Sometimes you see an ad on TV and think to yourself, "It's almost too good to be an ad." Take away the cheesy tagline, product shot and logo; soon enough you've got a work of art. It doesn't happen often, especially as a lot of ads are only good because they're funny. Not that I've got anything against funny ads (The Big Ad, VB Boony, etc), but too often do advertisers play the comedy card when they want to give their ad cut-through.
Advertising is a creative industry, but wouldn't you say it's at the bottom of the pile when compared to other creative industries? Time to sack the Art Director/Copywriter team, and bring in the artist.
Take a look at this brilliant ad for HP as an example. The creative team have come to Michel Gondry (Human Nature, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Science of Sleep) with a skeleton of an idea. Surely they would have said, "Salut Michel! Make us some of that 'dream' stuff you do!" This is what he came back with:
It does beg the question: Is Michel Gondry well known enough to speak to HP's market? There are millions of people who have never even seen his movies, let alone heard his name. But then again, he is a mainstream-cult figure with a legion of fans all over the world. This leads to one conclusion... HP is looking to speak to an audience that connects with Michel. Who are these people you ask? You guessed it, Mac people.
HP's new machines are interestingly slick. An obvious response to the success of Mac's consistent product design across all its hardware. I'll be very interested to see what the response is. Are we Mac users buying into the Mac brand merely because the machines look great on our desks? Probably. This may be the first test for Mac in a while. And as soon as Google releases an operating system that sinks Windows forever, the competition may get stiffer.
Before you scream nerd, let's get back to art. Another great director (and friend of Gondry) making quality ads is Spike Jonze. Everyone loved the Ikea lamp ad he did. Even more enjoyed the Adidas TVC he made to a soundtrack by Karen O. But my personal favourite was this ad for The Gap. I would have loved to be in the client meeting when the idea miraculously made it through.
I managed to see Spike speak at Cinema Nova on Lygon Street when he was in the country filming Where the Wild Things Are. Asked what happens when approached by agencies, he said (and I paraphrase): "When an agency brings me an idea, I usually tell them it's shit. I say, if you want me to film this ad, let me write it. So they do and this is what they get."
Apparently some turn him down. Their loss I guess.
If anything, the Gondry ad for HP is a step forward. Will they be able to catch up on lost ground against Mac? Only time will tell. But I'm pretty sure Michel would have taken his hefty payment from HP and bought some new Macs.
8 Comments
Spoken by Tait Ischia Ischia
on Tuesday, May 22 at 21:10.
Advertising is a creative industry, but wouldn't you say it's at the bottom of the pile when compared to other creative industries? Time to sack the Art Director/Copywriter team, and bring in the artist.
Take a look at this brilliant ad for HP as an example. The creative team have come to Michel Gondry (Human Nature, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Science of Sleep) with a skeleton of an idea. Surely they would have said, "Salut Michel! Make us some of that 'dream' stuff you do!" This is what he came back with:
It does beg the question: Is Michel Gondry well known enough to speak to HP's market? There are millions of people who have never even seen his movies, let alone heard his name. But then again, he is a mainstream-cult figure with a legion of fans all over the world. This leads to one conclusion... HP is looking to speak to an audience that connects with Michel. Who are these people you ask? You guessed it, Mac people.
HP's new machines are interestingly slick. An obvious response to the success of Mac's consistent product design across all its hardware. I'll be very interested to see what the response is. Are we Mac users buying into the Mac brand merely because the machines look great on our desks? Probably. This may be the first test for Mac in a while. And as soon as Google releases an operating system that sinks Windows forever, the competition may get stiffer.
Before you scream nerd, let's get back to art. Another great director (and friend of Gondry) making quality ads is Spike Jonze. Everyone loved the Ikea lamp ad he did. Even more enjoyed the Adidas TVC he made to a soundtrack by Karen O. But my personal favourite was this ad for The Gap. I would have loved to be in the client meeting when the idea miraculously made it through.
I managed to see Spike speak at Cinema Nova on Lygon Street when he was in the country filming Where the Wild Things Are. Asked what happens when approached by agencies, he said (and I paraphrase): "When an agency brings me an idea, I usually tell them it's shit. I say, if you want me to film this ad, let me write it. So they do and this is what they get."
Apparently some turn him down. Their loss I guess.
If anything, the Gondry ad for HP is a step forward. Will they be able to catch up on lost ground against Mac? Only time will tell. But I'm pretty sure Michel would have taken his hefty payment from HP and bought some new Macs.
Nice post! I've always been in awe of those truly artistic tv ads that come along every now and then. They take your breath away, destroying the monotony of traditional adverts. When in the right hands, the medium is just as powerful as any other.
Regardless of the beauty, and it is a thing of beauty, the core idea was done by Apple many years ago.
As for the Spike Jonze comment, well he would say that, wouldn't he. As would Martin Scorcese, Spike Lee, David Fincher, Ridley Scott and every other high profile director who need funds for their next non studio movie project.
No wonder Sophia Coppolla dumped him!
But what really is the idea?
The new HP's are for creative types? You can do anything creative on your HP? Or is it just, let's get Michel Gondry to tell the world how he uses computers to achieve his creative visions?
When you analyse it on a purely creative advertising level, it's a celebrity driven retail ad at best, made to look beautiful and hinged on that fact.
But when you add it to the marketing mix of HP's fight to bring down Mac, it's not going to do anything. They'll need a lot more than pretty computers with trendy ads to chase that one down.
In past lives I worked on HP and Compaq, which merged with HP a few years back. Our brief for their 'fun' PCs was essentially to position it as a computer for people who'd like a Mac, but were reluctant to take the plunge.
I may not be a marketing guru. Nor do I own a mac. But I reckon that using Gondry as a poster boy for Mac is a smart move. For those film nerds and CGI fiends, he is recognised as a humble innovator.
For example; Gondry was the first music video director to employ "bullet time" in Bjork's 'Army of Me' (it was played with in cell animation in previous years)
You educated bloggers would recognise this technique as a series of frames linked seamlessly to give the impression that the subject has been frozen in time.
Many would refer to bullet time as "that crazy shot of that guy who jumped up that one time in Matrix Reloaded!!"
But for the budding artists out there (whom this ad is targeted towards), this ad gives the impression that technical innovation can be achieved on macs.
Excuse me while I step outside to purchase a G5.
apologies. I did mean to say "poster boy for Hp" and I did intend on "stepping out to purchase a Pavillion"
Typing too fast late at night can lead to the defacement of a very good blog.
No defacement in this town, mousse. Street art is supposed to be defacing property isn't it? Let's just call these words art.
Well said by the way.
Hi Tait, it's Rowena. You're a blogger too! Who woulda thunk it?
When I first started reading this post I thought "What, Michel Gondry's done an ad for HP Sauce?? The British greasy spoon will never be the same again."
Yes, I am a dork.
I, too, seriously doubt this ad (wonderful as it is) is going to lure young creative types away from their Macs.
I'm not sure who came up with the idea for the current Mac ads (featuring the two guys, "Mac" and "PC") but I think they are genius. They're so simple, but convey so much.