What Do These Three Brands Have in Common?
Perhaps I'm the only one still watching broadcast cable with its remarkably fascinating (to me) collections of marketing messaging. Every once in a while, the messages seem to coalesce, probably because all the agencies are doing equivalent research and therefore finding comparable 'white space.' Lately, the stars have so aligned around brands that provide an arguably silly level of consumer confidence to fight a certain type of Evil.
- The first one I noticed as particularly strange was the fellow feeding raw steak to lions, presumably because he got genuine Ford auto parts, though I'm not sure I would have made that connection without the voice over.
- Next up: The fellow emboldened by his Kermit-esque roommate (?) to apply for a mortgage from his kitchen table, wearing only boxer shorts. The puppet gets it right: Awkward.
- Then, there are the folks who get their 'credit swagger' on because they've used the right credit reporting service: Does anyone else worry about the lack of civility in negotiating for and winning the potted plant the car salesman's wife gave him? Power corrupting absolutely?
The promise that the ads surface: Confidence is what we need. Especially a certain kind of confidence that enables us to triumph over the Axis of Evil formed at the intersection of auto repair shops, banks and car dealerships. That's what intrigues me. Look at the enemies we're fighting with the help of these brands.
What also intrigues me: These villains we love to hate are conquered by loopy 'heros' with the help of MIA brands we never quite glimpse anything more of than their logos.
Could the truth of the lumbering consumer confidence number reported on the business pages lurk here? We haven't lost confidence in our economy, but in ourselves. We've decided to pick only small battles, ready to take up (Branded) arms against the callow bank manager in the branch down the road or sit in our underwear with a puppet on the couch?