National Post from Toronto, Ontario, Canada • 44

VT ARKETING FINANCIAL POST, MONDAY, MARCH 2S, 2002 AD REVIEW Nokia makes a mess to convey its message Ml 1 f-t- ,1 -i'dri lTv iff opf Nokia Canada lia.s not made heavy use of'telcvision commercials, but its latest TV campaign is part of'a more-aggressive strategy to beef up the brand. Titled Wow Factor, the new HO-and (io-seeond ads are running ahead of'the Canadian debut of a Nokia personal-conimunications device, the Nokia 9290 Communicator. Created by TBWACliiatl)ay. the ads depict a far-f roin-typical morning at a codec shop in which a coH'ce pot explodes, an octogenarian man tap-dances, and a meteor shower occurs, but the patrons remain oblivious. But when one customer opens his Nokia 9290 Communicator, evcrj' eye is on it.

The spot, created by TBVAChiatDay ends with the tagline "It's like nothingyou've seen before." As well as a cell phone, the device has a colour screen, QWERTY keyboard, e-mail, Internet browsing and word-processing capabilities. Yet the ad isn't really about the device. "What the ad is about is conveying to people to look to Nokia for the newest, coolest, leading-edge technology'. For us to hang our hat on any particular product or technology is inappropriate, as it can be outdated in a month," said Lillian Tepera. director of marketing at Nokia Canada.

We asked two creative directors whether Nokia's strategy worked for them. In this 1992 Pepsi commercial, Cindy Crawford raised temperatures. In a remake of the ad, which ran last night, she was a mom in an SUV. Oscar night advertisers try to be as creative as Academy Award winners Little statue that sells ative products. The problem is, a simple idea has been rendered complex.

The ad takes 60 seconds to do what it should have done in 30 seconds. The nutty, three-part escalation device the commercial employs can be a very successful tool when the viewer is tipped to expect such inanitv. The folks at Cliff Freeman Partners (of Little Caesar's Randy Stein, Partner, Creative, Grip Limited This spot spends 90 of its time building up to one, quick moment that features the product. Spots like this work only when the viewer is captivated enough to hang in for the payoff. For an advertiser, that can be a risky proposition.

But not with this spot. This commercial had me capti 1 5 84.3 million vs. the 2001 Oscar's average audience of 42.9 million. In dollar terms, a 30-second spot cost just shy of 2-million in the 2002 Super Bowl compared with about in last night's Hollywood extravaganza. So while the Oscars hardly come cheap, the program remains a bargain next to the Super Bowl and corporations gain similar associated prestige and media hype as they would if they were to spend their money on the more expensive option.

In the United States, the ad industry and the news media be the remake, Ms. Crawford has become a supermom and is shown driving an SUV with two kids in the back seat. Anheuser-Busch a familiar presence on big-event television broadcasts, depicted country music star Tim McGraw annoying an audience member during a country music awards show. In the new spot for Bud Light, Mr. McGraw disturbs the man repeatedly by stepping over him to accept one award after another.

Frustrated, the man finally goes onstage himself to collect Mr. Mc-Graw's next award. "Don't forget to thank my tame; are masters of such an approach. Creating a hyperbolic world with casting, camera angles and pace allows the surreal to play out unhindered by its vated from the first second. I couldn't take my eyes off the TV.

It's quirky and It's engaging. And, as a bonus, the production values are As for that Patrick Ai.i.ossf.rv Marketing Wa tch Wilson gan buzzing several weeks ago about the new commercials being prepared for the Oscars. Here in Canada, there has been hardly a peep. mom," the singer drawls. "We're seeing more ads every year that are brand new and created specifically for the Academy Awards," said Susan Sewell, a spokeswoman for ABC I j.

"It's a function of the iV economies of scale," said HkJ Mike Cosentino, director iSjw of programming commu-v. nications for CTV, which Television, which has a contract to broadcast the show through 2008. The growth of advertis quick mo- Stein ment when the product eventually enters the scenario, it's just right It piques my curiosity enough to want me to find out more. In the end, Nokia took a leap of faith here and was rewarded with an outstanding and compelling piece of communication. On top of that, they got to feature an elderly man doing a jig in a diner and how often do you get to do that? Briony Wilson, Executive Vice President, Co-Creative Director, Wolf Advertising The basic idea isn't bad.

The production values are excellent. And you do get the message that Nokia has some inr.ov- Not so in the Nokia commercial. Why? Because it is shot in the "real world," so to speak, which puts it at odds with the surreal humour it employs. If we must be in the "real world," then better to use the meteor shower alone to illustrate the blase attitude of the patrons. The flaming coffee pot and crazy old man only serve to make the spot longer.

In the end, despite this mismatch between structure and tone, I did get the message that was intended. But I probably could have got it a little more quickly. Financial Post Move over men in tights. The Academy Awards is beginning to muscle in on the Super Bowl for bragging rights as the premier creative showcase in the United States for new advertising campaigns. During last night's broadcast of the 74th Annual Academy Awards, for instance, nine out of 19 advertisers contributed to the pomp and circumstance of the occasion by debuting creative work.

And as is the case with the Super Bowl, a number of the spots were created just for the event. Pepsi-Cola Co. ran a mixed animationlive action spot for Aqua-fina in which Robin Leach, in a voiceover, observes that most celebrities leave the Oscars empty handed. The soft-drink giant also aired a remake of a 1992 Diet Pepsi ad staring Cindy Crawford. In the original, which ran on the Super Bowl, a pair of eenage boys are shown ogling the supermodel.

In carried the Oscars in Canada. "Canada has fewer people than the state of California, so advertisers don't think it's worth it to spend the extra money." CTV does not disclose the amount it charges for advertising time on the Academy Awards. Jack Neary, president and er interest in the Academy Awards as a commercial staging ground is not surprising. Advertisers view it as one of a limited number of a prestige mass-participation TV events. After the Super Bowl, the Oscars regularly clock in as the second-most-watched program of the year.

According to Nielsen Media Re sor of the Academy Awards, along with Neutrogena, said "generally client budgets in Canada are too small for them to entertain creating new ads." Even Chrysler is running spots from its existing ad pool, he said. Other Academy Awards advertisers that ran existing creative included Wal-Mart, General Mills and Nestle. Neutrogena Corp. created an original promotion to highlight its status as co-presenting sponsor, but the new creative it developed ran before the Oscars. During the show itself, the company aired seven existing spots.

When it comes to the annual Super Bowl broadcast in Canada, advertisers demonstrate moderately more interest in doing their bit to turn the program into a unique event. Hostess Frito-Lay, also a BBDO account, is one of a handful of companies that produced new spots to run in the most recent U.S. gridiron final. Sunni Boot, president of media buying company Optimedia Canada, said it is curious that Canadian advertisers show even less interest in the Oscars than the Super Bowl when Canadian viewership of the Oscars is higher than it is for the Super Bowl. Nielsen Marketing Research reports the 2001 Oscars drew an average minute audience of 5.1 million Canadian viewers versus slightly more than three million for the Super Bowl.

Industry insiders frequently point to the Super Bowl's heavy young male skew as being a great attraction for advertisers. Young males are notoriously difficult to reach with television ads, since they spend most of their time doing other things. But Ms. Boot said the Academy Awards are still tremendously valuable to advertisers, not only because they generate a huge audience but also because the audience is highly involved. "There have been numerous studies that show the higher the involvement in the program, the higher the recall of your brand." Canadian advertiser involvement in the Oscars is bound to grow over time, she said, adding "I believe the learning from the Super Bowl will be transposed to the Academy Awards." Financial Post pallosserynationalpost.com chief creative officer of BBDO search, the 2002 Super Bowl drew an av Canada, which is the agency-of-record for JJ Chrysler Canada, a 3k co-presenting spon- erage audience of ZZSlK iiii i i i i 0 'M ESDI) Now more places to stay and earn PETRO-POINTS at Howard Johnson Hotels Inns across Canada.

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