Good Intentioned, But Contrived
There is a video circulating among advertising people right now (link below) that captures the undifferentiated sameness of brands’ immediate commercial responses to COVID-19.
The video presents a montage of cuts from TVCs run by the world’s top companies and although the intentions are good, collectively the spots come off somewhat contrived and perhaps misdirected.
Brands referenced in the video include Apple, AT&T, Budweiser, Facebook, Fedex, Heineken, Lexus, Nissan, Target, Uber and others
Here’s the outline:
/ Video Starts /
Somber piano music plays …
/ Voiceover Starts /
For more than [ x ] number of years we have been doing [ y ] activities for people …
Especially now …
During [ difficult, troubling, challenging, uncertain ] times like these …
We are here for you …
You can trust us …
We are people …
We’ll get through this together …
Together
Together
Together
Together
Together
Together
Crepescular shots of diverse people clapping for healthcare front-liners …
/ Video Ends /
Even the Ad Council appears in the spot. Unfortunately, their ads are super derivative because they rely on pro-bono creative/production resources from the industry.
As far as misdirected, in consumer research reported by the ARF it has been noted that not all brands should be advertising right now.
For example, luxury and big-ticket items might do better finding some way to contribute productively (retooling to making masks, hand sanitizer) rather than focusing on their brand or trying to sell anything.
The comments below the video on the YouTube watch page indicate that there different ways to understand the video. Advertising professionals mostly (a) noting the great editing or (b) understanding it as an urgent call for raising our collective sights. Consumers decrying the incessant commercialism.
You can watch it here, on YouTube, and decide for yourself …
