Feb 2, 2007

Toad's Friday Faves, #2

This one's here for the effort more than anything.

Given the utter banality of most tissue ads, this spot, part of a campaign from JWT/NY for Kleenex, must have been a bitch to sell through to the client. It's a nice idea, well shot, great music. (Band is called Starrdafu).

Where it falls short though, is that it's hard to believe these are real people. Thought maybe it's just my cynicism coloring things, but if you look at the reviews on AdCritic, they're fairly consistent on this point.

Though, to be fair, Adcritic is an industry site-- I wonder if your average consumer watches it and thinks "actors!"

Still, a great idea for a brand that pretty much owns the category.

Thoughts/comments?

6 comments:

  1. i guess Kleenex are only good for Dr. Phil sessions and coming to grips with your demons on a sidewalk in an apparently crowded metropolis.

    whodathunk they were so therapeutic?

    and here i was wasting my time blowing my nose into them!

    i guess that's why i thought it wasn't very intersesting, it overwhelmed you with the drama so you weren't watching the product, you were watching the guy cry ( in said crowded urban setting, on the street) about his trauma. i thought it was for a new reality show.

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  2. the print ads are equally stupid.

    this is an example of a concept that's trying too hard to be breakthrough.

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  3. I was impressed with the effort more than the execution of it. I give them props for trying something new and different in a stale category. Much rather this than the same old shit.
    (Though after posting it, I remembered reading about some guy who went around doing something similar- just getting people to talk to him, I think he had a sign that said "free chats" or some such-- as part of a performance art piece.)

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  4. it's a tough category. after all, there's little reason to want kleenex over puffs or even a bargain brand. honestly, this campaign does little to brand kleenex or distinguish it. i could not have told you if it was advertising kleenex or puffs or another brand before you pointed it out.

    gotta believe this is a low-loyalty category. does anyone really care which brand they blow their snot into? or worse, if you consider the scene where kate winslet's character discovers her husband's hobby in "little children."

    it all makes the tagline really gross.

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  5. Not that familiar with the tissue biz, but isn't "Kleenex" synonymous with "tissue" for a lot of people? (I forget what you call that, but there's a word for things like Kleenex, Frigidaire, Vaseline, Xerox and (down South) Coke, which come to represent the entire category.)

    I'm guessing they thought Kleenex owned the category. Check out the website-- www.kleenex.com-- it video there is better than the TV.

    Didn't get to see "Little Children" yet, but read the book-- don't remember the tissue scene, but easy enough to put 2+2 together on that.

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  6. Toad...
    As you know, I posted about this on AdSCam... No, it's not great music... 'cos it doesn't need music... Why does every fucking spot in the world have to have music. They should have done one vignette slowly spelled out with just the persons voice... They don't have fucking rock tracks when someone is baring their soul on Oprah, do they.
    Fuck, adverising sucks.
    Cheers/George

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