One.org: Empathy
The last line in this public service commercial, delivered by Tom Hanks, goes “We’re not asking for your money. We’re asking for your voice,” had the effect of totally disarming viewers. They didn’t have to reach for their wallets or credit cards. They just had to reach for their phone, tablet, or laptop, and sign on. They did so in droves. More than one million viewers signed the One.org petition during the campaigns first flight. And the commercial was nominated for an Emmy.
PBS: Nostalgia
The Public Broadcasting Service has been fighting for federal funding and for its life since 1976. Safe and sound during one administration. Threatened by the next. Its best hope is to always prove that it provides the sort of programming that private enterprise cannot, or will not. With the arrival of a new administration, the fight is on again. Perhaps PBS will revive this Cannes Gold Lion campaign to fend off the wolves.
MCI: Humor
The introduction of new technology to a company has the capacity to send shivers up-and-down the spines of everyone up-and-down the entire organization chart, perhaps especially those at the top. The three commercials seen here, each narrated by Kelsey Grammer, were part of a eight-spot campaign that focused on a very backward company being taken, step by step, into the future of communications by MCI, much to the delight of its employees who found that stepping forward doesn’t have to put you on your heels after all.
Club Med: Reverie
Club Med began as a beachfront tent village in post-war 1950, moved on to straw hut accommodations sometime later, and eventually to the modern ensuite lodgings of today. But all along, it has positioned itself as a vacation from the very annoyances that make us need a vacation in the first place: telephones, newspapers, clocks, and all the other intrusions of everyday life. Phones have gotten increasingly hard to put down but the Club still manages to insulate you from much of the rest. The campaign won several Clios throughout its run.
Irish Tourist Board: Whimsy
Fact One: The people most likely to visit Ireland are those of Irish descent. Fact Two: There are more people of Irish descent in America than there are in Ireland. Even so, The Irish Tourist Board had never run a single television commercial in America – that is until a courageous man by the name of Niall Millar took the helm in 1990. Until then, the Board had taken the economy route: a scattershot of print ads and radio commercials. But Niall believed that neither of those approaches could ever capture the heart and soul of the country, and bet the ranch and his job that television could. He was right. Tourism shot up by 34% the first year, and the campaign won Clios for Best Copywriting and Best Travel advertising
Revlon: Sensuality
It’s said that good advertising will put a bad product out of business even faster than bad advertising if only because more it will tempt more people to buy it, be instantly disappointed, and spread the word. In the case of Trouble, a fragrance released by Revlon, it was bad timing that put an end to a good commercial, and one would assume a decent product. The commercial, sensuous to the border of risqué, showed great promise initially - and then the AIDS epidemic hit and risqué suddenly became too risky. Not even a Clio for Best Fashion and Beauty advertising could save it.
Worldcom: Reassurance
Large corporations hold the same fears as small companies when it comes to technology. There are boogiemen out there waiting to get you, hackers hiding behind the door, the screen, the portal, waiting steal your information in the dark of night. What these companies want is reassurance – not just in the form of technology but in the form of the technicians who’ll be at your side, and have your back when you need them.
BMW: Exclusivity
There are three tasks a copywriter has to perform in order to earn his or her keep: 1. Create great work. 2. Sustain effective campaigns. 3. Solve difficult problems even when there’s little glory attached. The commercial above - and the print ads that follow on another page - fall under the category of number 2. They’re a few of many I wrote during my years of working on BMW, the theme line and distinctive tone of voice of which was created by Martin Puris – fifty-one years ago. You have to take pleasure and pride in furthering a great idea. It’s not a chore; it’s a privilege.
Alamo: Yarn-Spinning
See the BMW caption above. This also fall under the second obligation of a writer.