Modern commercials are a funny thing. Ad agencies are trying to figure out how to give their commercials viral appeal while balancing that against providing company or product information.
The Old Spice guy campaign is more or less universally lauded as an example of how to reboot a company’s image and turn a commercial idea into a viral phenomenon. However, the videos, and the campaign’s subsequent expansion onto Twitter, focused on entertainment and branding: We knew what kind of brand Old Spice wanted to be and we laughed at (most of) Isaiah Mustafa’s quips and sound bites. Old Spice prioritized those elements instead of explaining how its products work or even what they smell like.
That worked for Old Spice, because most people can intuit how deodorant works; the company wasn’t reinventing the wheel, it was reinventing its brand. Old Spice didn’t need to provide detailed product information to make its campaign successful. Other companies, like Google, don’t have the same luxury.
Google’s products are often less obvious to an everyday audience. Google Goggles? Do you wear them? Are they on your phone? Is that some Mountain View euphemism? Google has the task of both explaining its new tech and providing a viral kick with its ads — that’s not easy.
Despite the odds, the technology giant has done a great job with its latest round of marketing campaigns by applying some basic principles in some very creative ways. Read on for a look at what Google did right and what it could do better.
By Trent Wolbe 
posted Jan 14th 2011 4:16PM 
We were wandering around the crowded, noisy halls of this year's NAMM show when a particularly freaked-out drum pattern struck our eardrums. We followed the sound and encountered a gray-haired, bespectacled gentleman tapping and tweaking knobs so professionally that we couldn't help checking out his name tag. Imagine our delight when we saw it was no less than Roger Linn, designer of the Linndrum and Akai's MPC60. If you're not familiar with those terms, no matter: let's just say that Dr. Dre and any other producer who's banged out a synthetic beat on a box owes this guy their entire career. Mr. Linn has partnered with Dave Smith Instruments to create the Tempest, a 16-pad beauty with enough knobs, buttons, and sequencing muscle to keep you inspired for endless hours in the studio. And the sound on this thing! It does include digital samples like a traditional MPC, but where it really shines is in the analog synthesis and effects department. It takes a lot for a drum machine to feel unique and valuable these days -- especially at the $2000 they'll be asking for it in June -- but the Tempest, from our brief time with it, sounds like it'll be well worth the investment for serious producers. Video of Mr. Linn's demo after the break.
