Cingular: Changing the Conversation
Brand: Cingular
Execution: TV
Link: Click Here
Target: Parents of Teens
Rating: *****
Reviewer: David
Description:
The spot covers what sounds like a typical fight between a teenage girl and her mother over getting a cellphone. The tone is angry, but the words are unexpected:
Mom - I have not had it up to here with you young lady.
Girl - Why do you insist on treating me like an adult?
Mom - Because you insist on acting like one. Now you’re getting this new phone.
Girl - It’s so small. I really like it. Why is it always what I want?
Mom - Well do you have any idea how much money this is not going to cost me?
Girl - I love you.
Mom - I know you really mean that.
Girl - You never hated me and you never will.
Mom - You are the most grateful little …
The voiceover interrupts with “Cingular’s changing the conversation about cellphones. Introducing the newest GO phone. Pick your plan or pay as you go. Get all you need to make everybody happy. Cingular”
What Works:
The simple narrative technique of reversing the expected dialogue between mom and teenage daughter has the dramatic effect of making this spot engaging and memorable. This works because Cingular and BBDO have nailed the parent-child cellphone argument down to the facial expressions and body language spot on. At first this looks and feels just like the routine struggle for dominance that teenagers and parents the world over would recognize. Only when the words begin to filter past our advertising censor does the unexpected message startle us. Just at the point where we are fully engaged, we get the product message. The brand positioning is strong here: Cingular gives you products that make your life with teenagers easier to manage. This advertising blog strongly supports the end-benefit orientation of this pitch. Since parents are the gatekeepers of the teen phone it is important to recognize that a phone which makes the negotiation process between teen and parent easier is the end benefit for the parent.
What Doesn’t:
It is possible that the very conventional backdrop of this ad might keep some consumers from tuning in at all. This is the risk with running an ad which relies entirely on the audio track to reveal its brilliance, but we think it works here.
Branding Bottom Line:
We’re ready to do a teenager swap and live in the Cingular household.
October 15th, 2006 at 6:49 am
are you kidding? this is the most annoying advertisement that I have seen all year. the first time i saw it, i didn’t even know what they were selling, since the you had to pay attention to the dialouge. the advert has gotten more and more irritating each time since then. what a clunker.
January 20th, 2007 at 8:01 pm
Cingular is cruel to animals. They sponsor cruel rodeo events in which calves are violently roped to the ground by their necks as they run up to 27 miles per hour (just one example). Go to www.CingularSupportsCruelty.com to find out more.