Right here on the bliggety blog, Hulu & War of the Worlds
Sometimes while sitting around watching TV, or really, commercials, I am struck by awe at the courage some companies have when it comes to advertising campaigns.
If you’ve never worked on the creative side of advertising, you’ve probably never run into the play it safe people. The Play it Safers (PiS) can neuter a campaign quicker than a vet with some scissors. The PiS are worried about offending, confusing, or generally pissing off potential customers. They often claim to want something new, something memorable, and something engaging, but often let the fear of being offensive to someone somewhere at some time veto a lot of creative ideas.
I once had an argument with a CEO about the word ‘image’ and how he thought the word was just too technical for users of digital photo editing software. See what I mean?
This is why we have so many absolutely forgettable commercials. At least that’s what I like to believe.
Last night, this Hulu campaign (specifically the Dennis Leary incarnation because he says things like “share those TV shows on your bliggety blogs, your faceyspaceys, and your tweetypages, for all your bookwormy anti-boobtubey friends”) struck me as particularly courageous and fun.
What’s so great about this Hulu campaign is how it flies in the face of broadcast history, what with all that War of the Worlds nonsense from the 30s. It takes the whole notion of brain-melting TV and embraces it. It’s part honesty, part sarcasm, and all clever. How can that kind of thing not be enjoyed?
And you know somewhere, some wonky suit at Hulu was afraid that TV watchers might find the whole thing offensive, but they went with it anyway.
While it’s sort of weird to celebrate advertising in one of its oldest forms (interuptive advertising is supposed to be dead, or dying), or to celebrate it at all (personally, I find a lot of artistic merit in a lot of advertising) there’s still value in appreciating the creative drive behind it and the courage a company took to air something that could be offensive or confusing or piss someone off.
(here’s part 1 of Orson Welles’ 1938 broadcast of War of the Worlds)
