adorable
10/09/2007
Sony Bravia's Play-doh Bunnies
This playful stop-motion animation builds one tiny bunny bouncing onto the streets into an entire rabbit army, set to conquer the city with adorable. It's a fun, whimsical commercial meant to emphasize one idea -- color is swell -- but doesn't really say anything about the product being advertised, Sony Bravia. Whatever that might be.
So in order to write about this video, I Googled Sony Bravia -- and discovered that the reason the name sounded familiar is that Sony Bravia's last big viral ad was the Jose Gonzales-scored Superball spot. That two-minute piece, capturing a gorgeous slow-motion waterfall of bouncy balls, was a whimsical delight -- that also didn't really say anything about the product.
So, um, way to create branding, Sony. Job well done. Now I just need to figure out what you're selling. I guess Bravias are TVs? Well, that was my second guess. Right after color printers.
08/03/2007
Ricoh, "Think as One"
Borg-like connotations of the title aside, this commercial is adorable. Not only that, but it sells the actual product, which seems a fairly low priority in many ads these days.
A cubicle dweller in a Japanese office is handed a report and asked to have it finished by the next morning. From the expression on his face, it's clear that he's already at the end of a long day. Sigh. Thankfully, inspiration strikes.
He makes a few sketches and notes on the report and sends it off in the fax machine. Now, because Ricoh's got a global network, with local support everywhere they sell, the Little Report That Could proceeds to jet from time zone to time zone, getting changes made in India, then France, then New York, all while our worker bee has a delightful evening with his friends. Then, in the morning, he pops over to the fax machine, picks up the (great-looking) completed report, and hands it to his boss.
All in one minute. One minute to tell you that if you use Richoh products, your offices will never close, because you'll have the world working for you 24-7. Plus your work will look fantastic and you'll have time for karaoke with your buds.
If I had anybody to fax, I'd be buying a Ricoh fax machine right now.
