Geek Squad – “Noooo!”
Monday, May 23rd, 2005Brand: Geek Squad
Execution: TV
Link: Click Here
Target: Frustrated Computer Users (i.e. everyone)
Reviewer: David
Rating: ****
Description:
A woman’s computer freezes up and she screams in frustration. Around the city, geeks look up from their computers. They are dropped from planes in black and white VW Beetles wearing geeky white shirts and thin black ties and showing a geek badge.
What Works:
This is an excellent problem-solution ad. The woman typing on a computer that freezes up instantly gets us to identify with her frustration. Then the rest of the execution is unusual enough that it keeps our attention to the payoff at the end. The insight here I think is that something that society thinks is usually bad (being a geek) can be very good for a particular situation (when your computer is broken). Trying to own “geek” for computer repair actually sounds like a good idea, particularly when you are the first home-computer repair service to advertise nationally on television.
What Doesn’t:
The standard problem of not having any branding until the end of the spot is not quite as serious here because the spot is so crisp, but it’s still an issue. The success of this spot also depends on owning the term geek. At home, I’ve been getting incredibly annoying autodialer calls from an outfit called “Computer Geeks” which I have vowed I will never hire. If that company gets any traction then there could be some real marketplace confusion.
Branding Bottom Line -
A crisp spot that delivers for a new service brand with a distinct brand positioning.
