And the brand is…?

I read about this brand advert yesterday and saw the ad for the first time last night.

24 hours ago I had absolutely no clue what Brother was. I read the press release about this ad and concluded that it must be some inspiration-inducing ad for another financial services company. It had that air of patient achievement- an arguably overplayed theme in financial services’ brand advertising.

The press release sounded like a Barry Ronge movie review, but it certainly got me interested and I was pleasantly surprised when the ad interrupted my religious Survivor viewing.

I paid particular attention to the art direction, epitomised by striking camera angles, dramatic contrasts and the filtered colours that alluded to a romanticised notion of freedom. Indeed, the wakeboarder also provided a seemingly flawless performance in a remote and surreal setting.

Investec? Alan Gray? A bank? Life insurance?

No, Brother Printers that apparently provide a “flawless first impression” just like the wakeboarder, I presume.

I am trying to establish what the thinking was regarding this piece of communication.

The only link I can possibly force myself to make between the product and the advert is that the wake-boarder’s moves were apparently flawless and I presume Brother wants to say that the result of their printers and copiers will be too. Or to quote a colleague, is it the “flawless way the paper enters and exits the Brother machine” (just like the wakeboarder carves the wake) and the perfect colour that defines every printed copy like the colour of the setting in which the wake-boarder finds himself?

How far is a brand willing to go to try and establish a link?

We need to review this in context. First, can a pro wake-boarder be considered analogous to a printer? Second, is there a real and believable connection between a pristine and noticeably secluded natural setting and a printer?

Advert: A talented man wakeboards effortlessly on pure glass- his movements and grace a tribute to himself for mastering nature and to nature for allowing him the playground to do so.

Product: A printer that is made in a factory (which pumps out environment-compromising greenhouse gases) and that gets used in offices with fluorescent lights, office chairs and neutral-toned walls, complimented by the constant drone of air conditioners.

Brand?
Assuming that the brand is the connection between the potential customer and the product, perhaps the brand appeals to an office-worker’s desire to live a natural and free life, devoid of the daily 9- 5 slog and the admin that accompanies it. Or, are all printer/copier customers and printing professionals moved by a poetic metaphor for perfection when all they likely want is a direct guarantee of colour superiority, functionality and convenience inside an office space?

The setting of the advert or “brand’s voice” is so far removed from the functionality and existence of a printer or copier, I truly battle to understand what the brand wants consumers to understand.

The only link that I am left with is perfection. This makes sense if I aspire to all things natural from my printing room or corner in my electrically-illuminated office or if I deem the niche sport or leisure activity of wakeboarding to be appealing to my experience or aspirations.

We’re back to that awkward analogy between nature and wakeboarding versus a printer.

However, it did say something about lasting impressions, in which case if I can’t be shown a realistic portrayal of lasting impressions created by a printer/copier in a printing-appropriate world, an advert of a tropical island or volcanic eruption, the birth of a baby, the sprint of a cheetah or looming tsunami could have sufficed.

Brand Score: 5 (but only because I love nature and love a glass-like body of water)
To access the press release (and a link to the ad): www.bizcommunity.com/Article/196/17/37614.html