Commentary By: David
Issue: Wal-Mart’s Black Friday Pricing Choices

A quick update on our commentary posted Wednesday on Wal-Mart’s Holiday 2005 pricing strategy for ‘Black Friday.’ As we noted, Wal-Mart moved aggressively to drive store traffic in the critical holiday period. Measures used this week included destination advertising (Garth Brooks new album), competitive price match guarantees and ‘door busters’ (deep discounts on a few select products available in limited quantities.)

The measures were indeed successful at driving traffic, but as we suggested in our commentary, the traffic came at a price. It wasn’t the price we named – erosion of the brand equity in Wal-Mart associated with ‘Always Low Prices’ (we suggested that by offering price-match guarantees, Wal-Mart was validating competitors as being legitimate sources for low prices). It is too soon to judge the long-term effect of this pricing behavior on consumers’ brand perception of Wal-Mart. The immediate, obvious price Wal-Mart payed was in more bad PR – something the chain can ill-afford. Several people around the country were trampled by crowds at Wal-Mart stores as they opened for the morning. In addition, CNN covered the angry reaction of consumers realizing that the deep discounts offered for Wal-Mart specials were available on a very limited supply of items. So even before the long-term consequences are assessed, Wal-Mart has paid a price for top-line results.

Commentary By: David
Issue: Everyday Low Pricing and the Wal-Mart Dilemma

Today the Wall Street Journal reported that Wal-Mart will be offering a low price guarantee on Friday, November 25th – the day after the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday and the largest shopping day of the year in the United States.

This offer is Wal-Mart’s attempt to rebound from a disappointing holiday season last year when Wal-Mart held pricing firm and lost significant business to other mass merchandisers, speciality stores and big box retailers who discounted aggressively in the post-Thanksgiving period.

All of which raises a very significant question for Wal-Mart and others who would like to pursue an “EDLP” (everyday low price) strategy – What is the effect of running big seasonal sales on the brand positioning of EDLP brands?

This is a more pointed issue than usual this year because instead of just discounting prices, Wal-Mart will be promoting the fact that it will match lower prices. Which means that Wal-Mart will be admitting that it does not have the lowest prices. This may come as news to some of its brand faithful. Admittedly, anyone who has shopped at a Costco, BJs or Sam’s Club (or a dollar store) knows that Wal-Mart is not always at the bottom of the pricing ladder. But as this Advertising Blog has argued before, Wal-Mart has staked its brand positioning on everyday price leadership.

The Christmas season is a classic Prisoner’s Dilemma game for retailers. Last year, Wal-Mart tried to signal cooperation by holding prices and hoping that the entire industry would follow and garner higher profits. Instead (as usually happens in this game theory scenario), the competitors defected, receiving a quick jolt of sales on ‘black Friday’ (as the Friday after Thanksgiving is known in the U.S.) but suffering when Wal-Mart was forced to join in and retail industry pricing followed a rush to the bottom.

This year, Wal-Mart is opting for the third best alternative in the Prisoner’s Dilemma (where both sides gain some revenue but lose profitability) to avoid the worst alternative (where Wal-Mart loses both sales and revenue and competitors gain both). But is this the only price Wal-Mart will pay for discounting heavily on prices that are already supposedly ‘the lowest’? The issue here is whether consumers will begin to distrust Wal-Mart’s basic brand proposition as an EDLP retailer.

To give them fair credit, American consumers are more sophisticated than they might at first appear. In particular, American consumers expect that they will be seduced by socalled ‘Door Buster’ deals during the holidays (and that everything will be even cheaper immediately following New Year’s day as stores clear out remaining inventory). So Wal-Mart can argue that EDLP really does mean something different to consumers in late November than it does in March or September.

But this is a fine-edged sword and this Ad Blog believes Wal-Mart may be sliced by the keen blade this time around. Why? Offering seasonally lower prices in EDLP is one thing. Offering to match competitors even-lower prices is another. We believe this is closer to a heroin strategy for Wal-Mart. It will work this time, probably very well. But each repitition will erode consumers confidence in Wal-Mart’s everyday low prices to the point where Wal-Mart may cease to be identifiably distinct from other retailers in consumers minds. Yes this must sound absurd to a stock analyst looking at Wal-Mart’s performance over the past twenty years. But brands which are built over time can be destroyed in the same manner.

Here’s the problem: consumers recognize holiday promotion tactics at most retailers for what they are – a bait & switch game. Most retailers mark down a small percentage of items to an absurd level and discount the rest much, much less. Enterprising consumers will cherry-pick the best of all of these deals but most of the rest of use get lured in by the bold offer and buy other things at better margins for the retailer.

Wal-Mart, when it lowers prices seasonally, competes well against this model. While consumers don’t save as much on any one item, they feel that they are doing just as well or better on the entire shopping cart. That maintains consumer loyalty to the EDLP system in spite of the fact that Wal-Mart has been subverting it with lower seasonal pricing.

When Wal-Mart begins hugely promoting ‘door-buster’ prices of its own and offers matching discounts on other store’s merchandise, however, it implicitly validates those competitors. Just like naming a competitor in your advertising, explicitly acknowledging that other stores have lower prices carries coming from Wal-Mart, the king of low pricing. This is true even if consumers already know that there are better deals to be found on specific items.

So while we agree that Wal-Mart made a mistake last year, we believe this season could be more painful for the Bentonville gang in the long run. Instead of competing on door busters, Wal-Mart should really be more creative with service, loyalty or other bundling options to balance the value equation during the busy season.

Brand: Gatorade
Execution: TV
Link: Click Here – it is the second-to-last spot entitled “Gatorade Precision”
Target: Performance-seekers
Rating: *****
Reviewer: David

Description:
Several great moments in sports history are replayed with alternate endings. Michael Jordan’s last minute jump shot in the playoffs bounces off the backboard, Oakland scores a home run, Joe Montana’s touchdown pass is off-target. The voiceover says, “If you’re a fraction off, it can change everything.” Then we see two athletes hooked up to instruments in a research space as the voiceover continues, ” and in the lab where Gatorade scientists test and retest athletes so we know exactly what their bodies demand. Precision counts – out there and in here.” The three sports moments then replay with the historically correct endings and we get a final shot of the ripped athlete in the lab and the spot closes with the Gatorade logo.

What Works:
As Darren Rovell notes in his book, “First in Thirst” on Gatorade marketing, the genius of Gatorade’s marketing crew (at Quaker Oats) is that they recognize that no matter who drinks it, the brand positioning has to focus on serious athletes, “Although the amount of incidental usage (people drinking Gatorade who are not working out) is increasing, Quaker officials discovered early on that the mystique will be broken if the brand is at all steered away from sports.” In other words, Gatorade marketing works when it shows great athletes getting better, not invigorated couch potatoes.

This spot does an excellent job of defining the end benefit of a performance drink like Gatorade against the general charge that it will make very little difference to many of those who drink it (many don’t work out long enough for it to be of any benefit, for example). The end benefit is winning and the permission to believe is that in elite-level sports, the smallest fraction of performance matters. The golf equipment market has a long history of showing that average-performing sports enthusiasts will go to absurd lengths to get the last bit of competitive edge with their equipment. Gatorade is offering the same experience for a much lower price.

This spot’s novel “reality turned inside out” is a very good tool to show the importance that small differences make on the field. What’s nice here is that this gee-whiz technology is used solidly to reinforce the brand positioning, not for it’s own sake. The use of Michael Jordan early on in the spot also helps tie this message more ownably to Gatorade.

What Doesn’t:
Even this Advertising Blog had to scratch its head for a second when first viewing this spot. Didn’t Jordan make that shot? Do I remember it right? Although this double-take is the tool that this spot uses to grab the viewer’s attention, it is disorienting and caused us to miss the message the first time around. As a high-spending, long-running campaign, this may not pose as much of an issue, but we brand folks prefer our message to be clean and clear at first glance.

A smaller concern is the branding of this spot. While Gatorade’s name is mentioned (and we see the ubiquitous green fluid) just under halfway through this spot, it is not until the last five seconds that we actually see the brand. Although the brand positioning and use of Michael Jordan make this ownably and uniquely a Gatorade spot, we would have preferred to see stronger visual branding of Gatorade earlier in the spot.

Branding Bottom Line:
We’re still trying to get our TiVo to give us a Gatorade version of the last Jets game.

Brand: Ben & Jerry’s
Execution: TV
Link: Click Here – click to skip the opening screen and click in the lower left corner to “Watch Ben & Jerry’s Video”
Target: Dairy lovers
Rating: *****
Reviewer: David

Description:
A family farmer with a strong New England accent talks about the difficulties of running a small farm, the government’s preference for large industry and his individual relationship with the cows. The spot features various shots of the farm and the cows. The farmer concludes his thoughts saying “In the last ten or fifteen years it’s unbelievable how many farms we’ve lost. I think the family farm has a real future, but I think we need to start thinking about it.” Then we see a black screen saying “America loses over 330 farms every week.” The spot closes with the Ben & Jerry’s logo followed by, “Join our fight for small family farms. ”

What Works:
Everyone in the marketing community is buzzing about cause marketing. While we think that more corporations partnering with charities can only be a good thing, how to choose these alliances and what to do with them from a marketing standpoint is much trickier. We recently heard Carol Cone speak about this issue at Brand Manage Camp and agree with her that the key to success lies in the match with an appropriate cause and how it is communicated. There is a fine line to tread between having your good deeds go unknown and crass commercial exploitation of charitable ties.

This spot is a great example of how to take on a cause because Ben & Jerry’s does just about everything right here. Here is what works by the numbers:

1. Perfect Cause Partner – When we think of Ben & Jerry’s packaging, we think of cows. When we think of Ben & Jerry’s business, we think of brothers in a family business. So taking on the fight for family farms not only makes sense, it actually reinforces Ben & Jerry’s brand authenticity.
2. Focus on the Problem – Notice that this spot is not about “What Ben & Jerry’s is doing to help the family farmer.” Self-congratulatory advertising would never look this good. Instead, Ben & Jerry’s communicates their brand through a call to action (join Ben & Jerry’s) and focuses the spot on explaining the problem. Brilliant.
3. Clever Political Strategy – Ben & Jerry’s has always been identified with the left, but this spot makes it much more difficult for conservatives to disagree with their politics. After all, Ben & Jerry’s is championing core conservative values here including families, entrepreneurship, limited government intervention and self-reliance. There is also a sly, subversive political commentary here implying that the current U.S. administration is not serving the needs of the heartland well. This spot actually makes it more difficult for the right to boycott Ben & Jerry’s ice cream for political reasons.
4. Strong execution – Ben & Jerry’s has a great ear for the tone of this spot as they’ve chosen an eloquent but plain-spoken farmer and do a good job of connecting him to the land and the cows. The music is not overdone and even though there is a huge earnestness to this spot, it still works.

To follow Ben & Jerry’s example, think first of the cause partner and ask whether your organization can bring something to the table besides money. Do you have expertise or industry clout that will help the charity? That’s a good test to know whether consumers will be able to form a strong association between your brand and the cause you support.

Next look at how you can use advertising and other marketing tools to further the mission of the cause – and how you can link your name to this. We like this spot better than the Whirlpool spot showing their partnership with Habitat for Humanity and donation of a refrigerator and stove to every Habitat house that is built even though the Whirlpool program is even more impressive from the standpoint of social impact. In that spot, though, the communication goal is to communicate Whirlpool’s good works, not to promote Habitat’s campaign.

Finally, craft the communication no less carefully than for a new brand launch. The spot will either strengthen not just one brand but two and is well worth the time to get it right.

What Doesn’t:
We think that our farmer must have spoken a punchier line to end the spot with than “I think, you know, the family farm has a real future, but I think we need to start thinking about it.”

Branding Bottom Line:
As Seth Godin says, it’s all about the Moo.

Brand: Bissell PROheat 2X
Execution: TV
Link: Click Here – this link is to Ad-Rag which requires a small fee to view ads
Target: Clean-seekers
Rating: **
Reviewer: David

Description:
A young suburban woman sitting on a couch says “I run a doggy daycare” to the camera and then we see her with the dogs. As she plays with them, her voiceover continues, “It’s a great job, but things can get a little hectic, not to mention messy.” We see her remonstrating a tiny Chihauhau, “Mister Jiggles!” as Mr. Jiggles looks down at a spot he made on the carpet in shame and whines. Then she proceeds to demonstrate the new PROheat 2x from Bissell. After a few more shots of the dogs we see the Bissell logo and the tagline “Bissell. We mean clean.” The woman scolds Mister Jiggles, telling him to “use your inside voice!” in the last frames.

What Works:
This is a very amusing, highly engaging spot which provides ample entertainment. The acting is good and the dogs all hit their cues, especially Mr. Jiggles who is priceless. Bissell does not wait until the last five seconds to show the brand, either. In the first half of the spot we get a good demonstration of the Bissell PROheat 2x and the ‘twice the bristles, twice the power’ permission to believe. Then there is another reinforcement of the brand with the company logo and tagline.

From a storyboard perspective, this spot looks great. It spends plenty of time with the product, the brand gets plenty of screen and voice time and the characters are appealing and engaging.

What Doesn’t:
It is a very long-standing marketing axiom that animals are cute and that people remember them. As any actor will tell you, however, they tend to upstage you and pretty much ensure that your performance – no matter how strong- will be forgotten. The same is true for animals in advertising. With very few exceptions, these cute monsters tend to overwhelm the message that’s being delivered. Watch this commercial five times and we guarantee that you will fixate on the Chihuahua a little more with each viewing. So in a sense it doesn’t matter what Bissell is doing in this spot – it will be hard to recall ‘Bissell’ when the time comes to purchase that deep-cleaning rug machine.

A separate issue is the brand positioning for the PROheat 2x. Bissell’s positioning is very masculine and strictly product-centric (Bissell PROheat 2X is the best deep-cleaner because only Bissell PROheat 2x has twice the bristles and twice the power). This creates the classic computer industry problem with competitors saying, “2x? only 2x?!? – Then we’ll make our deep cleaner 4x!!” This is a difficult place to stake an ownable claim unless you are a company with a strong and persistent advantage in product performance (we were going to use INTEL as an example, but perhaps this is no longer true). We much prefer claims based on the USER (think ‘choosy moms’) or FRAME OF REFERENCE (think ‘Night-time Cold Medicine’) rather than the product performance.

Branding Bottom Line:
Bissell loses the recall battle to Mr. Jiggles.

Brand: MasterCard
Execution: TV
Link: Click Here – this link is to Ad-Rag which requires a small fee to view ads
Target: MasterCard Cardholders
Rating: *****
Reviewer: David

Description:
We see a car carrier being driven through the desert by an average guy driving a slurpee. Then the voiceover begins, “12 brand new cars for you, your family and friends – zero dollars.” We see the average guy giving various friends and relatives new cars and their reactions (from bewilderment to tears). The voiceover continues, “How it feels to hand them the keys – Priceless. Use your MasterCard and you could win 12 brand new cars.”

What Works:
We review this spot to illustrate the multiple benefits of a strong campaign. The MasterCard, “Priceless” campaign is one of the longest-running, hardest-working campaigns on television today. MasterCard taps into a basic and seemingly non-commercial human sentiment – that it is not the things in our life but the people and the moments that have true value. MasterCard shows that the credit card is merely an enabler of human interaction – and in these spots the human interaction being enabled are almost always either extremely touching or hysterically funny moments.

MasterCard’s campaign is savvier than its near-twin brand VISA because it does not seek to compete with American Express and their neo-snob campaign of exclusivity. And it it not a big grab for market share – MasterCard correctly recognizes that most of the decision about whether a consumer will acquire a Visa or a MasterCard comes as a result of marketing by member banks. Instead, MasterCard uses this campaign to encourage cardholders to see MasterCard as the niftiest little tool since the diaper genie. From a brand positioning standpoint, MasterCard is the card that enables the great moments in life to happen. Instead of being ‘Everywhere you want to be,’ MasterCard savvily points out that you are already where you want to be – with friends and family – but could be having more fun.

The benefit of such an effective campaign is that it allows the advertiser to do more with less. This spot is an excellent example. In fifteen seconds, it not only reminds us of the core benefit of Mastercard, it perfectly sets up a loyalty promotion (a car sweepstakes). We understand the proposition of the sweepstakes and have a clear sense of the end benefit of winning – which is not ‘getting more stuff’ but the feeling of giving which lasts much longer.

The best sign of a great campaign is the feeling of pleasure it gives us when we recognize a new spot in the campaign – that “let’s see what those folks are doing this time,” anticipatory chuckle. Mastercard delivers this consistently.

What Doesn’t:
It’s hard to fault MasterCard for any of the basic choices in this spot, but it should be said that a very low percentage of automobiles are purchased with a credit card – so delivering cars as the goodies from the sweepstakes is not the obvious choice for MasterCard. As all of the cars pictured are GM as far as we could tell (and please remember that we’re an Advertising Blog and not car experts, but a Cadillac and a Saab stood out) perhaps there was a lucrative manufacturer tie-in with General Motors that reduced the cost of the promotion to MasterCard.

Branding Bottom Line:
MasterCard knocks Visa out of the ring and into the hands of a new agency.

Brand: eBay
Execution: TV
Link: Click Here – the reviewed spot is called “Anthem.” Watch all four spots to see the entire campaign.
Target: People looking for things
Rating: ***
Reviewer: David

EDITOR’S NOTE: With this review, we initiate the ThirdWay Advertising Archive. Whenever possible we will archive and stream the spots we review to allow our blog readers to view the spots for free.

Description:
To the sound of the Monkees “Daydream Believer”, we see “IT” as a camera, skateboard, mobile, engagement ring, steak, terrarium, dodgeball. laptop, flatscreen TV, designer dress, car and tiara among other things. The word “IT” literally replaces these everyday objects of desire. In the last two frames of the spot we hear and see the tagline “Whatever IT is, you can get it on eBay” with different items rotating through the “IT.”

What Works:
This is possibly the biggest metaphor-as-commercial that anyone has ever produced. The metaphor is simple and to the point. We all have something we want. Whatever IT is, we can find it at eBay.

This is an excellent way to boil the essence of eBay down to a single unique proposition. Essentially, eBay is making the claim “the world at the end of your mouse.” It is an ownable brand positioning because really only eBay has the depth and diversity to make this claim – it is the only place one could buy either an antique chair or a new car along with everything in-between.

This spot depends very much on the proposition that everyone knows what eBay is and how it works and the work of the advertising is just to remind people that eBay is the best place to look for everything. While this is not literally true, it is close enough to being the truth that the spot will probably also interest those who don’t know eBay to learn more. In fact, this advertising is aimed at current eBay users. Apparently, many of these folks don’t realize how many different things they can buy on eBay. BBDO told us that “the goal of the campaign is to get existing users to check eBay first whenever they shop online by redefining how they think of eBay’s inventory.”

What is fascinating about this spot is how much effort goes into keeping the message simple. Even though the spot employs numerous setups, some ingenious props and an expensive soundtrack, everything is sharply focused on creating the idea of IT as “the thing which you desire” and then paying it off with eBay as the place to get IT.

What Doesn’t:
As much as we like the execution of this spot we have one concern that prevents us from rating it higher. Our issue is a familiar one to readers of this Advertising Blog. In this :60 second spot, we are not sure the link between IT (which takes about :50 seconds to establish) and eBay (which uses the last :10 seconds) is strong enough. The branding of eBay is not as strong as it could be, although given the spend levels on this campaign we doubt anyone will forget who “IT” comes from after the first few months on-air. We know that eBay and BBDO are less worried about this linkage because of the duration and intensity of this campaign.

Actually, the fifteen second version of this spot which just shows the presentation of the “IT” engagement ring and cuts directly to the tagline “whatever IT is, you can get IT on eBay” may be more effective as a branding vehicle even though it doesn’t fully dimensionalize the fact that “IT” can be anything you want.

Another thing to note is the viral twist to this campaign. The :30 ‘teaser’ ad for this spot (click here and watch the spot called “The IT Spokesman”) did not even mention the eBay campaign – it only gave the address for a cryptic website. We are not sure that many consumers really pay attention to this sort of intrigue, but at worst it is an expensive way to increase the measured attention for the subsequent spots.

Branding Bottom Line:
We still don’t know what IT is, but we know that we want IT.

Brand: U.S. Army
Execution: TV
Link: Click Here – this link is to Ad-Rag which requires a small fee to view ads
Target: Teens looking for career and character
Rating: *****
Reviewer: David

Description:
A probationary fireman sits in a ladder truck as it races to a fire. His fire chief says to him “We’re a pretty tight group here. That doesn’t happen overnight. People have to learn that they can count on you. Know what I mean?” The spot cuts to a flashback of the young fireman during his U.S. Army training as he rappels down a wall and bonds with his Army team. “Yes Sir, I do,” he replies to the captain. The spot cuts to a black screen as a voiceover says “Get Strength for Now, Strength for Later. Learn more at GoArmy.com.” The “Strength for Now. Strength For Later,” slogan is displayed on the screen followed by the Army logo, website (www.goarmy.com) and “Army of One” tagline.

[EDITOR'S NOTE: ThirdWay conducts marketing training for the U.S. Army. However this is the first Army commercial to be reviewed by the ThirdWay Advertising Blog and the Army was not consulted and did not participate in any manner in this advertising blog entry.]

What Works:
Ad Age reported today that the Army will be abandoning the “Army of One” slogan and this spot is a very good place to see what the future might look like for US Army advertising. The “Army of One” slogan reflected important insights into the mind of the Army recruit but failed to connect with many career soldiers. We think “Strength for Now. Strength for Later,” would address the major issues with “Army of One” without losing its core benefits.

The campaign preceding “Army of One” was “Be All You Can Be,” and it became a cultural icon as one of the most memorable taglines in advertising history. In one key area, though, the campaign failed to address a key need of recruits. Unlike the Marines, Navy or Air Force, the Army has always suffered from the perception of vast size and being the lowest common denominator within the U.S. Military. The Marines successfully positioned themselves as the elite service branch (although the Navy SEALs, Army Special Forces, Rangers, Pathfinders, Delta Force and Coast Guard Rescue Swimmers might disagree), the Airforce is the best place to learn technology (even though all of the services will give twenty year olds primary responsibility for operating and maintaining multi-million dollar weapons systems) and the Navy positions itself as the safer alternative to ground-based service.

Amidst all of that specialization, the Army was left as the generalist, and “Be All You Can Be” showed all of the different things that a prospective recruit might learn in the Army. The problem with that campaign is that it did not link back directly enough to the end benefit of service with the Army. It also did not make the Army seem any less large or intimidating or make the recruit feel like he or she might make a difference inside this vast machine as an individual.

“Army of One” was intended to show the recruit that an individual can make a difference. This is a good insight and addressed one of the core issues for the Army with recruiting. But it ran against the grain of tradition at the Army where generations of officers, enlisted men and nco’s have learned to think and act as a team. Even though “Army of One” was never intended as an anti-team message, it struck many as a departure from the team ethic of the army.

This spot works brilliantly because it delivers the basic strength of “Be All You Can Be,” while focusing on the end benefit of US Army service to the potential recruit. Here’s what works by the numbers:

1. Realism - This spot shows an average Army recruit a future that he can easily imagine – as a firefighter. The future as a dedicated public servant commanding respect is aspirational but not at all unrealistic for the average recruit.
2. Clear Brand Positioning – “Strength for Now, Strength for Later,” gives the recruit a clear idea of the benefit of joining the Army. Not only will she build skills and confidence immediately, these life lessons will be of tremendous value later after she has left the Army.
3. Avoids Dual Traps of Anonymity and Hyper-Individualism - this spot threads the needle between depicting the Army as a completely individual exercise (Army of One) and as a challenging but overly diverse and anonymous institution (Be All You Can Be) where the individual gets lost. The focus on one young man during and after the Army – but in team situations – shows us how a team strengthens the individual.
4. Great Branding – In this :30 second spot, we have to wait less than ten seconds to see and feel the Army brand. The best sign that this is a great spot is that it really would not work for the Air Force, Navy or Marines. All of the elements of the spot, from the fire truck to the shots of Army training have been carefully selected to reinforce the Army message.
5. Engaging Visuals – This spot grabs your attention with a high-stress situation – a young man going to his first fire. It makes us think that he is nervous and has no experience to bring to this challenge. Then the flashback to the Army training suddenly makes us realize that he will bring more to this challenge – and his team – than they expect. The combination of crisp visuals and this strong storyline keeps the influencer (parents, guidance counselors, ministers, etc.) as engaged with this spot as teenagers will be.

In the middle of an unpopular war, a difficult agency review and lots of adverse publicity about recruiting practices, the Army and Leo Burnett have created an excellent spot that does a good job of making the case for service to those people who would actually benefit from it.

What Doesn’t:
As with any large institution, the greatest danger for the Army is lack of focus. Finding their legs with a strong spot like this should encourage them build this into a disciplined campaign and avoid drifting off in numerous other directions as can often happen. The new tagline works but what works even more is the laser-sharp focus on the real end benefit of Army service to the potential recruit and to the community.

Branding Bottom Line:
The Army hits back and reminds us why everyone looks good in a uniform.

Brand: Universal Orlando Theme Park
Execution: TV
Link: Click Here – this link is to Ad-Rag which requires a small fee to view ads
Target: The overemployed
Rating: ****
Reviewer: David

Description:
A series of happy funeral directors commend the U.S. workforce for work-a-holic tendencies. They say, “We’d like to express our heartfelt gratitude to the American workforce. Their unparalleled work ethic demonstrates you have what it takes – to drive yourselves into the ground. In fact, those who don’t take vacations are 20% more likely to face an early demise. Yet still you persevere. And if you keep working yourselves to death, just know we’ll be here for you.” The spot ends with title screens saying “Have a life. Take back your vacation,” and then a quick montage of shots from Universal Orlando with the universalorlando.com web address.

What Works:
This spot is the culmination of an unusual campaign that featured absolutely no branding in the first several spots. These were focused on the benefits to corporations and pharmaceutical companies of workaholic employees who did not take their vacations. Those spots ended with only a reference to a website: http://www.iwantmyvacation.com/ a so-called “vacation advocacy” site which features quantitative information on the vacation-deprivation of Americans as well as online games and offers from Universal Orlando.

These spots are very effective category-builders for the leisure travel industry. They use humor effectively to lampoon our obsessive work habits and the site does a good job of putting this into a global perspective (which is a bit chilling). By focusing on the core positioning of “vacation is healthy for you,” these spots elevate the benefit of vacation from relaxation and enjoyment to something more fundamental – a longer, healthier life.

The reviewed spot that actually features Universal branding is the best of the bunch. The funeral director angle is inspired, taking an admittedly cheap shot at a group which probably won’t fight back while brilliantly making the bigger point that life has an expiration date and it must be lived while it is still fresh. It is a very unique approach to advertising in this category and gains in memorability much of what it loses in brank linkage.

What Doesn’t:
The big question with these spots is whether they will function as either good viral marketing or (with this last spot) effective television advertising for Universal Orlando. In the first three spots, that question is almost entirely predicated on the number of people who go to the special website. That number is typically only a fraction of the overall television viewership, so the effect may be limited.

The second question becomes how much of the curiousity generated by the first several spots is satisfied in this last spot when the identity of Universal Orlando as the advertiser is finally revealed. The cumulative effect of the earlier spots could result in this final spot having much better brand recall than one would otherwise suspect from the very brief Universal Orlando logo exposure at the end of the spot.

If these spots do not increase awareness of Universal Orlando, it does not mean that they are not good advertising (this is one of the rare occassions you will hear us say this). The real question is whether these spost are good brand advertising for Universal Orlando or effective category advertising for the leisure travel industry.

We suspect that the larger benefit will be to the category rather than the brand which begs the question – why should Universal go it alone on this campaign? This advertising would be an excellent candidate for industry group treatment, just like the California Milk Processing Board’s ‘Got Milk’ campaign which benefits all milk producers.

The rewards of this type of industry-wide cooperation would be significant not just for Universal Orlando but for other vacation destinations as well as cruises, car-rental agencies and airlines. With a blockbuster budget beyond the means of Universal alone, this campaign could have a much greater effect on the industry.

There is also no reason that this campaign would need to follow the ‘Got Milk’ model. The campaign could be constructed as co-op advertising, allowing for more consumer segmentation and tie-ins. For instance, Universal Orlando could pay for spots targeting audiences highly likely to go to theme parks while Disney could re-brand the last few seconds of spots targeting families and Carnivale or Club Med could go after singles. The spots could feature targeted, limited time offers intended to move consumers to action.

A minor concern we have with this commercial is the possibility that Universal might be seen as taking a cheap shot at funeral directors. Corporations and pharmaceutical companies in particular are fair game, but in this post “Six Feet Under” era there may be more sympathy for funeral directors who are perceived to run family-owned businesses.

Branding Bottom Line:
Universal Orlando does the category – and our lifestyle – a favor.

Brand: Jeep Commander (DaimlerChrysler)
Execution: TV
Link: Click Here – this link is to AdRags which requires a small fee to view ads
Target: Drivers looking for a rugged, comfortable vehicle
Rating: **
Reviewer: David

Description:
A large 4×4 drives through a snow-covered landscape and the words “50km South of Arctic Base Camp” appear in military green computer type over the scene. We see two rugged looking men in parkas driving the vehicle. A voiceover says “Three Climate Zones” as we hear one of the men say “How’s he doing?” then we see the second man changing one of two visible temperature dials on the climate control to above 70 degrees. The voiceover continues “Three Rows of Seats,” and the spot pans back to the third row, where a neolithic-looking man is frozen in a block of ice which is not visibly melting. The voiceover continues, “so everyone can travel in comfort. The all-new seven passenger Jeep Commander. It’s your world. Take Command.” The spot ends with a long shot of the Jeep continuing to drive through the snow and the Jeep logo with the words “Commander Starting at $26,485″ and an asterisk to legal language below.

What Works:
This is a genuinely funny spot with classic Jeep brand positioning – built rugged so you don’t have to be. In this case, Jeep is showing us that if two Artic explorers can be comfortable in the artic in their front seats while a block of ice in the third row stays frozen, then we will be very comfortable with Madison and Ashton sitting in the same place watching DVDs while we drive for groceries.

What Doesn’t:
We chose this spot to make a point about exaggeration in advertising. The point is that we don’t much like it except when it is used to lampoon conventional wisdom, and those cases are rare.

Here the exaggeration is about that third-row passenger. While the explorers in the front seat are wearing parkas, they have the climate control for their seats set over 70 degrees Fahrenheit, which is room temperature. The block of the ice in the third row doesn’t seem to be melting. That implies that the Jeep is sustaining a temperature differential of more than 40 degrees between the first and third row of seats – or roughly the difference between summer and winter in Trenton, NJ. Anyone who has experienced dual-zone climate control can tell you that having cool air blow on you while hot air blows on your spouse is a nice luxury and keeps both of you happier. But in no sense does the car become a spa with hot and cold contrasting baths. So while we will be happy to hear from Jeep that the Commander can indeed maintain a 40 degree temperature differential between front and back, this seems to be an exaggeration.

Which is a problem for Jeep. Why? The Jeep brand lives and dies on authenticity. The Rubicon trail, the military heritage, the off-road credentials of these vehicles all make suburbanites feel like they are driving ‘the real thing’ when they conquer the shopping malls. The problem with exaggeration – even when it is used with comedy in mind – is that it feels inauthentic.

This is not the only inauthentic touch in the spot. The cave-dweller himself looks exaggerated, the explorers have big parkas but no hats, goggles or gloves in evidence and have set their interior temperature for the front row far too high for anyone wearing a parka. And one has to wonder why they are driving through the Artic which is not a landmass but ice.

But the worst bit of inauthenticity has to be the small print under the Jeep brand name, which reveals that the Jeep Commander pictured costs not $26,485 (the base price), but $41,220 which is a figure that includes a $1,500 cash allowance and that – and this is hard to believe – the pictured vehicle is a 4X2 or a Rear-Wheel Drive Vehicle. That’s right, folks, the intrepid Artic explorers were too cheap to spring for four-wheel drive!

Branding Bottom Line:
Jeep sells us pleather.