This week, our blogs have been focusing on the concept of adventurous advertising – if you will. With Super Bowl Sunday practically being the biggest advertising day of the year, we figured that we’d follow it up with some looks at the ways in which different companies uniquely promote themselves.
Yesterday, we blogged about Apple’s interesting technique of virtually trademarking the time 9:42 a.m. in their advertisements. So just to show that we’re not playing any favourites, we’d thought we’d make mention of Research In Motion’s new way of promoting their BlackBerry smartphones.
“It’s all about durability,” mentioned one of our Synergy staff members this morning, “One of the biggest problems I have with my phone is how often I drop it! It’s no one’s fault but my own, but I figure that if it can withstand a beating, it’s definitely worth its cost. I can’t believe my phone actually still works.”
RIM has taken to showing its customers that BlackBerrys can certainly withstand a beating. Earlier this week, The Toronto Star‘s website revealed a number of new ads that demonstrate the durability of the popular smartphones. One of them shows a BlackBerry being dropped in a box of water – only to be shown to be fully functioning afterward.
“I’m not so sure about that one,” commented one of our team members, “The ad doesn’t show anyone picking the phone up out of the water to show that it still works. The way the commercial is cut, it could easily be a different phone altogether. I know a lot of people who have gotten their phones wet and they all end up ruined.”
See the ad for yourself HERE and come up with your own conclusions. It’s hard to deny that the presentation of the experiment is a bit suspicious. “And what’s with the yellow water?” asked another co-worker. We can’t come up with an explanation for that one, to be perfectly honest.
The other ads are arguably more effective. Simpler and perhaps, more accurate, the other videos released by RIM show a BlackBerry being significantly bent without breaking (watch that one HERE) and another being dropped without being destroyed (watch that one HERE).
While these ads seem to speak directly to the concerns of most smartphone users, we certainly wouldn’t recommend that you try any of the experiments conducted in them. Your best bet is to keep your phone in a case when it is not in use. And just be sure to have a firm grip on it when it is in use!
