Promoting what could be the Consumer Digest for the new millennium, Epinions.com, an online buying guide offering product reviews from real people, has launched its debut ad campaign via San Francisco-based Goodby, Silverstein & Partners.
In early March, the campaign’s four initial spots—"Computer," "Breast Pump," "Tent" and "Ski Resort"—first appeared on www.epinions.com, where users were invited to express their opinions on certain products. Several of the home video-styled commercials—directed by Goodby art director Terry Finley and copywriter Sharon Tao, and shot on video—have stirred up debate and controversy. The :60 "Computer," which depicts a dissatisfied iMac user using an iMac as his target in a shooting range, was rated negatively by the majority of the 400-plus people who voted on the Internet. Based on this thumbs-down response, that airing was shelved.
A number of online users also expressed distaste for the :30 "Breast Pump," in which Jen, a nursing mother, uses the Medela mini electric breast pump. While there is no nudity (breasts are more visibly displayed in any women’s fashion magazine), viewers see Jen position the pump over her covered breast. As she talks about the pump’s portability and comfort, while expressing milk, her cat watches and licks the outside of the bottle.
Although the breast pump ad has aired, several local television stations in such markets as New York, San Francisco, Boston and Seattle have either declined to show it or have pulled it off the air, citing its content as objectionable. A few Epinions.com users were more blunt, such as one whose posted message described it as "one of the sickest things that I have ever seen."
"The spots are pretty different for the dot-com world of glitzy, hyper commercials," said Goodby creative director Paul Venables. "We surveyed the environment specific to the dot-com advertising: It’s all slick and wacky, and nine out of ten times, has no relevance to what’s being advertised."
Venables related that not only did the Epinions.com community decide which spots aired, but also the commercials’ scripts were created by the product users’ reviews. He said that such a strategy is appropriate for the brand, since the opinions are essentially the product that’s being marketed.
"In our case, [the interactive nature of the ads] makes all the sense in the world," Venables continued. "Their Web site is [more like] a marketplace for ideas. People come, they read ideas, they leave ideas. Epinions.com has very little to do with that, in a sense. They facilitated it, obviously, by setting up a structure, but then they stand back and let it happen."
Venables contends that because Epinions.com is fundamentally a platform for consumers to express their opinions, the interactivity is more relevant to the product than other recent interactive ad campaigns, such as the recent Ford Focus series of live spots created by J. Walter Thompson, Detroit (SHOOT, 3/10, p. 7). "You see the Ford Focus ads where you get to pick [elements of the commercials]; it has nothing to do with the car or Ford. It’s just a gimmick to get you excited and to make Ford seem hip and interactive."
Many online postings about the iMac ad protested that "Computer" was irresponsible in the wake of the epidemic of gun violence in this country. One such Web user titled his post "Meathead with Gun Rages on Harmless Computer" and wrote, "The guy’s an idiot and a redneck. Disgusting. Guns are disgusting."
Venables said the agency realized the iMac ad would be controversial. But in that case, he explained, Jay, the product reviewer, is an ex-Marine, and the spot reflected his personality. Venables also defends the spot, noting that Jay fired shots at the iMac in the controlled environment of a shooting range, and wore eye goggles and ear protectors. "His review was articulate and educated; it wasn’t as if he was ranting or violent or crazy," said Venables. "But the [Epinions.com] community voted not to air it, which is their right."
More unexpected—at least from the agency’s perspective—is the backlash against "Breast Pump." Venables said he was sad that the spot generated so much controversy, given that breastfeeding is one of the most important things a mother can do for her child. "It’s ridiculous that that whole subject is banned from television. It’s not like you see any breasts. We all know that breasts are used to sell everything from beer to vacation resorts, but here, the product is used to help breasts deliver food, which is what they were meant for."
The :30 "Tent" offers Rick’s view of the Sierra Designs Clip Flashlight tent, which he product-tests by sitting inside the tent as it’s run through a car wash. Perhaps the least informational—albeit entertaining—spot is "Ski Resort," in which Jay criticizes the Alta Ski Resort in Salt Lake City for its policy of not allowing snowboarders on its slopes. He is seen attempting to take his snowboard (which is painted to resemble two skis) on the slopes, where he is told to "take your snowboard and get out of here" by an employee, and is pelted with snowballs and called "jerk" by a passing skier.
Venables said that three more Epinions.com spots were in the process of being edited. "We’re going to hopefully keep cranking these things out. The breadth of products being reviewed, and the diversity of the actual reviewers, will add to this campaign."
The spots were produced through San Francisco-based Bassett Productions, where credits go to executive producer/producer Debra Bassett. Agency producer was Matthew Winks. The DP was Norman Bonney. The spots were edited by Jim Hutchins at Nomad Editorial Company, Santa Monica; and conformed by online editor Jim Bohn at Sea Level, Venice, Calif. Colorist was Stefan Sonnenfeld of Company 3, Santa Monica. The audio was mixed by Jeff Payne at Eleven, Santa Monica.
