MediaPost | Video Critique

Schwab Bungles Its Appeal To The Heart

Fri, 28 Apr 2017 10:50:05 -0400

I have few strong feelings about Charles Schwab (or any other investment/banking/planning/insurance entity), but its continued efforts to forge a bond and position itself as the great protector of family and future land somewhere between insincere and delusional.

Brawny's 'Strength' Deflates Gender Cliches

Fri, 21 Apr 2017 10:00:08 -0400

Brace yourself, people, because I’m about to unleash a take so blindingly, volcanically hot that MediaPost has put retinal specialists and magmatologists on retainer. I’m not joking. Don’t read the next paragraph unless you have copious amounts of gauze, ointment and holy water on hand. I cannot eliminate the possibility that it will reduce your house to a smoldering pile of ashes or sear the flesh off your bones. FYI: If you need a skin graft, I know a guy.

Okay. Ready? Here we go: Women are much worse than men at loading the dishwasher.

I base this conclusion on the statistically significant, 100-percent-representative-of-society sample of my wife, my mom and one of my two sisters (the other sister is a fine, responsible loader of dishwashers and car trunks alike). I don’t think this reflects on their overall intellectual fitness so much as on their spatial-reasoning capabilities. When they stack five kiddie cups atop one another, they are unable to envision an outcome other than “everything gets clean.” This would be harmless, were it not for the wine glasses and non-Pyrex containerware sacrificed at the altar of their obliviousness.

In every non-dishwasher-related way, of course, these women are superior to me. My wife in particular - her strength, spirit and utter unfazability are my oxygen. Rhapsodize about Russell Westbrook or Jack Bauer or Aquaman all you want; she’s my strong-person role model.

It will not surprise you, then, that I’m on board with anything - brand campaigns, postal holidays, limited-edition Ben & Jerry flavors, etc. - that celebrates women like her. The problem is that most such efforts end up celebrating stereotypes associated with strong women, rather than the women themselves. You hear a whole bunch about individuality and independence and fearlessness, traits which correlate as much with strong women as they do with strong men, strong children and strong zoo animals that wander away from their enclosures and into oncoming traffic, strongly.

“Strength Has No Gender,” Brawny’s ongoing brand-redefinition effort, steers clear of those clichés. The most talked-about part of the campaign has been the replacement on the brand’s packaging of the traditional Brawny dude with a woman, which was rolled out in such a matter-of-fact manner as to neutralize “men’s rights” “activists” before they could yelp for a boycott. Just as worthy of attention, though, is the video content that Brawny has been parceling out for the last month or so.

The “Strength Has No Gender” clips effect a no-bullshit, no-big-deal tone. In one, Dr. Anna Kornbrot speaks plainly about encountering gender bias at the unnamed Ivy League institution where she was studying to become an oral surgeon. She discusses the resilience instilled in her by her parents - both Holocaust survivors - and bemusedly notes that “no one has had to rescue [her] in the middle of surgery.” The clip ends with Dr. Kornbrot posed Brawny-style, arms folded in a manner that suggests easy confidence and self-satisfaction.

The videos featuring coder Brittany Wenger and combat pilot Vernice Armour proceed in much the same manner: The protagonists tell their stories and strike understated poses, and that’s that. The minimalist approach works, because their achievements are so impressive as to negate the need for third-party validation.

The first-person testimonials that drive “Strength Has No Gender” convey everything we need; there’s no need for bluster or you-go-girl affirmation. Marketers attempting to infuse their brands with desirable traits, whether strength or empathy or imperviousness to hypnotism or whatever, ought to study the hell out of Brawny’s management of the campaign - the brand videos, the PR, all of it. It’s as assured an approach as we’ve seen in a long while.

Mega-Controversial PSA: 'Caregiving Isn't Easy'

Thu, 13 Apr 2017 09:45:04 -0400

I had a difficult time determining whether "Tougher Than Tough," an Ad Council PSA released this week that extols caregivers, was real or "SNL"-lite parody.

Marriott's Snap-Adventure Ducks Millennial Stereotypes

Fri, 07 Apr 2017 09:53:02 -0400

I really dig a new Marriott campaign that leverages the smart cellular computer phone technology.

New-2-U Video Critique Classiq: Father's Day 2014 Dad Vids

Thu, 30 Mar 2017 10:30:03 -0400

I'm otherwise occupied this week, so for your reading pleasure and our sales department's commitment-keeping here's an oldie-but-okayie from the archives.

Airbnb's Home Videos Overplay The Family Card

Fri, 24 Mar 2017 10:00:07 -0400

I pity mobile-era brands like Airbnb. Or maybe I should say that I pity the people tasked with marketing them.

ESPN Starts Having Fun Again With 'Outside the Lines' Send-Up, 'Different World' Homage

Fri, 17 Mar 2017 10:15:04 -0400

You know who's having a cool, stealthily viral last few months? ESPN.

Walmart Brand Films? Sure, Why Not.

Thu, 09 Mar 2017 17:12:03 -0500

Turns out that Walmart is feeling a little differently about itself nowadays. Based on my experience that night, there appears to be a push to upscale the brand a bit.

Diesel's 'Make Love Not Walls,' Deconstructed

Thu, 02 Mar 2017 13:17:02 -0500

In "Make Love Not Walls," Diesel sics its skinny-jean army on the notion of walls. It is everything you'd imagine, and yet still more.

Videos For "Grown-Up Children's Stories" Terrify And Delight

Fri, 24 Feb 2017 10:10:04 -0500

The first in a series of videos previewing "Stories For Ways and Means," an anthology featuring stories written by musicians like Tom Waits and illustrated by painters who I presume are equally awesome but I know nothing about painting so I won't attempt to throw around any names, strikes me as so extraordinary.

California Lottery's Mentorship Campaign Is All Kinds Of Wrong

Thu, 16 Feb 2017 17:34:03 -0500

"Back to the Start" is a new mentor-riffic campaign from... the California Lottery? That can't be correct. The California Lottery, as I understand it, is a lottery. Let me do a quick check.

'Sexy' Mezquila Brand Vids Border on Whitesnake Territory

Thu, 09 Feb 2017 15:42:03 -0500

Hagar has teamed with fellow polarizing frontman Adam Levine to produce/promote Santo Mezquila, a high-end spirit that melds the tar-pit aftertaste of mezcal with the decision-making-impairment faculties of tequila.

36 Sentences About 32 Super Bowl Ads

Fri, 03 Feb 2017 09:12:02 -0500

In the spirit of Sunday's between-snaps endeavors, here are exactly 36 sentences about 32 Super Bowl ads. Happy early Ad-Nerd Prom Day, everyone!

Video Critique I-Team Answers Question Nobody Asked: Why Don't Supermarkets Do More Branded Video?

Thu, 26 Jan 2017 17:12:02 -0500

Why isn't Uncle Giuseppe's, or any other grocery chain, more invested in brand video?

Smarty-Smart GE Flaunts Its Science Savvy With 'Unimpossible' Stunts

Fri, 20 Jan 2017 09:30:07 -0500

I don’t care what the incoming heads of the EPA, CIA, FDA, NIH, NSA or Departments of Energy, State, Health and Human Services, Commerce, Education and Interior have to say on the matter: Science is A-OK in my book. It might even be real! I have great confidence that we will continue to turn to our scientists to help us navigate the most perilous waters in which we sea-fare. Nothing will change this, except maybe the appointment of several “Real Housewives” to positions of leadership within NASA.

It nonetheless feels like somewhat less than a coincidence that GE chose this particular week to unveil the latest episodes of “Unimpossible Missions.” The series, which debuted last year, takes the brand’s “Star Trek”-sounding credo (“to push back the boundaries of what’s possible”) and brings it to life via the depiction of witchcraft… er, I mean, scientific examination. The first season’s episodic slate included attempts to evaluate a snowball’s chance in hell and to actually catch lightning in a bottle. There was no more on-point brand-booster programming in the video world last year.

GE ups the ante in the two “Unimpossible” vids that debuted this week. In one, it fights fire with fire (spectacularly successfully, with nary a skin graft to be performed in its wake). In the other, it unrings a bell (fantastically, humanity-affirmingly successfully, per the still-sleeping baby positioned within the immediate gong radius).

The vids are ambitious in a way that most such explorations aren’t, too. GE’s chosen bell is the renowned-for-its-foundation-shaking-loudness Ka Lay Wa Bell in Myanmar, as opposed to the one that Auntie Dee uses to summon dim cousin Henry for supper. While both clips plug the relevant GE technology (used in a subsea acoustic leak detector and a next-gen mammogram device, presumably among other things), they do so without dummyheading it down in the interest of cheap virality.

That, in fact, might be the greatest triumph of “Unimpossible Missions.” Most videos that seek to blind us with science adopt a jokey, punny tone that too often comes off as patronizing. It’s the spoonful-of-sugar approach: This here brainy science will go down the hatch a whole lot smoother if administered with allusions to Bob The Builder and “Saved by the Bell,” etc. GE, on the other hand, proudly flashes its knowledge, throwing out concepts like “destructive interference” without over-explaining them for the halfwit set.

The production values are similarly a notch above what we’ve come to expect from such exercises. Yeah, GE can afford it, but still: Usually when a brand aspires to a degree of excellence within the video realm, it’s funny for the wrong reasons. Tacking “Films” onto a brand’s name (“Sears Craftsman Films Presents: 21 Meditations on the Band Saw”) isn’t going to capture the imagination of the Cahiers du Cinéma editorial board, you know? But when GE credits the “Missions” videos to its “GE Theater” arm, you don’t scoff. Moral of this story: Spend the extra money to make these things look like something not-unimpossible to create on your MacBook Air.

Some part of me wishes GE would pay tribute to the legendary Ralph Wiggum and retitle the series “Unpossible Missions,” but that would undercut the non-jokiness of the endeavor. Beyond that, this is one for the this-is-how-you-do-it file. By proudly wearing its brain on its sleeve, GE hits brand pay dirt.

Do Not Take 'Short Journeys' With Cadillac

Thu, 12 Jan 2017 17:36:03 -0500

Cadillac's "Short Journeys" is pretentious to the point of self-parody, the latest automaker content foray to conflate mindless brand gloss with film-school-grade substance.

Runkeeper Stresses Inclusivity In 'I Am A Runner'

Fri, 06 Jan 2017 09:48:03 -0500

I can say without exaggeration that I consider Runkeeper one of the most indispensible tools in my day-to-day existence. I've been using the app to track my daily scampers around the neighborhood since May 29, 2011.

What I Learned From The Year's Most Watched Brand Videos, 2016 Edition

Fri, 23 Dec 2016 10:11:04 -0500

Here's my annual guide to the year's ten most viewed brand videos, as measured by the good folks at Visible Measures. As in years past, we rewatch the videos and try to glean some knowledge along the way. As in years past, we largely fail in that second aim.

Amazon Botches Drone Delivery Debut

Fri, 16 Dec 2016 12:45:03 -0500

I could not be more geeked up for the era of drone delivery. Sure, drones might invite the occasional unwelcome rendezvous with utility wires and prove less than reliable during sleet squalls and encourage those hooligan kids down the street to recalibrate their skeet-shooting aspirations. But once you get past those eensy-teensy issues, their coolness kicks in with the intensity of a thousand tanning lamps.

'Save Our Snowmen' Is Advocacy At Its Least Essential And Effective

Fri, 09 Dec 2016 10:31:03 -0500

"Save Our Snowmen," produced by the well-meaning folks at Cool Effect. It addresses one of the few issues about which I am humorless, myopic and patently unable to comprehend any position other than my own: climate change.

Spotify Goes After Novice Streamers With 'Drawn And Recorded'

Thu, 01 Dec 2016 17:04:03 -0500

Of all the streaming services, Spotify is the only real option, right? Apple Music and Tidal have limited catalogs and interfaces that are about as intuitive as a first-gen Zune.

Sainsbury's 'The Greatest Gift' Isn't Worth Giving

Fri, 18 Nov 2016 09:46:03 -0500

Marketers have been in Christmas mode for a solid two weeks now. We've reached the point where the local waiting-room-rock radio station comes across as disciplined and humane by waiting to switch to a holiday-music-only format until tonight. It's November 18.

Gillette Graciously Underwrites Rogue One Commercial

Fri, 11 Nov 2016 10:08:03 -0500

With the recent debut of "Every Story Has a Face," Gillette becomes the first marketer to get in on the Rogue One action. The clip kicks it Memento-style, commencing with a showdown between Stormtroopers and rebel forces and then traveling backward through the events that took place earlier in one rebel soldier's day. Spoiler: He shaved.

Doers Do-Off: Chevron Outflanks Advil And People Magazine

Fri, 04 Nov 2016 10:17:03 -0400

Indeed: brand marketers have taken to strip-mining the land for inspiring people and their stories, those that can be presented during the best and worst of times.

The Return Of BMW Films Is Brand Marketing As (Awesome) Collision Sport

Mon, 24 Oct 2016 13:35:03 -0400

The unexpected BMW Films reboot: "The Escape," which debuted last night at 6 p.m. ET. "The Escape," like the eight BMW Films offerings that preceded it, is pure pulpy goodness for people, like me, who believe that every filmed entertainment should feature lots of fast-goin' chases and stuff done gettin' blowed up.

Chatbooks' Get-to-Know-Us Appeal Is Catnip For Overburdened Parents

Thu, 20 Oct 2016 17:30:04 -0400

In the enigmatically titled "Stop Wasting Hours Making Photo Books. This One Takes 1 Minute," Chatbooks hits that note with authority, practically writing off parents ("imaginary moms") who have hours to spend curating gloriously appointed, meticulously formatted photo books.

Shinola's Love Letter To Detroit Is All Heart

Thu, 13 Oct 2016 17:43:02 -0400

Shinola balances the tenor of its appeal adeptly; its Detroit is real and vital.

Prada's Literary Ambitions Fall Flat In Video Realm

Fri, 07 Oct 2016 13:06:03 -0400

Prada has extended the program into the video realm. The brand gang handed off the four winning stories, all roughly centered around the theme of "Illuminations, Shadows and Mirages," to a theatrical company, then tasked it with bringing them to life in a way that would permit Prada to use the word "experiential" in its campaign press materials.

Tylenol's Dad-Rock Paean Shortchanges Its Subjects

Fri, 30 Sep 2016 14:10:04 -0400

Produced by the New York Times' T Brand Studio on behalf of Tylenol 8 Hr Arthritis Pain (and hosted by the Times), the video assembles 13 arthritis-afflicted musicians ("who never played together," the site copy notes just a bit too proudly) and chronicles their thoughts as they rehearse and record a cover of Fleetwood Mac's goth anthem "Don't Stop."

Lowe's 'Weekender' Radiates Do-It-Yourself Bliss

Fri, 23 Sep 2016 09:50:03 -0400

My first stop for video salvation was down the digital freeway at Lowe's, which debuted a multipart home-improvement-for-mouth-breathers series, "The Weekender," in late summer.