HBO: The Soprano's: On Everyone's Greatest Hit List
When I picked up the pre-Oscar edition of Entertainment Weekly it looked thick, but more importantly, it felt weighted, stiff. It was different than a normal magazine. There was something heavy inside. Not annoyingly heavy, but curiously heavy. So I commence a standard initial magazine flip through. Immediately, as if on cue, the pages give way and the Moses of all ad's parts the issue in half. My hands support the magazine like a golden platter, on it a generous offering to every bored and detached consumer.
This ad is a booklet, 7"x10", of black semi gloss card stock. Centered down the middle are 5 lines of a familiar looking red text: "On Everyone's Greatest Hit List". When the page is turned to reveal more black paper, the left half is blank, the right half states simply, in the same familiar red text, in the lower right hand corner "The New Season, March 7th", a tiny speaker hidden within two layers of cardstock is triggered and The Soprano's theme song begins to play. It lasts 10 seconds and the sound quality is, for all intents and purposes, quite impressive. The back of the booklet shows two lines of copy: "Sunday is, HBO". The Soprano's is mentioned absolutely nowhere on this ad. The brand recognition is so strong that the font color, the font style, and a split second of the theme song are all that's necessary to communicate the intended message, and communicate it strikingly well at that.
I handed this magazine to 10 people, each one immediately opening to the same page as I had. It was inevitable. That's what premium positions are made for. Of the same ten people, all but one recognized and identified the Soprano's brand correctly. As for the one individual who didn't, I submit he would have had a hard time correctly identifying the first three letters of the alphabet, as he was a complete moron.
The use of sound in this print ad reminded me of a Burger King ad campaign that at one time I thought was brilliant. A few years ago, around 1999, Burger King exercised great judgment and timing when they ran TV spots using retro 80's songs. There were at least two radio stations in the greater Chicagoland area dedicated to playing mostly, or exclusively, 80's music and many other top 40/ pop music stations implemented Retro 80's programming. "Retro 80's at 8:00p" was one of the most listened to radio time slots during that period. So, Burger King showcased their Whopper with Cheese with a black background and played the track "I Melt With You" by Modern English. Through repeated viewing, it was impossible not to hear that song without thinking of a Whopper with Cheese. And because there was such a huge influx of 80's music, that song was bound to play a dozen times a day, each time reinforcing Burger King's ad and providing a form of free advertising. BK made their mistake by then introducing too many songs too fast thereby not allowing for the time necessary to embed the Burger King/retro song connection or bond into the collective subconscious of the consumer. The failure was by their mistake, the idea of branding to senses beyond those touched or effected by the actual product was then, and still is now, dynamically powerful.
Last week I learned a little about Absolut vodka. Their newest branding efforts were more than a little intriguing. Through deliberate, yet delicate, passive assertion of their brands strength, Absolut commissioned three prominent European DJ's/ Producers to each create individual tracks that sound like Absolut. They are attempting the most ambitious effort of audio branding that I've ever come across. House, techno, progressive, and DJ culture in general all heavily saturate the European airwaves. To design a genre of electronica that evokes a preferred feeling or emotion to specifically be associated with a product having nothing to do with music or it's components is quite an undertaking. It's a provocative effort to say the least.
The common thread weaving back and forth between The Soprano's, Burger King, and Absolut is what I think of as multi-sensory branding. Those three brands, along with an ever increasing number of trendy brethren, are attempting to brand their product to each of our five senses. If we can obviously taste it, they want us to be able to hear it, if we can hear it we are offered a scent, what we see, we are urged to feel, and what we can feel, is then given flavor. It's this cycle of sensory stimulation that seems to be growing the concept that the more senses a product or service influences the more value gained through increased brand attention, and consumer recognition and recall which walk hand in hand down the path to the limitless potential that is brand equity.
The Soprano's is an example of an ultimate multi-sensory branding extravaganza. The Soprano's website offers a multitude of branding devices. The rich, varied, and intimidating visual presence that the cast of characters exudes is emphatically portrayed. The theme song obviously accounts for sound, but it's not alone. They've taken sound a bit farther by branding the mafia culture and it's lingo in The Soprano's "Mobspeak" section. So if HBO has it's way, when you hear a lady on the train talking about doing some "spring cleaning" you'll wonder where she hid the body. The sense of touch is addressed with a line of clothing I affectionately refer to as La Clothes-a Nostra. The HBO store wears a comfy Soprano's jogging suit while it runs the fashion gamut from Bada Bing T-Shirts to executive-wear silk shirts and ties. As for taste and smell...How could a television show about the mob have a taste, a flavor, an aroma (other than sex and cigars)? Well, for the low, low economical price of $38.95 you can give the gift of salad dressing with The Artie Bucco Oil and Vinegar Gift Set. If that's not your bag consider Artie Bucco's Marinara Sauce or Fra Diavolo, stamped with the illustrious Soprano's logo, officially endorsed by HBO, each only $6.95 (plus S&H). Every base is covered; every need is fulfilled.With the Soprano's, HBO successfully presents a brand that offers an experience far beyond the product itself.
A dollar cash may or may not be awarded to anyone who actually read that all the way through..... :o)
When I picked up the pre-Oscar edition of Entertainment Weekly it looked thick, but more importantly, it felt weighted, stiff. It was different than a normal magazine. There was something heavy inside. Not annoyingly heavy, but curiously heavy. So I commence a standard initial magazine flip through. Immediately, as if on cue, the pages give way and the Moses of all ad's parts the issue in half. My hands support the magazine like a golden platter, on it a generous offering to every bored and detached consumer.
This ad is a booklet, 7"x10", of black semi gloss card stock. Centered down the middle are 5 lines of a familiar looking red text: "On Everyone's Greatest Hit List". When the page is turned to reveal more black paper, the left half is blank, the right half states simply, in the same familiar red text, in the lower right hand corner "The New Season, March 7th", a tiny speaker hidden within two layers of cardstock is triggered and The Soprano's theme song begins to play. It lasts 10 seconds and the sound quality is, for all intents and purposes, quite impressive. The back of the booklet shows two lines of copy: "Sunday is, HBO". The Soprano's is mentioned absolutely nowhere on this ad. The brand recognition is so strong that the font color, the font style, and a split second of the theme song are all that's necessary to communicate the intended message, and communicate it strikingly well at that.
I handed this magazine to 10 people, each one immediately opening to the same page as I had. It was inevitable. That's what premium positions are made for. Of the same ten people, all but one recognized and identified the Soprano's brand correctly. As for the one individual who didn't, I submit he would have had a hard time correctly identifying the first three letters of the alphabet, as he was a complete moron.
The use of sound in this print ad reminded me of a Burger King ad campaign that at one time I thought was brilliant. A few years ago, around 1999, Burger King exercised great judgment and timing when they ran TV spots using retro 80's songs. There were at least two radio stations in the greater Chicagoland area dedicated to playing mostly, or exclusively, 80's music and many other top 40/ pop music stations implemented Retro 80's programming. "Retro 80's at 8:00p" was one of the most listened to radio time slots during that period. So, Burger King showcased their Whopper with Cheese with a black background and played the track "I Melt With You" by Modern English. Through repeated viewing, it was impossible not to hear that song without thinking of a Whopper with Cheese. And because there was such a huge influx of 80's music, that song was bound to play a dozen times a day, each time reinforcing Burger King's ad and providing a form of free advertising. BK made their mistake by then introducing too many songs too fast thereby not allowing for the time necessary to embed the Burger King/retro song connection or bond into the collective subconscious of the consumer. The failure was by their mistake, the idea of branding to senses beyond those touched or effected by the actual product was then, and still is now, dynamically powerful.
Last week I learned a little about Absolut vodka. Their newest branding efforts were more than a little intriguing. Through deliberate, yet delicate, passive assertion of their brands strength, Absolut commissioned three prominent European DJ's/ Producers to each create individual tracks that sound like Absolut. They are attempting the most ambitious effort of audio branding that I've ever come across. House, techno, progressive, and DJ culture in general all heavily saturate the European airwaves. To design a genre of electronica that evokes a preferred feeling or emotion to specifically be associated with a product having nothing to do with music or it's components is quite an undertaking. It's a provocative effort to say the least.
The common thread weaving back and forth between The Soprano's, Burger King, and Absolut is what I think of as multi-sensory branding. Those three brands, along with an ever increasing number of trendy brethren, are attempting to brand their product to each of our five senses. If we can obviously taste it, they want us to be able to hear it, if we can hear it we are offered a scent, what we see, we are urged to feel, and what we can feel, is then given flavor. It's this cycle of sensory stimulation that seems to be growing the concept that the more senses a product or service influences the more value gained through increased brand attention, and consumer recognition and recall which walk hand in hand down the path to the limitless potential that is brand equity.
The Soprano's is an example of an ultimate multi-sensory branding extravaganza. The Soprano's website offers a multitude of branding devices. The rich, varied, and intimidating visual presence that the cast of characters exudes is emphatically portrayed. The theme song obviously accounts for sound, but it's not alone. They've taken sound a bit farther by branding the mafia culture and it's lingo in The Soprano's "Mobspeak" section. So if HBO has it's way, when you hear a lady on the train talking about doing some "spring cleaning" you'll wonder where she hid the body. The sense of touch is addressed with a line of clothing I affectionately refer to as La Clothes-a Nostra. The HBO store wears a comfy Soprano's jogging suit while it runs the fashion gamut from Bada Bing T-Shirts to executive-wear silk shirts and ties. As for taste and smell...How could a television show about the mob have a taste, a flavor, an aroma (other than sex and cigars)? Well, for the low, low economical price of $38.95 you can give the gift of salad dressing with The Artie Bucco Oil and Vinegar Gift Set. If that's not your bag consider Artie Bucco's Marinara Sauce or Fra Diavolo, stamped with the illustrious Soprano's logo, officially endorsed by HBO, each only $6.95 (plus S&H). Every base is covered; every need is fulfilled.With the Soprano's, HBO successfully presents a brand that offers an experience far beyond the product itself.
A dollar cash may or may not be awarded to anyone who actually read that all the way through..... :o)
VIEW 5 of 5 COMMENTS
Umm, thank you?
No, wait I need a nickel too.