Chairs vs Sophie

Compare these two spots.

Both are from tech giants. Both have great production value. Nice writing. Well-directed. Good-looking film. But there’s a very different feel in how we connect with each.

One talks at us, the other shows us.
One tells us exactly what it is trying to say, the other invites us in.
One feels corporate (although it shows humans), the other is human.
One is ye old Manifesto. The other is a story.

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5 thoughts on “Chairs vs Sophie

  1. The emotional response to those ads is so dramatically different when you put them side-by-side. The Google ad gives me chills. The Facebook ad is just pretty.

    Today I saw the most recent Google Chrome ad and it made me think more about what it was that made the Sophie ad successful.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w1sT7QV8nfU

    I think this newest ad misses the mark. It still feels like an honest story, but it pushes the emotional buttons hard and takes me to some uncomfortable places – a dead parent and weird themes of loneliness and codependency. It does not make me feel positive about internet communication, whereas the Sophie ad did.

    I had the thought that a real human story is a much higher risk, higher reward approach. The stories that feel the most honest and authentic are far more open to unintended interpretation. In that light, Facebook's safe, one world, approach to their first ad is a little more understandable.

    J. Urquhart
    Ad Student

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  2. Man, so true Jim.
    The chair deal totally feels like a manifesto to me.
    Makes me wonder, can do a great spot that is just the manifesto?
    I know it's been done. “The crazy ones” was probably a manifesto. “We're for dogs” was probably a manifesto. But it better be a great manifesto. And not one that sounds like a math formula in how it connects the dots (which is sadly how “chairs” feels to me.)

    John Deignan

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  3. Manifestos are just executions, not necessarily ideas. “Here's to the Crazy Ones” and “We're for Dogs” were great ideas. IMHO, comparing Facebook to chairs and doorbells is not a great idea.

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