Here’s an ad that caught my eye not too long ago. However, as I am beginning to realize, it did not catch my nose (a fact that I may be glad of…)
On the surface, this starts off as a great idea. Essentially, the ad is a plastic or vinyl sticker of a cup of Folger’s coffee that is placed over a manhole cover. Holes are punched through the sticker to allow the “steam” of the coffee to waft up from the cup. The campaign was designed for NYC; the tagline encircling the coffee cup reads: “Hey, City That Never Sleeps. Wake Up. Folgers.”
The visual is quite amusing. But then you start digging a bit deeper and wonder how it holds up in the real world. First, I think that the vinyl will quickly become dirty and/or ripped from all the traffic. Yes, I’ve seen stickers work before (grocery store stickers leap to mind) but this is outdoors, and covering an uneven surface.
Second, the smell that often wafts up from sewers is not one of coffee… If the association doesn’t put you off coffee, it might at least make you think twice before you reach for the Folgers!
There has been some discussion about whether or not this ad campaign was real, or at least implemented. Many have suggested that this image is simply a mock-up the marketing agency drew up for Folgers (Saatchi & Saatchi was the agency, apparently). However, it was all true — this was a real campaign.
You got to wonder what they were thinking. A huge company like Folgers, and a respected ad agency. Someone must have realized this was a bad idea.
If this was a city-wide campaign, then yes this would be a very bad idea. But dig deeper still and consider this. The marketing agency placed just one sticker on one manhole cover, and even that lasted just a couple of hours. In that time, passers-by took photos of it, sending it viral on the Internet. The campaign also got coverage in BusinessWeek, the New York Post, AdFreak, and other publications. It reached millions of people — more than it could have reached on that New York street corner alone.
And here we are, two years later and still talking about it. Not only was the ad itself creative, but the execution was just brilliant.
I think that ad did its job, don’t you?
~Graham
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Tags: coffee, Folgers, New York, Saatchi & Saatchi, vinyl sticker
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Casey Hibbard (5 comments.) says:
Hi Graham,
Love it. It’s such an interesting twist on traditional advertising when you can put something out there for a few hours and get the virtual viral thing going for untold exposure. Where it would not have worked on all manholes around the city for weeks, it works with the online component.
BUT, the words are too small to read in an online photo. So it makes me want a hot cup of coffee but doesn’t reinforce Folgers for me.
Yet, Folgers got lots of exposure for their creativity (good for an old brand), so ultimately I think it did its job.
Thanks for getting my brain going this morning.
Casey
Casey Hibbard’s last blog post..Real Feedback - How Case Studies are Used in IT Purchases
Graham says:
Hey Casey,
Great point! I didn’t really notice that, but yes it would have been very helpful if the letters were bigger. I’ve seen other images where the words are quite legible, but you’re right, for the people snapping pics and posting them on the ‘Net (most of them likely not pro photographers), bigger would likely have been better.
There has got to be a lot of creativity in a campaign that grabs attention in a city like New York!
~Graham
Kelly (31 comments.) says:
Graham,
You got it. Definitely a case of “thank goodness there weren’t more,” because 99.99% of people who saw it did not have to smell it. (Even the thought, having stood on many a NYC street praying for the light to change to I could get away from a grate or a manhole cover, is revolting.)
Thanks for putting this one up. It’s excellent “food” for thought!
Regards,
Kelly
Kelly’s last blog post..Inspiration Points: Fake It ‘Til You Make It?
Graham says:
@Kelly - Ha, ya know I started writing this up and was thinking “Eewww!” and then found out that other people had the same impression. Looks good in a photo, but certainly does not appeal to all five senses! There were rumours of a hoax even because who would of thunk that Saatchi & Saatchi of all people would come up with such a stinker (ha ha).
And yet when you dig to the very bottom of the story, suddenly you see the whole plan in all its brilliance.
~Graham
Cath Lawson (19 comments.) says:
Hi Graham - I have to wonder what some of these ad agencies are smoking of him. As soon as I saw it, like you, I wasn’t thinking about the lovely aroma of coffee - all I could see was a dirty smelly old sewer. And I’m betting we’re not the only ones.
Cath Lawson’s last blog post..Time Is Running Out
Graham says:
@Cath — yes, I’m sure it made a lot of people shudder. But then if you go with the old adage that “no press is bad press” then they probably made some money from the campaign…
~Graham
Anlina Sheng(new comment) says:
It’s a really creative ad, but does it really enhance the brand? Granted, visibility is important and having people talking about your ad years later is great - keep your brand in the forefront of people’s minds, right?
But does this ad make me want to buy Folgers coffee? Is it going to enhance my perception of Folgers so that next time I’m (hypothetically) in the store buying coffee I’ll be more inclined to try Folgers? As a hypothetical Folgers drinker, does it make me feel more confident and comfortable with Folgers as my brand of choice? Does it evoke positive associations and thoughts of appealing flavour or aroma in my mind? I’d have to say no.
I’ve noticed a lot of unique ad campaigns are high on creativity and novelty but fall short of delivering an effective message. Does it matter if people are talking about your ad two years later, if that ad conflates your brand with the sweet smell of the sewers?
Great blog by the way - I came across your comments at Men With Pens blog and was surprised to discover that you’re also from Thunder Bay (small world!)
Anlina
Graham(new comment) says:
Hey Anlina,
Great to see another TBayer here!
I would have to think that for the amount of money they put into this campaign that yes, it did work. The only expenses were a vinyl sticker and the ad agency’s time — and here we are two years later still talking about it. On the spot, the ad wouldn’t smell too attractive. But the power of this ad is that it went viral on the Internet, so no need to worry about the smell.
You’re right though, Folgers isn’t my cup of tea either (I buy my Tim Horton’s in the can). I’d be very surprised if this one didn’t have a high ROI.
Thanks for dropping by!
~Graham
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