What made this spot so good? Philips "Everyday Hero" -
"Spider-Man" - Ogilvy & Mather/London - 1:30 This is the eleventh in a series of articles where I deconstruct examples of excellent storytelling in contemporary advertising.
When Dutch company Philips transformed into a health tech trailblazer in 2015, they never imagined Spider-Man would be at the center of a future campaign.
Philips Global head of brand advertising Eva Barrett leaned into a true story for the foundation of this spot. The logline: Why is this man who dresses like a superhero in such a rush to get to his window washing job? Because he gets to make sick children smile.
Pain point: Philips wanted to shift their long-standing brand perception as manufacturers of television sets to leaders in healthcare strategy.
Solution: Put Ogilvy’s creative director Gerry Human on the story and um, yeah, a Beatles song.
Let’s see if this spot supports my thesis that all good stories must have:
Goal / Action / Complication / Resolution
While the audience has no clue what the character’s goal is, he clearly is in a rush to get somewhere. So even though we don’t know what it is, his goal is the engine of the entire piece.
There’s plenty of simple, entertaining, fast-paced action that builds nicely to an epic slow-motion stunt of jumping off a rooftop. There are complications at every corner during his jaunt to work. From falling out of bed to helping an old lady carry luggage up a massive set of stairs.
Ironically the resolution is just the beginning of our hero’s work day. A young boy in a hospital gown approaches the window and presses his hand to Spider-Man’s while the Beatles' cover song sings, “It’s gonna be alright.”
On Philips' own storytelling platform, "Innovation and You," the brand is sharing other true stories like this one and another that I may review next week starring a giant man dressed like Elvis. Thank ya very much.
Happy Humpday!
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