Asking consumers to make their own commercials for a product has been a cool, new idea for so long, it's no longer new and I'm not sure how cool it ever was. People like user-generated content, for sure. They like to see other people acting stupid, looking stupid and and doing stupid things. That's funny, but it doesn't sell product and it generally doesn't make for very good commercials. People also like more professionally produced online content, if it's a good concept. But most people don't know what makes a good concept and if you've ever watched and voted for one of these contests you know what I'm talking about. Which is why I'm so bummed I don't have an entry for the $57,000 prize offered by Heinz 57 ketchup.
I had every intention of producing several commercials for Heinz 57's Top This contest. I came up with ideas but many things colluded to keep me from having the time, energy or organizational head space and I never got to them. They're due in a week and I'm having a hard time letting them go. I still wish I could shoot them but starting the new job, and getting into an accident (on the way home from San Francisco - another good reason for the High Speed Rail!) - I'm just too overwhelmed.
So I thought at least I could tell you what my ideas are/were:
1) The BBQ - A guy is out on the street, he gets a text message on his phone. He looks at it and in reads "From Jeremy: BBQ at my house, tomorrow 2pm, we'll have grillin's, bring your favorite topping." The guy reacts, "Sweet!" Cut to the guy walking with a bottle of Heinz into the BBQ, he stops when he sees another guy giving a bottle of Heinz to the hostess. A look of concern on his face. The host approaches with a burger on a plate and gives it to him, the hostess approaches and puts Heinz on his burger. Then she takes his bottle. "Thanks for the Heinz, we were just about to run out." She sets the bottle down on a table of food and about 15 empty Heinz bottles. Back to our guy's reaction, "Sweet!" He takes a bite. Voiceover: Everyone's favorite, Heinz 57.
2) International grocery - Establishing shot of a woman pushing a cart down an aisle with a little girl in it. She stops at the ketchup and looks up to the row of Heinz. As she takes a bottle, we look at her from the POV of the Heinz and the little girl says "hot dogs!" Cut to a series of different people from the same POV, all taking a bottle of ketchup. A German guy, "Bratwurst!"; A Mexican lady, "Huevos Rancheros!"; A Jewish woman, "Corned Beef Hash"; A British guy, "Bacon and Sausage"; and finally, a Belgian woman who makes sure no one is listening before she says "Les Frites." (Subtitles read "French Fries"). Voiceover: Heinz 57, spoken worldwide.
3) James Bond - Closeup of a guy's feet in dress shoes and slacks, walking. Swanky music plays. Pan up to reveal a guy in a tux shirt and tie. The entire spot is in extreme closeup. He spots a woman about to eat a French fry without ketchup. He pulls out a bottle of Heinz and saves her. She eats the fry with ketchup and smiles. He straightens his bow tie and spots another woman who's trying to feed her little boy a hot dog. He rushes over, puts Heinz on the hot dog and the boy eats it happily. The mother smiles. He adjusts his cuff links and sees yet another woman with eggs and toast trying to get ketchup out of an empty bottle. He swoops in and squirts ketchup on her plate. We now zoom out to reveal that the man is actually a waiter in a cafe. He takes his job very seriously and the ladies appreciate it. He spins the bottle like a gun and puts it in his apron. Voiceover: Heinz 57, it's THAT good.
4) ESL class - In an ESL class, students of all nationalities are huddled around their teacher naming things they like to eat with Heinz. A bottle sits next to the teacher on the desk and the class eats French fries. They have trouble saying the words but are really happy when they get them out. "Omelet, potatoes, meatballs..." One student says "cold noodles," and they look at him funny. He shrugs like, it's true. An Asian student struggles to say "French fries." The class is intently watching, she gets a real "R" sound out for the first time and is elated. The class cheers. Voiceover: Heinz 57, it's universal.
Life seems to be a never-ending stream of missed opportunities but there will be more contests and more ideas, so until then!
2 comments:
Yeah, I've seen quite a few of those "make-your-own" commerical campaigns in the past. I read somewhere, its just as, if not more expensive to run these campaigns (as opposed to hiring professionals) because of the person-hours spent sorting out all the entries, producing the commerical, etc, etc. And, as you said - you end up with crappy commericals.
I agree although I think these commercials are really a form of viral marketing. 2,000 people entered videos that thousands of their friends will watch online and pass on to their friends, not to mention all the regular YouTuber's who just stumble upon it. They almost don't need to run it on television.
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