05-13-08
Spanish market is very conservative in communication. Generally it doesn’t want to disrupt, molest or create polemic, with or about their products.
There is some kind of will of being politically correct, and brands always talk about compromise, development, ecology, etc. This could be because they are afraid of the spanish market, though the economical situation is definitely not that good. But on the other hand, it could be dew to the lack of audacity in the PM and BM to take their product into another dimension.
Well, there could be a turning point to this thanks to brands such as Burger King, named in the first place of the article which I attach to this post, followed by Axe, Línea Directa… I’m happy to hear this though one of my best friends Mauricio Alarcón is working at this moment as an Creative Director in Crispin Porter Bogusky for Burger King. They have been doing really cool communication for Burger King since he’s been there and also before.
It’s hard for me to classify or define this kind of advertising though it’s so simple and I know Mauricio so well that I’m probably influencet by friendship. But getting to where they arrive is not an easy task. You need to have your ideas very clear in your head so that you can sell a really simple, humorist concept to a client. Also the client has to be receptive. One of my favorite things about Mauricio’s advertising is this simplicity that hits the society as a slap. People can identify themselves with the product though there is always a connection to real life. Or people can hate it because it’s going beyond their boundaries. But beeing critisized is also a very usefull tool. If someone doesn’t like it, definitely someone is going to love it. It’s just human nature. Now, if you do something that nobody is going to hate, nobody will love it either.
That’s why, positioning a brand can be really successful, like it’s happening with Burger King. They are not a “me too”, they say, “Hey! We are here and we want to surprise you!” That’s when society reacts and they start to find the brand appealing, it’s related to their lifestyle like the comercial they did: I’m a man! This commercial has been “removed due to terms of use violation.” I wonder who complained about it. Was it really offensive or was it dew to the amount of protein that the burger had? But people loved it and people hated it. This takes you to another point: Diffusion. More people will know about you if you cross the boundaries.
Some other great examples, from my point of view: Burger King, Hamburguesa Pija, the simplicity of the concept and the stereotype classificaiton is amazing, almost as good as the stereotypes found in Burger King Frontera España-Francia that if you are spanish or french you can perfectly recognise. Another thing I would like to point out from this commercial is the Art Direction and the acting of the characters wich are excelent. And never forgetting the amazing work they did with the Burger King Pollo and Padre.
Also I’d like to mention all the campaign they did with the king. The concept behind the whole strategy the games, and the virals they did are also really good.
Let’s hope this influences other people and communication can step into a new era. Opening the door is the most difficult part, then the rest just drain throught, but only the first ones will be remembered
