Advertising Age has taken a deep dive into Palm's latest string of unsettling, polarizing ads -- you know,
the ones with the girl -- in an attempt to explain the company's intention with the creepy spots. The industry paper spoke with Gary Koepke, the co-founder and executive creative director at Modernista, the company which developed and produced the short clips. According to Gary, he's
happy that viewers find the commercials upsetting, stating that "The Pre is probably being talked about more than other phones right now because of the marketing and advertising, and that's a good thing. Could the ads work harder to show exactly how the phone works? Yes, but we knew it would be polarizing people to have a woman not shout at them and tell an interesting story." Apparently the agency is taking its own stab at Microsoft's
Seinfeld / Bill Gates strategy, which means viewers don't necessarily have to like (or even understand) the ads... as long as they keep talking about them. Of course, that game plan may work for a company like Microsoft, which arguably has nothing to lose if they run a few ill-received spots. Palm, on the other hand, won't get a second chance to make a first impression with a lot of people, and since its fortune is currently riding on the device these ads attempt to sell to consumers, it's a pretty risky proposition. C'mon, how could the folks that brought you the
Foleo be wrong?
posted Aug 4th 2009 9:48AM
PALM / SPRINT are brain dead for hiring them.
They have a better phone than that iPhone, yet they messed up the commercials.
LOOOLOL
One of the most widely read tech blogs is talking about it, and will likely get over a hundred posts. Others will pick up on it on their blogs too.
Keeps Palm Pre in the news cycle = Free advertising regardless if you like the ad or not.
Couldn't agree more. I own a Palm Pre and love it but those ads freak me out.
Palm Pre = Great
Palm Pre Ads = Opposite of Great
Not quite the message Palm should be sending.
I guess people just have no artistic talent especially for tech geeks to appreciate the ad. The pale girl reminds me of a living character from a Renaissance painting. The Chinese Shaolin Kung Fu Masters represent the amazing multitasking feature in Palm Pre by simply flicking your fingers.
1) Make Creepy ad
2) Get people to talk about them
3) ????
4) Profit
Well considering the early PS3 ads this one is relatively down to earth. Finding a good ad agency must be harder than you think.
Its your fault I just blew coffee all over my monitor when I read your stupid comment.
"they have a better phone than iPhone my ass".
As for the ad women, at least they make you notice the product with a MILF.
I bet she shags like a minx!
Yeah that phone would sell itself if they only explain what it does
am i like the only person in the world who likes ans appreciates them? i still don't like the phone of course, but the ads are great!
Hey it's not the first time Macaulay Culkin was in drag!
Hey, stop saying the Palm Pre is better than the iPhone. That is YOUR personal opinion and nothing more. The majority of people still think the iPhone is better, including me.
better than iphone, lol and they say apple fans are like sheep. u can honestly say with a straight face this phone is better than iphone? well your in the minority by about 95% of the entire worlds population. even the reviews online are all in favor of iphone.
This ad isn't the one that's entirely creepy. There is one where the chick is talking about reincarnation and randomly at the end it says, "Palm Pre, buy it or you'll go straight to hell" or I dunno, that's the message I got.
When did Macaulay Culkin get a sex change?
They have a better OS than the iPhone.
Better phone? Meaning overall, and build quality (of which the Pre is a wiggly joke)? No.
The first ad with the orange dancers wasn't bad but now they're weird and stupid.
the "Best Phone" is very subjective. I just got an iPhone 3GS, and it is far better than the Blackberry Bold, Tour, Storm.. All the HTC models I have used, and even far better than the Palm Pre.
The ads suck and what Gary Keopke DOESN'T understand is when people talk about the ad they say "did you see that creepy ad with a woman doing ?!?! How stupid" They don't know what the product is or even talk about the product so Palm is not really getting any traction from these...stuuuuuuuuuuuupid
yeah, I never liked these ads
reminds me of Alice in wonderland.
Seriously guys (n girls ?), what's so creepy about the ads? Personally I don't see it, the ad is not creepy. The girl is pretty, although her skin is pale, and I care not for her hairstyle, she is pretty nonetheless. Why are you guys acting like you've never seen a pale-skinned actress/model, they're like a dime a dozen, this shouldn't faze you. The only reason these ads fail hard, is because they fail to sell the product, not because of some NON-existent creepiness. These ads fail to show the features of the Pre, and why it would be beneficial to choose a it over other phones(which should be the sole purpose of any gadget advertisement).
shinrajp....GTFO
If you think art fart pretentious crap like this is beautiful go back to notcot or something.
I agree completely with shinrajp. I think the problem with the add is that it can also be related to surrealism [it reminds me of Renée Magrite's paintings], which is a movement that represents the unconscious: Carl Gustav Jung refers to it as the "Shadow", the part of our personality that represents our desires and fears, specially our fears. The add is creepy because the actress looks as though she were dead and moves stiffly like a doll (corpse).
Has anyone watched The Cell, with Jennifer Lopez? There's a part in which Vince Vaughn dives into her corrupted unconscious and arrives at a beach where there are to women sitting on the sand, and they talk and move like dolls, always returning to their original posture: a pretty creepy picture for a pretty creepy and great film.
Ś̅͌̅̂ͣo̩̮͓̪͚̎̑̏ͥ́m̹̬̱̮̳̗͈͘e̤̭͍ͫ̄o̰͛̎n҉̜̹͓̪e͎̜͕ͫ ͚s͎͗̐̿ĥ̸ͭ̓͗o͔ů̷͔̍͗͆ͧ̏l͚̞d̢ͧ̌ ͫ҉̙ͅm͔͕a̩̗̰ͥ͂͠k̮̩̪͕̰̯̆̐́̓̇̀e̖̱̲ͭ̒ͪ̿͞ ̲̭̭͕̰͖͈̎̏͊̉ͣͬͮ̽̚͢a̯̰͚̥͐͊̊ ͛҉̮̝͖̦̀Z̵̗̱͓̭̀͒ͥͣ̕ā͢҉͇͘l̦̲̓͐͝ǧ̘͇͎̦͕͌̐ͯ́͡o̳̲̤̭͍̲̘͗ͭ͛͂ͦ͒̚-̃̏̌̓̋ͭ͏̼̫̠̲̤i̸̜͚̯̰̹̳̣̬͛̈ͅs̬̭̰̬̘̜̜̉͆̓̕ề̖̦̞̅́̅́̀d̷̛̪̝̊̽̚ ̴̧̹̠̣̋̂v͖̪̳̻̔ͭ̾͆ȩ̸̱̹͈͎̤̲̖͗̏ͯ͒́r̼̠̭͉ͣ̄̓̑͒̉̚͢͜s̱̝͔͉̬̝̙͚̰̣̜̘̏͂ͦ͊̐ͭͯ̈̽͐͒̏ͪ͞ị̶̴̛̩͚͔̣͇̜̤͖̯͚̘̙͔̳̻̝̪ͨͧ̇͗ͤ̉̓ͬͯ̆̈́͐̑ͨ̔̒ͣ̚̚ǫͭͪͧ̋ͦ͒̇ͫ͂̎͆̌ͮ͛҉̣̥̝̹̤̬̝͓̣ͅnͬͭͤ͒ͩͨ҉̵̢͖͖̺͖͖̫̭͍͓̭̲͚̳̬͖͙͇͖ ̷̷̹̞̯̝͕͈̺̤̊͋̀̎ͨ̈ͤ͛̇̑̅̈ͣ́ͫ̑̕ơ̧̫̮̝̪̪͔̘̮̼̬̟̗̻̘̲̻̥̝̳͗̋̈̇̓ͪ̂ͦͯ͛̚͡f̨̙̫̱̫̪̺̬̯͇͉̯̭̣͒ͩ̌̓̏ͪ͋̈͂͒ͩ͋̽ͭ̓͋ͤ͟͠ ̡̮̻͚͋͂͑̑͟͢͜͝ͅţ̨̢͈̝͈̈ͧ͊̇ͣ͋̈́͘͟ͅh̨̝̘̣͉̱̙̼̙͖̟͙̯͖̫́ͪ̏̌ͤͫ̈́ͪͥ͋͂͛̋̔̓̔ͩ́̕i̶̴̸̧͍͈͓̜̼̰̗͖͎̠̹ͤ͂͛̿̽ͧ̈́͌̓ͩ̈ͧ̈́ͅs̵̺̣̭͓̤̬̖̯̾̓͌͗ͬ̾͛ͧ̑ͤͦ̈̐͂ͯͨ̽̈ͭ͜͟͢͞
S̡̋̓̅͡͡͏͖̼͈̤̗͈̰̥͍̮̖̬̼͈͢ͅͅH̡̝̻͕͕̥̔͂̓́̀̎ͣ̓̽ͭͯ̐̊̂̽̚͜E͕̱̗̭̫͇ͨ̾̅͊̄ͨ̍͘ ̴̰̗̫͈̭̦̰̙͕͔̦̣̻̬̟̖̻͆̆͛̐̅̽ͧͫ̔̋ͦ̋̃ͥ̈̋̀͘͟Č̵̡̯̥̻̳͉͖́ͭ͑ͫͣͥ͒̈́͆͑̕̕O̴͍̱̭̤̰̻͚͙̺͚̰͉̬͖͍̥͊̏̔̈̾ͫ̎ͨ̌̌ͬ͐ͬ̿͗M̴̡̨̯̯̹̳̖͊̉̊̉ͤ͌͐ͨ͛̈́ͤͬ̌̌̽ͭ͠E̺̻̦̖͉̘̪͖͚͖̞͕̭̭̺͕̠̯ͫ̄͆̇͌̄ͫ̆̋̒͗͘͢ͅSͫͬͬ̅͐͋ͨͦ͑ͣ͏̧̗͚̯̻̜̯̳̮͓͚̦̟͇̼̹͜͞͝~̶̘̯̩̯̼͈̥̘̦̝ͩ̊̄̐ͪ͂ͥ͋ͥ͠͝!̨͓̦̯̞̝̖̩̥̟̠̯̲̩̒̇̃̇̈ͬͮͥ̄̈́̇͛ͯ̈͜͠!̧̉̆ͫ̉ͤͥ̽̂͆́͡҉̷̭̬͚̦̤̟̤̪̼̼̞͇͔̝̺̲̤͕!̷̈ͬͫ̑̑́̍̑͒͆͡͏̸͉̹̭͔̻̱͙̗͍!̙̼̪̥̥͉̹̜̳̘̟̩͈̥̱͕̮̠̫̈́ͩ́̌͐̇͑ͭͥ̐͊̎̈ͪͭͮ̂́!̭̟̬̦̰̜̠̱̩͎̮̭͉̺͂͂ͬ̄ͯ̏ͫͬ̃ͪͯ̀́ͅ
How convenient for the ad agency to say "oh, yeah, that negative creepy public feedback is exactly what we were aming for"...
A bunch of geeks talking about the ads - geeks who already know about the Pre - is not a success.
So what makes you think the world ends at the borders of Engadgetstan? This ad appeared on TV and on many mainstream, general-interest websites. It's a good bet that more than just geeks watched it.
All press is good press.
>> "A bunch of geeks talking about the ads - geeks who already know about the Pre - is not a success."
Exactly. WE know what the Palm Pre is. Many of US already have one. It's the REST of the world that needs good, clean, descriptive ads.
I do like the old iPhone ads.. "This is an iPhone... this is how you browse the web... this is how you make a phone call..."
Palm's ads show a dead-looking girl talking about reincarnation... although you can really see the black Palm Pre against her white skin...
Hey, that's show biz.
Worked on me. I find them disturbingly mesmerizing. And while the actress is not my "type" I find myself attracted to her.
+1, but the fair, porcelain-skinned chick is probably my type. (i.e. Laura Harris in Dead Like Me).
I don't know what everyone else's problem is, but she is totally HOT. As long as nobody says Macaulay Culkin.
Oh, damn, there it goes again.
oh yea, I'd hit it.
Bing. Bing. Bing. Promote Microsoft much lol.
Anyway, yeah they probably could have done more to showcase the features but companies seem to love ads these days that don't really show off the product.
xD
like when you're driving, all the red lights ahead of you turning green, like, google google google.. imagine that....
This reminds me of those Scientology commercials that recently came out.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zgsFh87RCU0&feature=SeriesPlayList&p=A4334F9B5F37833A&index=1
Yes, and notice all of the "nice" comments posted at the same time... Almost as if they were told to post that.
this reminds me of those scientology commercials.. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zgsFh87RCU0&feature=SeriesPlayList&p=A4334F9B5F37833A&index=1
And they remind me of the old Enron commercials. Does this mean Palm is going bust????
at least it isn't as bad as all the Asians running around
"Isn't as bad?" I'm sure we could arrange a video where people in white sheets run around a burning cross, if that's what you want...
that would work great. ppl would really be talking about palm then
I HATE THESE ADS
they are so fakeh.
Hate to break it to you, but all advertising is 'fakeh'
Not sure that being creeped out makes me more likely to purchase a phone. Quite the opposite. Her portrayal of a spokesmodel reminds me of some kind of hellish beast that has taken the form of a cute-but-kind-of-not-pretty-enough girl who is about to go all Glenn Close rabbit-in-the-pot on your ass. No? Weird. It must just be me, then.
I see it more that her eyes will soon become large black glassy orbs and her mouth will widen ear to ear with pointy shark like teeth. She also may have additional smaller mouths that slide out of each other as to keep up with current Hollywood monster trends. Now if that doesn't say buy my product nothing does.
"Buy it or this monster will kill you"
Death threats can be oddly motivating
I Think the ads awesome and the girl in those ads is cute too!
+are * (can't edit mah comments, sry)
that creepy chick looks exactly like macaulay culkin
F, you beat me to the punch! I couldn't agree more. Some how he landed Mila Kunis, in fact I hate even thinking about it.
What exactly was wrong with the foleo, besides the fact that it was 3 years ahead of its time? An affordable ($500) ARM-based netbook running Linux with tight integration with your smartphone (yes, unlike popular belief was running just fine as an independent unit and did not need a smartphone to function) and instant on capability. Netbooks are starting to move to ARM only now (and changing their name to smartbooks) with major vendors n board for the transition. Most smartbooks run a variant of Linux as Windows doesnt work with ARM architecture.
soooo... why all the foleo hate?
+1. I thought the Foleo was the answer to Josh's earlier conundrum... http://www.engadget.com/2009/07/10/editorial-taking-the-iphone-3gs-off-the-job-market/
I get the Borg Queen from Star Trek image in my mind everytime I see this commercial
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LIdXmC9a3oU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r-qEH6SnAzE
Do you WANT to be spammed by countless idiots? No? Then why are you posting your handles on engadget?
I have it there for Joystiq purposes since so many people asked me....no big deal...my PSN friendslist is full now, but no problem to get messages from people....lol
@ Chris D.
"I get the Borg Queen from Star Trek image in my mind everytime I see this commercial"
I got the same impression! Totally makes me think of Alice Krige...
I'd hit that.... if she'd just stand still for a few minutes.
Worst ad of the year, and i don't even want to talk about the Reincarnation one! They try to hard to be classy, but they FAIL at selling the product.
Bad or not they created the hype they needed for the product. Even engadget is helping in a way.
This is nothing new for Palm. Back in the '90s they went after geek wood with print ads featuring a naked girl seated with a Palm Pilot strategically placed to hide her genitals.
these are the worst commercials i've ever seen...I feel like they were made by the since seeing these commercials I've actually lost some interest in the phone... and I have sprint... and I'm eligable for an upgrade... I may just switch to AT&T at this point and snap up an iPhone honestly. I feel like the creative came from Maude Lebowski and the Nihilists! It's just aweful!
4 ellipses in a single paragraph; you're on a roll today!
That is one of the worst comments I've ever seen. Missing words, insane use of ellipses, aw(e)ful spelling. Not to mention I hate hyperbolic statements that are far from true. Unless you honestly think that these are the WORST commercials you have EVER seen.
I like the ads, personally. I don't find them to be creepy at all. They may not be terribly effective in bringing new customers to Palm/Sprint, but they do grab your attention.
Just my opinion.
wow you guys are nasty. I'm sorry this was one of the wost comments you've ever read. I didn't know that there was an anti-ellipse movement at Engadget. I'm at work and doing a million things at once; so sorry for the spelling errors and missing words. I'll try to keep the comments up to your level. But how about next time you actually comment on the topic at hand CBgoding. At least PDubnyc had something to add to the thread. You on the other hand just seem to leave nasty little comments throughout without actually saying anything about the ads.
1- I like the ads.
2- I like her.
Thanks.
this.
I like how she talk lifelessly, but act like shouting.
They are boring and instantly forgettable when finished. Not disturbing.
Gabriel from Constantine.
Personally, I've seen a whole heck of a lot worse (except possibly that 2nd "traumatizing edition" - is that a real commercial or someone's bedroom mashup?) so I'm really more concerned about the advertising agency's position rather than the actual concept of the commercial. One realises that the old adage of "there's no such thing as bad publicity" no doubt is still upheld by the advertising industry but I can't help thinking that anything that repels customers is not a good thing. You do not want your customers to be reminded of something they don't like when they see your product unless your product will make the bad thing go away. As an extreme example, I could beat a puppy to death in a commercial to advertise Product A. I'm sure that will get the advert talked about (and probably me arrested) but I don't really see it shifting any units of Product A because viewers will have been repelled by the commercial.
It's fine to leave viewers intrigued, even to the point of a "what the hell was all that about" moment, but you don't want actually repel them.
yes you do.. have you read the comments? I and others have been repelled.
Read the comments on Engadget? Are you nuts?
There hasn't been an ad posted on Engadget where some group hasn't been repelled.
The sad thing is that they still think their tantrums translate into a indisputable fact that everyone shares their views.
Reminds me of Summer Glau, at least the way she talks, when she played River Tam in Firefly and Serenity.
That hint of insanity.
I like. It makes me want to buy a Pre though.
I am taking my PRE back because of these horrendous ads.. LOL
Actually, I don’t have a PRE and these ads don’t come close to even entice me to buy one. There are some here who have incredible imaginations, but you are the exception and not the rule. If Joe Plumber doesn’t get the ads then it isn’t happening for the PRE.
I wouldn’t call the ads creepy, more like “crappy”.. Remember the Miller Beer “Dick” ads, they were stupid too. The ad agency was eventually fired.. Let me make a prediction. These ads will flop and the ad agency will be fired too.
And you pretty much base this on nothing more than a overly dramatic reaction on your part trying to one up all of the other "OMG this ad is sooooooo epic failz!! LOLz" postings.
Congrats!
That's a woman? I thought it was McCauley Culkin
Well, the "traumatizing edition" is kinda unpleasant, but the one above it is ok -- I'm not sure how could anyone be creeped out by it.
"The Pre is probably being talked about more than other phones right now because of the marketing and advertising" - uhhhh not really. Aside from a handful of enthousiasts, I still don't know anyone who even knows what it is, let alone cares.
These ads are what you call an epic fail and their ad execs who keep touting it failed even harder.
There's nothing sexier than a blonde, pale white girl, speaking softly while holding a Palm Pre.
I really don't understand you, guys.
He would be wrong about people talking more about it. I've yet to hear one single person mention the Pre since its launch. But one person I know bought a Blackberry Storm, but he gets quiet and doesn't say anything when others talk about the iPhone. He knows he made a mistake.
Pre is cool, I'm sure, but it's not taking the world by Storm, unless you mean that literally.
Her face looks so lifeless, she creeps me out and I love her all at the same time lol
She looks like the Borg Queen
i'd hit that!
Spot on analysis JT!
If you have a brand that's recognised by the viewers of a specific advert then you can use non benefit related adverts. That’s brand advertising and a company like MS can afford to do it (both financially and brand building). If you don't have that recognition - and Palm doesn't have general consumer recognition - then you have to play to the benefits of the product for the target audience; product advertising. It's not rocket science, it's not even the complicated part of marketing.
Problem is that Ad agencies don't win awards for product adverts, they win awards for "conceptual adverts" and that's how they get their next customer. Personally I'd want the agency that shows me the 5-10% uptick in sales from their ads and have no awards at all. Rather too often ads are chosen by marketing directors on the basis of THEIR tatstes and not their targets and who just want to be able to say to their (cool) freinds; "Have you seen my latest advert?" Blech.
D
Well we dont know how effective the ads are. So honestly, all of the pronouncements of how this ad is or will turn people off are just noise.
The thing about Palm branding, is that they didn't have a brand from 2002-2009. They had good devices, but no instant recognition like a Microsoft or Apple or Google. They dont have general consumer recognition, so they have to launch the Pre and build a brand-new brand image at the same time. Considering what they what they had to go on, this was the better move. A good deal of their potential customers were teens or kids when their last big hit, the Palm Pilot, was popular.
And no, marketing directors dont do ads to just show off to their friends. That's real money being spent on them, and they have higher ups to answer to, who have to give the ok for these spots before they go out.
If anything it makes the ads more conservative because of this.
Palm has just hired a new Senior Vice President (high position!) of "Brand Design".
No, I have NO idea what an SVP of Brand Design does, but it'll be interesting to find out!
@Look_Around_you
I think we'll have to agree to disagree on your points and the ones you make in reply to "bill"
Comments from potential consumers that they think the ads are nonsense is called feedback, not noise.
As for brand advertising being the better move; I've never seen it work for anyone other than the market gorillas. It didn't even work that well for IBM in the 90's, maybe it would for MS, but Palm isn't MS.
And yes, marketing directors DO create ads for their own egos and no, there's no-one "higher up" in marketing than the marketing director who probably didn't pay for qual(itative) or quant(itative) analysis in focus (groups) so doesn't have an expected audience response. Admittedly they do have to asnwer to the rest of the board if they get it wrong.
Emotion to connect to targets? Maybe for perfume. Maybe once the needs higher up the hierarchy are satisfied but for technology purposes it's primarily functional need, then intangibles.
Let's see how well this advertising approach goes.
IDK about the better phone part, but they have royally screwed up these commercials. Absolutely nothing about them makes me want to buy a Pre. In fact all I feel like doing while watching this commercial is finding that girl and cock-slapping her. Congratulations Palm your ad campaign has turned into a campaign for brutality against women.
hahahahahah +1
I'd like to find the idiots who work for the advertising agency and slap them around with a trout (or cock). Its always funny to see advertisers use their mastery of pseudo-psychology in believing that they can manipulate the public into buying something based on negative publicity alone. There has to existing appeal for a brand in order for the "air of mystery" theme to have a positive effect.
Wow, I love the ads. Especially that second one - it's almost like "Blue Jam" in advertising form. Next time I see that girl's face on my TiVo as I'm fast-forwarding through other companies' commercials, I'll stop and watch.
I find the Juggler commercial reminiscent of the movie "Ghost Story" where Alice Krige delivered the line "I will take you places you've never been. I will show you things you have never seen and I will see the life run out of you." If you don't know what I am talking about go rent the movie.
I think sometimes ad agencies tend to forget the two basic principals of viewer attention, those being action and humor. We're supposed to like the phone because some damn albino can't get over herself? I don't think this.
I think sometimes ad agencies tend to forget the two basic principals of viewer attention, those being action and humor."
Huh? action and humor? if you are under 18, then yes.
The actual basic principals of viewer attention are emotion, connection, and perhaps empathy.
-Pick an emotion
-Connect to people that have that emotion.
-And empathize that you product will contribute to that emotion, if it is a good one, or take that emotion away if it is bad.
These ads aren't that bad, they make sense and get the point across. Tech blogs are just freaking out over them.