For way too many individuals and some brands, COVID-19 has turned into The Self-Righteous Olympics. For instance, Frito-Lay’s internal creative team let go of this commercial fart.
https://youtu.be/aqOvJ_9YVa4
The spot starts by saying, “Things are hard right now. The world doesn’t need brands to tell us how to think or feel.” If this were true, Frito-Lay wouldn’t be saying it in a commercial.
The spot then goes on to list several admirable actions that Frito-Lay has taken to help people in this troubled time. It’s good to know that this snack food brand has a solid corporate giving action plan, but this does not make anyone hungry for salty chips.
The spot further devolves after the series of self-congratulations, a.k.a. PR points. It enters Snarkyland. Frito-Lay’s internal team wants us to know that they are not changing the logo. This is an advertising insider’s dig on McDonald’s/Brazil who separated the Golden Arches “in solidarity” with self-isolators everywhere. It was a dumb idea and Frito-Lay’s team wants The Adverati (not their customers who don’t know or care) to know they’re better than that.
The 60-second spot’s next dig shames those who ask for donations. Frito-Lay is above such things. Too bad the makers of the spot fail to connect the brand’s new largesse to the company’s cash reserves. Deep pockets are easy to shake some change out of, and it’s even easier to turn that corporate gesture of goodwill into a bad commercial.
The ending is an improvement. It says, “It’s not about brands, it’s about people.” But what does this mean, and what does it mean when a large consumer brand is the one saying it? It means that there’s a lack of self-awareness in the system.
Another Soft Lob
A week earlier, Frito-Lay released this feel-good spot:
The soft music, the reassuring voice-over, the soft stock-like images…it’s all so careful and so tame. Because this is not the time to offend. Or so goes the corporate rationale behind these kinds of communications, which are appearing everywhere today. Quickly made, low budget spots featuring the CEO or the team members are more than a little expected, and we’re only one month into this massive disruption.
Tell More Human Stories
I’d prefer to see ads that make us laugh or make us cry. Now, and always. The way to do this is to tell human stories, and the way to do that is to make the people (not the products, the CEO, or the corporate giving team) the stars.
To give Frito-Lay credit where credit is earned, they do it right in earlier work. Here, let’s take a look…
The mini-documentary is another common approach today, but it never gets old. It does not get old because people are endlessly fascinating.
[UPDATE 9:00 a.m. CST]
Leo Burnett Israel just delivered this to my inbox, and I like it. It pays off my points above.
This is an effective 30-second mini-drama because the human being is the focus, and he is showing us what it feels like to run out. In other words, Doritos and their agency are dealing with a core human truth and it’s timely. Many people are running out and it does suck.
