Perhaps “new” is a misnomer.  The idea of ads that are longer than the typical thirty seconds has been around for some time, but I wonder if it’s making a comeback.

Taking into account the state of the thirty second spot today (some of which we’ve discussed in previous blog entries) the opportunity to do something a little different is presenting itself more strongly than ever before.  Enter Jerry Seinfeld.

Seinfeld is, in my opinion, one of the funniest people to ever walk the earth.  His stand up is brilliant and his sitcom is the stuff of legend.  So when Microsoft was being absolutely pounded by Apple’s “Get a Mac” ads they decided to retaliate with a top-dollar production and top-notch talent.  The first result from this pairing is the Shoe Circus ad.  Click here (YouTube link)

I’ll be honest.  This ad isn’t so great.  It’s cute.  It’s got funny moments, but I thought to myself “If this is what they’re putting up against Apple, then they shouldn’t even bother.”  But, the second ad in the Seinfeld series is amazingly good.  New Family:  Click here (YouTube link)

An ad that clocks in a four minutes and thirty seconds?  Are they crazy?  Maybe, but in my opinion, that’s a good ad.  Not a great ad, because it still doesn’t have a lot to do with a product, but a good ad.  You’ll never forget it, and it starting to change the perception of Microsoft.

What’s interesting about these Seinfeld ads is that the reaction to them was kind of polarizing.  People loved them and people hated them.  I would suspect that the ratio was not out of line with any typical ad, but because of the circumstance (Microsoft’s rebuttal to the immensely popular “Get a Mac” ads) more eyes were fixed here with more at stake.  Either way, Microsoft shut down the Seinfeld campaign in favor of a different direction.  They say that the plan all along was to only produce two Seinfeld spots, but I have my doubts.  Both of these ads are series ads.  We don’t get the whole story and we’re obviously being set up for Bill and Jerry’s next great adventure.  No, I suspect that Microsoft paniced at some of the negative comments and instead of sticking to their proverbial guns and producing what might have been a history making ad campaign they changed direction hoping to capture more hearts and minds.

I think there’s potential here.  I think that the “alternative ads” can present wonderful marketing opportunities for companies or organizations willing to take a little risk to reach new clients and customers.

Allow me to present one more example to support my thesis.  The Key to Reserva:  Click here (External link)

This ad is great.  It is brilliant.  It’s is simultaneously an ad masking as a film, but also unashamed in the product that is being promoted.  This was produced in 2007 for Freixenet Wines and is in my opinion the pinnacle in this alternative advertising concept.  This is a commercial that clocks in at just under ten minutes, but is so entertaining that it doesn’t matter.  Perhaps it’s unfair to present an ad directed by Martin Scorsese as the benchmark, but in a world where only advertisers who think outside the box succeed, this is a benchmark worth attempting to reach.  Incidentally the ad also won a Clio award for advertising.  But all the accolades that I can heap upon it mean nothing if it is unsuccessful at pushing a product, so as my final food for thought for this post let me say this:  I don’t drink, but if I did after seeing this ad I’d leave my house immediately and purchase a bottle of Freixenet wine.  This commercial is that good.

One hurdle to overcome with alternative advertising is distribution.  The media buy to put The Key to Reserva on the air would be prohibitive for most organizations.  Instead this ad (as with the Microsoft ads) made the rounds on the internet by word of mouth.  That’s a gamble that was mitigated by having Matin Scorsese attached, but most of us working today aren’t going to have Scorsese at the helm, or Seinfeld in front of the camera.  So how does a company wanting to explore alternative advertising reach an audience?  We’re working on it … we’re working on it.

Christopher Johnson, Director, Easy Water Films, L.L.C.