Feb 2007

2

“Marketing crash ‘n burn” case study

by Lani Voivod

Dear Toshiba,

I couldn’t help but notice your ad at the back of the February ’07 issue of Wired magazine. You feature a photo of two gentlemen holding hands – one old-school corp-dude in a suit and tie, one new-school bohemian in jeans and sandals. Wait – I’ve got the photo right here:

 toshiba.JPG

This is an eye-catching ad. I especially loved it when I first saw Apple going with this juxtoposition months and months ago in their TV spots. You know, like this one:

applecommercial.jpg

Only trouble is, your tagline. You say, with an amazing sense of irony:

Don’t copy. Lead.

Now, I love the tagline, don’t get me wrong. But if you’re going to stand behind a mission that champions originality, don’t you think you should try creating an ad campaign that doesn’t entirely rip off another major computer/tech/innovation brand?

Maybe I missed something. Maybe YOU thought of this campaign first, Apple copied you, I never noticed, and this is your way of telling the world Apple is a big ol’ copy cat. Somehow, though, I doubt this is the case.

Nevertheless, I went the extra step to give you the benefit of the doubt. I followed the dedicated link you gave me beneath your ad’s “CFO & CIO, So happy together” picture: LetTheHarmonyBegin.com.

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but I think you forgot to finish this website.

There are three pictures of unlikely pairings (the CFO/CIO pic included), a place to submit Toshiba testimonials, some ambient office noise, and a “send to a friend” link, just in case I want to show my friends…what, exactly? Three pictures?

Oh – to be fair, I DID forget to mention the *hilarious* rollover word bubbles. And by *hilarious* I mean so useless and uninspiring I can only believe it was placeholder copy that never got outfitted with the real stuff.

Now, I’m not into tech jive. But I DO know if you’re willing to spend tens of thousands – if not HUNDREDS of thousands – of bucks on a back-of-the-mag advertisement, and then develop a complementary webpage, the the least you could do is include some dynamic copy in the word bubbles. I understand that kind of value-added entertainment is a no-brainer to any decent Web developer.

Did I miss the “fun” link? The “wow” factor? I just don’t get what you want me to take away from this experience?

If you want to talk to Epiphanies, Inc. about how you could improve your next ad campaign so you have a chance in Hades to get in on this whole viral marketing game, please please please, connect with us. It’s a darn shame to see a company with so much potential (and marketing moulah!) waste it on an unoriginal, unfinished effort.

Heed your own “Don’t copy. Lead.” advice, Toshiba, and you’re bound to do better next time.

For FREE articles, tips, and strategies designed to catapult your content and electrify your business (and get creative AND effective with your own marketing efforts), sign up for our ezine, “The Inciter,” at EpiphaniesInc.com!

  • http://moblogsmoproblems.blogspot.com Mack Collier

    LOL! Hadn’t noticed the Toshiba ad yet, good catch Lani!

  • http://www.WebActionGroup.com Steve Forkey

    Great incite! (I purposely misspelled that – A-Ha!)
    I have seen the Apple ad and I loved it; they have great creative. The entire series is very well done.
    I agree with your comments to Toshiba; it appears to be a mixed message and they should know better. (It also takes forever to load.)

    Someday, when I get up the courage I will request your comments on our Web site.

    Thanks for thought provoking commentary.

  • http://www.acorncreative.com/blog/2007/02/21/simple-ideas-are-tough/ Acorn Creative

    [...] A couple of weeks ago, Lani Voivod wrote this scathing comparison of Toshiba’s magazine ad to the popular “I’m a PC, and I’m a Mac” ad campaign. This morning, after finding this post at Scootinger.net, from a 1996(!) MacAddict Magazine ad, I start to wonder. Are either, or both, of the new ads a blatant rip-off? … or is it a coincidental use of a similar, simple idea? The world may never know. [...]

  • mw in advertising

    Here is the real story … this Toshiba campaign started in late 2005. When did the Apple PC campaign start????? Let me check… oh, I believe it was in fall of 2006. Who is copying and who is leading ? Why am I so sure of this? Because I work for and ad agency who has a copier client and we track all the competitive ads.

    By the way, Mr. Ad Expert… one ad is about conflict and one is about harmony. Not exactly the same idea is it?

  • http://www.epiphaniesinc.com Content Lover

    I hesitated about approving the “mw in advertising” comment, because it doesn’t exactly follow the “living room” etiquette rule of blogging, and because it’s delivered in a fairly anonymous fashion to boot.

    That said, based on the email address he left (the domain of which leads to a defunct Yahoo!/Geocities page), the commenter appears to be Mark Weinfeld, Director of Strategic Planning at DGWB Advertising and Communications.

    The timing issue is a valid point; however, my wife and business partner (to whom Mark referred as a “Mr.”) failed to note this point she made in the blog post:

    “Maybe I missed something. Maybe YOU thought of this campaign first, Apple copied you, I never noticed, and this is your way of telling the world Apple is a big ol’ copy cat.”

    Meanwhile, I would argue that both ads are about harmony…that said, you can’t really “do” harmony without showing the contrast – the flip side of the coin, if you will – and so there’s conflict in both as well, whether it’s the business roles and personalities in the Toshiba ad, or the system conflicts in the Apple ad.

    But ultimately, the issue at hand is about creating compelling advertising and integrated marketing campaigns. And my biz partner makes a valid case for Apple beating Toshiba hands down – regardless of who came first.

    –Allen Voivod
    Co-owner and Content Lover
    Epiphanies, Inc.
    “A-Ha Yourself!”

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