A "human" ad that I actually like...

Having royally gone-off on DOW for its hollow "human element" positioning and silly ad series, here's an ad from Cisco--focusing on humans and "human networks"--that I very much like. What do I like about it?

• Simple: It's a simple, memorable message (with our network "being here is being there").
• Cute: Kids are always cute--and if I ever get this technology, I'll challenge any of you fine readers to a stare-down (if you win, you get cookies of course).
• Benefit-oriented: The spot immediately brings me to the myriad applications of the technology...unlike DOW that focused on hydrogen and oxygen bonding.
• Short: Cisco's ad succeeded in 30 seconds (as opposed to DOW's desperate 60-second plight).
• Oh, and I like that the American kids lose :-).

Does anyone know who Cisco's ad agency is? They deserve props. While I like the name "TelePresence", I'm on the fence as to whether it's a good name to brand Cisco's technology offering (vs. the technology 'category' that Cisco can own). Here's the piece (RSS readers go here).

Comments

[Patrick Schaber]

CK,
Great job highlighting Cisco's Human Network campaign! You're right - their ad agency deserves many props. I closely follow Cisco as I'm in that industry and their complete rebranding a year or so ago was incredible. It went from print to online to social media and each element complemented the other. They're still producing excellent material such as you show here.

-Pat

[Tangerine Toad]

Funny.
This series is mocked fairly mercilessly by the creative ad community.
First off, it's a rip-off of so many different tech/telecom campaigns, all of which highlighted the wonderfulness of global communication. It's not even a very good rip-off, since it uses every cliche in the book. As such, it becomes hard to own.
Second off, it has very little to do with Cisco, a company that makes routers. Cisco plays a pretty minor role in enabling communication.
The whole campaign is confusing and people often assume it's for IBM or Microsoft since companies that make granular products like Cisco rarely run such big branding efforts. Not sure just who it is aimed at, either.

So it's quite amusing to see someone who claims to "closely follow Cisco" rave about it. Your opinion is valid, Patrick- there is no right or wrong in advertising. Cisco did some very clever online spots about a year or two ago. But those employed humor, not treacle.

[Sean Howard]

I actually like this campaign as well.

I think focusing on the human aspect of the network is not only smart, it's suicide for anyone who isn't thinking this way.

I think the power of these ads is two-fold. One, it's changing the view of Cisco from the inside. ie: it's changing how Cisco views itself and the value it brings. And two, it's leveraging the value of the network in a message that's more human.

So even if the message doesn't stick with the consumer short term, the value will prove itself in the long run.

[CK]

Yeah, I like this spot and I think the cliches work in this case. Cisco's challenge--assuming the tech/experience are seamless--is to be viewed as the 'TelePresence' provider (since, as Toad points out, they are known for routers, not remote video conferencing). This is where the 'telepresence' as category vs. the name of the offering might hurt them. But if they can keep up with this 'type' of ad series (and yes, deliver on this tech's promise), I think they've got a great shot at this market.

[CK]

For what it's worth...I just started reading the cover story from BusinessWeek on the "InfoTech 100" and this was interesting in the first 4 paragraphs:

"If you're network-equipment king Cisco Systems Inc., No. 20 (in their InfoTech lineup), new growth is being found in part through efforts to become a more consumer-focused company. Wall Street responsed to Cisco's strategy of selling wireless routers and set-top boxes by lifting the company's stock about 37% in the 12 mos. through May 31st."

37% is something to write home about...we'll see if the human play like the above get telepresence sales moving since I believe these spots are new in the last month or two (caveat: I'm not sure how new these ads are since I don't watch enough TV to say for sure).

[Becky Carroll]

Cisco is definitely a Customers Rock! company, meaning they are focused on their customers. As a B2B, they work hard to collaborate with the customer and have been custoemer-centric for quite some time. A friend of mine was just hired on there as a new director of customer experience, so they are putting their money where it counts - the customer.

It is all about the human touch, and I am pleased to see Cisco highlighting this in their ads. Thanks for pointing it out, CK!

[CK]

@Becky: What an interesting new post your friend now has. I hope to see more of these initiatives from Cisco, please keep us apprised since you've got a man (or woman) on the inside ;-).