As a Kiwi, I find it bloody hard to lavish praise upon anything that comes from 'The West Island', but this VB spot from Droga5 is a cracker.
The endline is just on the right side of the "fine line between clever and stupid" (D. St. Hubbins). It fulfills the dictum that 'great ads transcend target markets'. It doesn't hold with all that beautiful-cold-frosted-glass hero shot nonsense. And it feels like the start of something much bigger (go take a look at the website).
But what really does it for me is the lack of artifice and bullshit advertising pretence. It feels real, authentic and inclusive, and, to this planner at least, this has never been more important. Not just "perceived authenticity" (ie well-acted spots with a patina of realness to them) but real, genuine authenticity. Real insights into real people delivered with real (non-addy) humour.
From my own experience, we have seen the benefits that "Dance" and "Singalong" have had on the T-Mobile brand, transforming it from a.n.other purveyor of vibrating air into a brand which consumers have a genuine affinity for, a brand that doesn't just advertise its brand promise ('Life's for sharing') but which actually lives and breathes it by bringing it to life for people in the real world.
We need to be in the business of forming relationships between brands and consumers. And how much easier is to form a relationship with a brand that across as human and real and honest and understanding? While many brand owners still believe that "their" brand belongs to be up on a pedestal, their more successful colleagues have figured out that a) it isn't "their" brand at all, and b) it is far, far better to be down rubbing shoulders with your customers.
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