Crunch Vs. Vodafone
What To Learn From JWT’s Epic Win & Fail
This Ramadan gave a bold example on how advertising, as an industry, is shifting. In this piece, we compare 2 big works of the same ad agency, J. Walter Thompson Cairo, to highlight the contrast that labelled one of them as the most successful campaign this season, and the other, from my judgment, an epic fail.
Crunch’s “Skenchizer”
Here are 5 reasons why this campaign, technically, won Ramadan:
1- It’s digitally-inspired.
The audience targeting was set precisely on the millennial generation to which Internet, social media accordingly, is an integral part of life. The campaign was well-aware of what triggers sarcasm and how much self-expression is valuable to them. The copy sounded fresh, looked bright and managed to create a comic strip-themed real situation.
2- It’s real.
There was no bullshit. No supernatural hallucinative action when you consume that product. The conversation was cutting-edge real, not inspired from 90s drama. It is what it is.
3- It’s not advertorial.
Seldom that I find an ad campaign that doesn’t focus on any part of the buying cycle, yet does it right. It doesn’t tell you how awesome that product tastes, or how mind blowing the mix of crunchy biscuit with the molten chocolate that will make you forget what time it is and just indulge into a sweet orgasm of endorphin-induced denial.
4- It’s seriously funny.
The copy has the distinctive taste of Eslam Hossam’s humor (Copywriter), it mimics the ridiculousness of our beloved parents & escalates the situation to even more surprising plots.
5- It’s relevant.
It strikes the generation gap perfectly. The topic is relevant to the audience who need a space to express their views on such topics through humor. More important, the topic is relevant to the brand. The brand is young, hip and easy-going. It stepped down from being an ego-centric brand and made itself open to the audience, who welcomed it graciously.
It‘s basically a meme
Such campaigns give millennials something that speaks their language, expresses their thoughts and opens room for discussion. These elements encourage hyper-accelerated sharing, meme adaptations and a collective urge to share the joke. When you translate this into old-school advertising, this is super effective word-of-mouth.
Vodafone’s “Power of Family”
This campaign did achieve much in production quality, cinematography & choreography. It’s a good video to watch once or twice and admire the nostalgic feelings it provokes. However, it failed to communicate the main advertorial message in which Vodafone had invested a big chunk of money and is, practically, the best feature offered by Egypt’s mobile operators. It just went unnoticed.
What To Learn?
There’s a new school of advertising thriving to keep the industry present among the revolution of digital content, it brings new approaches to classical advertising and challenges rigid market dynamics to lay ground for a brand new genre of advertising that is more interactive, more intuitive and succeeds in communicating brand messages to rising generations of the digital age. It’s becoming more evident that digital platforms are not just another means of one-way traditional communications. Success isn’t measured merely by views count or increase in page views and clicks (Likes/Followers). Internet evolved into strong major communities within societies, which impacted purchasing habits along with cultural influences and personality foundation.
In textbook terms, the market has already shifted.
Wondering who won Ramadan’s Telecom Race? Check out my review here
Digital Strategist Ibrahim Gamal Eldin fuses a background in media production and political science with expertise in digital marketing to build full-fledged digital marketing strategies, Arabic and English online content, and creative direction for digital advertising. His portfolio includes 30+ clients including: Google, Sony Music, USAID, Kevin Spacey Foundation, Amr Khaled and Carole Samaha.
