On Oscar night, Cadillac launched their new campaign; clearly, the hope is we (OK, the next generation of luxury consumers) consider their brand cool. This is not really news: for some time now, Cadillac has made it clear they want us to re-evaluate our impression of them. That in itself is uncool to me.
Cleverly launched during the Academy Awards, the spot is beautifully shot in Soho (Cadillac's new home), around Manhattan, and Brooklyn. We are challenged to "Dare Greatly", as Cadillac has done (presumably) with this new brand refresh, and just like the game-changing Americans featured in the commercial: Steve Wozniak, Jason Wu, and (how timely!) filmmaker Richard Linklater. That's some country club your Caddy just pulled up to.
Of course, daring greatly drives the world forward, risk of failure be damned. Cadillac failed for decades, but not in the focused pursuit of life changing events or technologies. Instead, it made ponderous beasts too often piloted by believers of 'you are what you drive'. It also failed masterfully in recent advertisements directed, it seemed, not to thoughtful, discerning, and hip millennials but to arrogant douche-a-holics. The agency responsible for those hard starts was recently dropped at the curb.
The objective for Cadillac then, is appealing in a meaningful, memorable way to consumers too young to remember land-barge Caddy's. Naturally, the tagline 'not your father's - or grandfather's - Cadillac' would have undermined the reinvention. I like the new direction but I am uncomfortable with the predictability. The problem for me is this 'new' engagement concept is already a tired theme. The tone or message is similar to Facebook's recent 'Our Friends' promotion; indeed, like the often imitated Man on a Horse campaign that brilliantly and successfully rescued Old Spice from your father's - or grandfather's - shaving kit, it seems every agency wants to recreate the latest winning concept. I can understand the motivation: in 30 seconds, Old Spice, that forgotten, totally uncool brand, arrived unexpectedly and instantly became super cool; the commercial delivered an influential impression that still resonates. Dare greatly, indeed.
Old Spice set the bar on re-setting brand perception and as we know, consumer perceptions are key. Heineken, for example, manages to beat all other beer brands with clever TV spots that are well crafted and smart, making a statement without missing the point. Their ads blow me away. They make me laugh. They don't tour me around a brooding Manhattan to prove their Soho cred. Feh. (Moving to Southern California would have made much more sense, Cadillac: a game-changing location with a car-centric culture and myriad opportunities to market a luxury brand. I realize Lincoln tried but they gave up. Remember: Dare Greatly.)
So much more could have been done to re-engineer my impression of Cadillac. Want to be really cool? Want to 'Dare Greatly'? Dare to be original.
No comments:
Post a Comment