For those of you who follow this blog, you know I’m a big fan of the modern Jack-in-the-Box commercials, especially since over here in Canada we never see their ads. (Actually my wife doesn’t either; it’s a West Coast thing)
I just thought I’d show you the back-story of Jack and the stark differences between the 80’s and the modern Jack-in-the-Box commercials.
First, the 80’s, where they were blowing up the clown (thanks to studiobarrington for posting it on YouTube):
Now compare to Secret Weapon Marketing’s modern revival of the clown:
In stark comparison to Pepsi, here we have Mountain Dew (ironically owned by Pepsi) — which has indeed changed its branding quite a lot since its original commercials.
First, a fake “lost ad” — a Dew commercial released in 2000 (courtesy of YouTube and columbusmediatalk):
Ha ha, old commercials are funny, right? Yeah.
This is one of the real black and whites from the 60’s, according to MrPacMan36:
Yes, “Tickle your innards” is quite a bit different from “Dew-licious”. It’s a good thing today’s ads don’t make false promises about using their product to get women and perform better, right? *cough cough*
But it gets… umm…
Not quite sure how to describe THIS one, but let’s say they changed their branding again and then afterwards changed it AGAIN (thank goodness!):
Obviously rebranding doesn’t hurt some products, since Mountain Dew is popular — especially for geeks, nerds and gamers. I believe this comes from America, since in the U.S., Mountain Dew has a considerable amount of caffeine, making it popular for previously mentioned gamers and geeks who can’t handle the taste of coffee.
(It could be Mountain Dew’s Old Shame, and as I’ve stated previous there’s no way to erase its existance now, thanks to the ‘net — but fortunately for the Dew, the commercials aren’t horrible enough to do damage.)
These days, Mountain Dew has embraced its gamer consumers — you can even find cans with World of Warcraft artwork on it, and it calls itself “game fuel”. (It even goes by the abriviation mtndew — note the casing).
Mountain Dew — from Hillbillies to become the drink of gamers (under the Pepsi brand), which has always had the message of being the ‘drink youth’.
Now there most interesting thing about this commercial is how much the brand hasn’t changed. Sure, the music, the logos and probably even the taste has gone through several redesigns but Pepsi uses the platform of being “the drink of the youthful mind” to this very day.
Of course, when you review these old commercials talking about being modern it suddenly becomes deliciously ironic.
Speaking of modern, all I can think of when I see a modern Pepsi logo are those old, solid rubber balls from early grade school gym class. They were red and blue, with a white stripe across the middle. And they hurt like the dickens any time they hit you.
Thanks to YouTube and dianamherrera we have a very early, very odd variation of Rice Krispies’ mascots, Snap, Crackle & Pop. Its… very different from the modern take.
Amazing how some things change, eh? Note that in this version the characters are even dressed differently. Pop normally wears red, and they’re all wearing chef’s hats. Didn’t change as drastically as the original Ronald McDonald though… (shudder)
In comparison, take a look at Tony the Tiger. His design might have changed, but his basic approach hasn’t.
Managing a creative property is a balancing act between evolution and “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it”, but the best advice I can give is “Never try to be cool“.
Even if it’s just advertising, “to thine own self be true”.
Something a little different this week (but related to last week’s) is another famous icon for Wendy’s: Dave Thomas — who incidentally worked for Col. Sanders (yes, that KFC Col. Sanders).
Here’s a really great interview back from when Dave was still alive, thanks to YouTube and Engardio:
The interview is full of ironic highlights — such as that Dave encouraged Col. Sanders to do interviews and commercials, thinking he’d never be in front of a camera. Or the fact that Sanders got up so early yet was so wealthy, and Dave thinking he’d never do the same if he was ever wealthy… and wound up doing so anyway.
Sanders taught Dave a lot about hard work and the importance of quality — and a little about what not to do as well. Sanders was old, so he was stuck in his ways and couldn’t delegate whereas Dave was more adaptable.
Long story short — Dave was shaped by an icon and became one himself.
The tie to today’s marketing? Dave actually used a variation of social media before its time. Sure, you couldn’t talk back to him and he had a budget far beyond what a YouTuber could dream of, but that was Dave on camera. He was not an actor, and while it was a marketing decision to use humour (thanks to agency Backer Spielvolgel Bates) basically Dave just had to be himself. Unlike other advertising — and much like the Col’s — it was by far more real because it was lovable, dorky Dave trying his best with what the agency came up with. (Or the agency was trying their best with what Dave could do; either way it was great!)
Just a note — if someone reading this decides that they are going to try to do what Dave did, please keep in mind that it has to be true to YOU, and that Dave’s initial attempts of starring in his own commercials were panned until he got some help.
And in closing, a funny Wendy’s commercial. Less actual Dave in it, but it’s done in a way that matches his personality so it works. (via IceManNYR)
There’s something a little different about him compared to other fast-food icons… one of which being is that he was a real person. Other than Dave Thomas — who worked for Mr. Sanders incidentally — not too many chains have an icon who actually was a real person too.
Don’t think he’s genuine? Compare it with these out takes (with thanks to ClassicStudioOuttake):
Judging by the rambling, he really does love his chicken, doesn’t he?
He’s the genuine article. Harland Sanders isn’t acting, he’s just being himself with the assistance of marketing professionals. They keep him focused, and advise him, but it’s still the real Harland “Colonel” Sanders at its core. He really does love his chicken, that’s how he normally talks. He even sued KFC’s parent company for using his image to promote products he never developed.
As Seth Godin would have put it — Sanders was a “linchpin”, and despite the fact he will never know his commercials are shown on YouTube he has a special significance to social media.
Because you shouldn’t attempt a social media campaign unless you are willing to become a Colonel Sanders (or a Dave Thomas, but that’s another post). I’m not saying put on a white suit, I’m saying you need passion and you have to be genuine, and you need to be willing to do the talking yourself.
And if you happen to be passionate and genuine, but just lack the technical and marketing skills to give your business the boost it needs… why not give us a call? (519-432-4932)
Just a short post — RG’s design machine Mike passed this along to us: one of the old Canadian Historica Moments just perfect for today. Brought to you by YouTube and cap1066:
You can see why McDonald’s lost — and they had to pay over a million in damages.
Play fair, kids.
Copyright laws aside — just look at the ad itself. Apple Pie trees? Hamburger and French fry plants? So they were implying that the food was vegan? And is it me, or does Ronald look like he’s sporting more of an afro than his usual frizzy hair? Anyone else a little creeped out?
Although they could always play the “Darker and Edgier” gambit playing off the latest Alice in Wonderland film by Tim Burton — providing they don’t get sued for that too. Imagine — “Return to McDonaldland”.
