Hasta La Creative!

For the past few weeks, there has been a lot of of talk about the Palm Pre spots by Modernista! – ranging from creepy, annoying, and bizarre to genius. Face it, you’re still talking about these otherworldly spots. However, some critics have brought to mind the possibility that the commercials aren’t effective, especially since there is hardly any mention of the phone’s functions. Despite the campaign’s shortcomings, the stunning visual effects are not to be missed. The key is getting past Canadian actress Tamara Hope’s nonsenciscal ramblings about deja vu, clowns, and juggling.

I really want to like this campaign, if nothing other than for the originality of it, but it doesn’t tell a story and it doesn’t really sell the phone, either. It just makes me feel weirded out. For example, in one of the spots, Hope tells viewers that she feels her phone can read her mind and recalls how a man once asked her, “Does it know you’re crazy?” “Well of course it does, sir,” she says, “It’s mine.”

Does crazy sell? I don’t remember learning that in my advertising classes in college, but I did go to a liberal arts, theater-focused school where crazy is embraced. But I digress…

What concerns me about this campaign is the soft focus on a product that is the first viable competitor of the iPhone. There are no mentions of the Pre’s operating system, which is a major advantage, nor will you see the spots as often as you do the ones from Apple (this may be by design). Despite cyber-blabber and blog entries about how people think the commercials are creepy and annoying, studies show that many viewers find the spots soothing and inspiring. In fact, the company is on track to sell 400,000+ units per quarter.

Huh… maybe crazy does sell.

Sara Barton is a copywriter, social media strategist, and avid blogger who is in search of her next opportunity. Contact her via Twitter, LinkedIn, or her blog.