Kodak's "gonna turn the schmaltz back up to 11"

It's been a sad tale that Kodak, the first name in consumer photography, has seen continuous downsizing and restructuring as it clings to a no longer extremely profitable analog business model. Its digital offerings to date have been, well, generally pretty awful compared to many of the major Japanese and European brands, offering superior devices, optics, and images. But Kodak's not taking it lying down -- oh no. This corporate internal-commercial-gone-YouTube-fodder, which was apparently so popular on the inside they decided to release it to the public, starts up the old hot air machine to pump out some business about next-gen Kodak cameras featuring GPS, integrated narrative ordering, facial recognition, and intelligent color metering, all of which will apparently result in memories so outstanding "Celine Dion will sing the theme song while riding along on a unicorn through a field of baby animals under a big blue sky! And there's not a damned thing you can do to stop it. You were a Kodak moment once, and BY GOD, you will be one again!" Guess we can't argue with that. Alright Kodak, your move. CES is next week, let's see whatcha got.

[Thanks, Eric]

[John @ Jan 2nd 2007 2:55AM]

Haha...Advantix....what a joke that was...

[Dustin @ Jan 2nd 2007 3:11AM]

I'm glad that these guys can be amusing.

and yeah, advantix. Good film, piss poor timing on pushing it out on the verge of the "digital revolution".

[Andrew @ Jan 2nd 2007 3:19AM]

Advantix was "good film" ?? Most 35mm stock was much better!

[John G @ Jan 2nd 2007 3:13AM]

I had an old kodack 4mp camera 2002-2005 It broke on me one day. (I put it through a lot of abuse including sand, rain, plenty of drops) Anyways so I decided to buy the fuji e900. What a mistake that was. My old kodack took better pictures than the new e900

[metal @ Jan 2nd 2007 3:31AM]

if I was howard dean I'd sue that guy.

[- @ Jan 2nd 2007 4:12AM]

"if I was howard dean I'd sue that guy."

Funny, I was thinking Balmer. He half-looked like he was going to start runnning around doing the monkey-boy too.

Decent ad though, the first few seconds had me think it was one of those eyeroll-inducing "back to basics" commercials companies do when their sales performance lags (Chevy *cough cough*)

[Paul Hillsdon @ Jan 2nd 2007 4:52AM]

That was freakin' amazing! Even better than the internal Microsoft vids.

This really reminded me of the old John Belushi rants from the early days of SNL. And I'm a teenager, so don't bring out the "old fogey" comments.

[liquid @ Jan 2nd 2007 3:49AM]

That video was awesome!

[LittleJoe @ Jan 2nd 2007 3:53AM]

Ha... fantastic.

I'm an avid PX-125 user though... so they better not be leaving my ass behind!

[Ehhh @ Jan 2nd 2007 4:06AM]

Kodak are laughing although they havent really joined the digital revolution with their products, guess who holds the most digital imaging patents in the world. Oh yeah that would be kodak everything from still cameras, video cameras projectors. *Chiching* They own it.

[Charlie Taylor @ Jan 2nd 2007 4:10AM]

I have sold two kodak cameras in a year working camera-retail.

By force.

Both came back within one week.

Just lay down and die already kodak!

[Brian @ Jan 2nd 2007 11:57AM]

Are you talking solely about the dslr's? I thought the point and shoots were simple and cheap... I thought they sold relatively well.

[Intrepid @ Jan 2nd 2007 4:41AM]

They paid out the Newton - ahahaha!

[I LOVE THE CAPS LOCK KEY @ Jan 2nd 2007 4:41AM]

At the end, that guy reminded me of Howard Dean... Arrraggghhhhh!


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D5FzCeV0ZFc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yZWmL0CrkmY

[Russ @ Jan 2nd 2007 5:27AM]

that was surprisingly funny. i liked the fact they could poke fun at advantix and the line "turn down your minidisc player, fire up your newtons".. heheh..

[fgdfgdfdfgdfg @ Jan 2nd 2007 5:36AM]

well funny. too bad that he was only talking nonsense. besides the GPS integration (which would ACTUALLY be a nice feature) noone needs all the stuff he mentions.

[PEZ @ Jan 2nd 2007 6:46AM]

Of course, you are speaking for yourself, right? Not everyone has need or has use for a fully equipped cellphone with similar features, and not everyone gets along with PCs or other such technology. Most people can point and shoot, and fromn the looks of it, integrating "such tech" into something most people already know how to use makes sense.

Speak for yourself dickwad.

[fgdfgdfdfgdfg @ Jan 2nd 2007 7:05AM]

erm... yeah.

maybe you could explain how "integrated narrative ordering" is supposed to be useful to ANYONE.

[Kurt Weiske @ Jan 2nd 2007 9:57AM]

integrative narrative technology? You've never gone on a photo shoot and not known where you took a certain picture. Which filter you had on, what your camera settings were. Sure, EXIF has some of that, but nothing compares to a commentary.

I used to shoot film, then use my Kodak MC3 multimedia widget to record a commentary and take a digital version of each shot.

[embee @ Jan 2nd 2007 7:06AM]

Steve Ballmer works for Kodak? WTF?

[peteremcc @ Jan 2nd 2007 8:54AM]

I've got a DX7590 and its great, and cheap too.

[Grail3x @ Jan 2nd 2007 8:59AM]

This reminds me of this commercial...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hIpn0-kTIH0

[Leonard Nimrod @ Jan 2nd 2007 9:36AM]

The 1st step to recovery is to admit you have a problem.

I really hope to see Kodak focused on making a quality product and pushing forward as the new leader in the digital hardware.

Good for you, Kodak!

[Billy Quasmo @ Jan 2nd 2007 9:38AM]

My question is, did they shoot this on Kodak Film or did they shoot this digitally?

[brett.chandler @ Jan 2nd 2007 10:05AM]

As amusing as the clip was (and it WAS funny), it strikes me as being five or six years too late. GPS integration is a fantastic idea. And it's already being done.

Yes, many of the features presented here are potentially worthwhile, but the devil's in the details, and Kodak isn't known for their ability to handle details anymore.

Kodak is a great brand, and a great company. I haven't written them off yet, because they're still at the top in a number of industrial and medical imaging fields and they still have the means to turn things around on the consumer side.

Good luck, Kodak.

[spil @ Jan 2nd 2007 10:06AM]

Next camera I buy is definitely going to be a Kodak.

This guy should replace steve jobs! That would make the keynotes more entertaining instead of playing some music at the start and him saying "One more thing..." I can imagine it now... "BOOM! This new iPhone is a fucking phone... AND AN IPOD. HOLY SHIT THIS IS THE BEST THING EVER!!! YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!

[revaaron @ Jan 2nd 2007 10:12AM]

I'm a pro-photographer and I love my SLR/n. I just wish they didn't give up on the pro-market.

[gorkon @ Jan 2nd 2007 10:18AM]

Engadget....have you even actually READ any of the reviews for some of the latest Kodaks? They are definitely not the worst cameras on the block but they are not the best either. I have a Kodak P850 and I love it. It does an ok job. My next Camera will be a DSLR. The thing I will miss from the Kodaks is they have some of the best menus around, in my opinion. They are easy to understand and pretty easy to navigate.

[Tomas @ Jan 2nd 2007 10:32AM]

Great work, Kodak. A very nice corporate vid - one of the best I've ever seen. Now get cracking and make some cutting-edge stuff to become a true player again.

[ChaoZ @ Jan 2nd 2007 10:44AM]

This video is actually a few months old, but it is indeed very funny. It really applies much more to the Kodak's graphic arts offerings (i.e. the professional print arena). There, they still exert considerable power.

[Jimmy C @ Jan 2nd 2007 11:13AM]

Hah, classic -- this guy comes from the Shatner school of acting...

[tundraboy @ Jan 2nd 2007 11:29AM]

Nice Shatner reverence there.

It is very refreshing to see a multi-billion dollar corporation that doesn't take itself too seriously. Oh they're serious about their business all right, and hopefully Kodak pulls it off.

[Charlie Taylor @ Jan 2nd 2007 12:20PM]

Actually, they don't make DSLR's anymore. Sure the camera's are easy to use, but anyone with an IQ of over 90 becomes frustrated with terrible photos and limited features quite quickly.

[acornhusk @ Jan 2nd 2007 12:07PM]

uh, my sd800 IS has everything (-gps, -narrative ordering +IS +came out last yr).

[Flalex @ Jan 2nd 2007 1:01PM]

uhhh, anybody noticed that the computer they show a clip of is running windows 98? talk about going to the future

[Josh S. @ Jan 2nd 2007 1:17PM]

Ha. That was pretty good.

For regular ol' consumers like me, Advantix was actually pretty good. Too bad (for them) that digital overtook it so soon.

Good luck Kodak. Make some cool gadgets for us!

[Kiteless @ Jan 2nd 2007 3:22PM]

This rocked! If it didn't cost a million dollars a second, I would suggest that Kodak run this during the super bowl.

I have a Kodak Z612, their answer to the Canon S3 IS. It is bests the Canon in almost every single feture (including price). Only thing Kodak has no proven to me yet is if it will last as long as a Canon, but for now, they have me as a customer.

Keep it up Kodak!

- Kiteless

[crypt @ Jan 2nd 2007 4:37PM]

Advantix (Kodak's name for APS-format) wasn't bad, it was just that you could buy the same exact film stock in 35mm format (2-3 times the area) and get an image that was basically 2-3 times the resolution. APS's advantage was that it enabled Canon to make the IXUS (Elph) series cameras that were very small. The resolution was only good enough for 4x6 or maybe 5x7 prints though. So if you wanted to make an 8x10, you'd notice that the image was fuzzier than it should be. 35mm didn't have that problem, but most of the time people only made 4x6's, so the extra resolution was a "waste".

APS was the first film format smaller than 35mm that was popular at all. Remember Kodak's other formats? 110 and 126 instamatic? Disc? They were horrid, quality-wise. Instamatic didn't have any kind of film pressure plate, so images were often out of focus. Disc used a piece of film the size of a fingernail. Both were attempts to get people to use less film (and less chemicals for processing), but pay the same price. APS sort of worked for a while, because people liked the small cameras. But digital came along and wiped out any advantage. Compact digital cameras can be much smaller than any useful film camera.

Anyway, Kodak has got to be

[Swizzy @ Jan 2nd 2007 6:42PM]

I got a Kodak v610 for christmas. I had asked for a Casio Exilim, but my dad took a chance and got the kodak. I considered returning it for the exilim, but after playing around with my new kodak for about 30 minutes, i was totally sold. It has on-the-fly panoramic, plus the great 10x optical zoom (38-380mm), the design on the body is amazing, and the built in bluetooth is extremely convenient. The biggest con is the 6mp resolution. This is just for snapshot type stuff. If i cared about print quality, i would have got a DSLR.

[Trevor @ Jan 2nd 2007 6:45PM]

Anyone ever see the rival-CEO character in Weird Al's UHF? I think they used his character for this. The dialog patterns are nearly identical.

Still I like how they made fun of themselves with style. I hope it's not all lip service. I hope Kodak really does a 180.

Of course, HP had a nearly indentical pep-talk several years ago when their stock was at a all-time low. They said they had all these patents for new photo technology that would change the world of digital photography and that new products based on these patents will usher them as a leader in the digital camera market rather than a distant follower. Guess what? All talk. Not one product with this ground-breaking technology ever saw the light of day. Their digital cameras are even worse in comparison to their rivals than even 3 years back. Pathetic.

Kodak and HP treat the digital camera market like Ford and GM treat the domestic car market. Rather than compete on technology with the Japanese, they compete on price. Offer an inferior product in terms of both design and quality, and sell them to un-savy customers who purchase based on price alone. Take a look, the only place Kodak and HP cameras really sell is Walgreens, Walmart and the like. We all know how savy Walgreens an Walmart tech buyers are.

[engadget @ Jan 2nd 2007 7:13PM]

In term of competing in the world market, I have for Kodak as much hope as I have for Ford. That is my money is elsewhere, but I still root for you.
It's like an ex-girlfriend that you still have a soft spot for, but will never go back to on merit alone.

[Woody @ Jan 2nd 2007 8:25PM]

I sold digital cameras for six years, and the Kodaks outsold the others by a large margin. Mainly because you could demo them and prospective buyers could figure them out, where the others had cryptic menus that took hours with the manual in hand to begin to understand. Most people just want to go out and take shots of their kids playing sports or at gatherings. They really only wanted something to replace a 35mm snapshot camera, and they wanted it as easy to use. Kodak came closer to that than any other offering. I cant tell you how many times people came back to the store to say how happy the were with their Kodak. The HPs kept coming back for returns, though--I kept thinking HP should just stick to printers.

[Moogle @ Jan 2nd 2007 10:25PM]

I bought my brother a very nice kodak digital camera a long time ago. I think it was one of their early digital models, it was a brick - large, square, and heavy. I don't even think it was 2 megapixels, but it took amazing pictures, very clear and colorful.

When it broke years later, I replaced it for my brother with the latest in that line of cameras. The new one was smaller, had a higher pixel count, better interface and LCD, and it took crap for pictures. He was pretty depressed by the drop in quality. Somewhere along the line it seems Kodak sacrificed their quality optics in order to keep up in the stupid numbers game - more megapixels for less money.

The commercial was funny, but I hope that their 'clever' color repair software is more than just compensation for poor quality components.

[Charles Slater @ Jan 3rd 2007 7:31AM]

Why do some Americans think it necessary to use bad language (dickhead, dickwad etc.)? Can't they express themselves any other way?
Pity, as there are so many good American writers.

[Brian Paul Ehni @ Jan 3rd 2007 3:45PM]

I was thinking more of Peter Finch as Howard Beale in "Network". "I'm as mad as Hell, and I'm not going to take this anymore!"

[Christopher @ Jan 4th 2007 10:15PM]

That was surprisingly entertaining.

Does this mean Kodak can actually have relevance again? I'll believe it when I see it.

[Bill Kerr @ Jan 8th 2007 4:24PM]

I sort of work for big K outside USA.
If someone can tell ME where they are going...
The mighty can always tumble but the REAL winners get up and DO whats required to get back...I think EK can do it so....less negatives eh?

[Paco @ Feb 1st 2007 10:28PM]

I think I would buy something from kodak simply due to the totaly fucking badassness of this video. Companies should have real ads like this.
The playing some crap pop song from 10 years ago and talking over it while showing CGI of your product was stupid about the time they started doing it. I can't honestly think of one product I buy that I actually see ads on the tv.