I heard a story the other day about a commercial that, I think, was shot for a breakfast cereal. It involved a woman getting out of bed on her wedding day. According to the story, the spot only ran four times because somebody called the company to complain that it looked to them as if the woman had been sleeping with a dog between her legs.
I don’t know if the story is true, but it’s consistent with a lot of stories I’ve heard over the years about companies who will pull spots entirely because of one or two complaints.
Granted, as a copywriter I worked at agencies that took pride in pushing the lines of taste and decency, but now that I direct, I still hear them. And these days, the stories are a little less apocryphal—I sometimes hear them from the clients themselves.
Is that possible, you ask? Will clients with MBAs and years of marketing experience actually defer to the half-baked opinion of some random stranger who saw a spot once and may or may not have been paying attention?
I have two words for you: Focus groups.
Knowing what we all know about focus groups, I think it’s fair to assume that even if the story about the cereal commercial isn’t true, it’s certainly possible. On the one hand, it’s kind of sad, but on the other, it creates quite an opportunity.
Follow me on this.
Company X has a marketing plan, and that plan involves a certain amount of advertising effort against Product Y. If a couple of weird phone calls convinces them to pull one of their spots, what do they do about the media they’ve bought? And more importantly, what does Product Y’s brand manager do to continue on the track toward increasing the brand’s market share?
Resurrecting an old commercial isn’t an option. After all, either the agency convinced the client that the old commercial needed to be replaced or the client convinced the agency. Not advertising isn’t an option, either. Departments get budgets that need to be spent. If a brand doesn’t advertise this year, its budget is likely to be cut next year.
So what happens? After a lot of discussion, the agency either re-shoots the commercial or produces a brand new one. A new director is hired, the team flies to L.A., and everybody (and I mean everybody, from the wardrobe stylist to the bellhops at the Four Seasons) makes money.
Do you see where I’m going with this? Our economy is in the dumps, and you and I are in a position to help fix it.
So here’s what I want you to do: Watch television. When you see a commercial you don’t like, complain. Call, write a letter, whatever. Just think of something totally inane about the spot that offends you. You’ll be getting bad advertising off the air and giving the agency another shot at doing something really great. And you’ll be providing jobs and stimulating the economy.
In fact, I don’t mind if you complain about something I’ve shot. Sure, I’m proud of my work, and I realize I’d never be hired to shoot the commercial that was created to replace it. But I’m thinking big picture here. I’m willing to make that kind of sacrifice for the good of the nation.
Besides, maybe I’ll get to bid on the new spot for that breakfast cereal.
