

That doesn’t mean you can’t have 3 similar spots. But each one has to be both recognizeable and _surprising_. New spots have to be really new. 3 cookie cutter spots or ads just won’t cut it anymore.

Otherwise, new technologies are going to keep coming out of the wordwork and eating away at agencies’ strategies like a… well… you know.

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