By Malay Desai
From: London, by AMV BBDO
Consumer products brand from Germany, Braun has recently launched a campaign by the name #readyforthenextlevel. In its film, a newborn boy is shown jumping out of her mom’s arms and beginning his journey to adulthood. The film, part animated, is treated like a 90s video game, similar to Mario Brothers where a character jumps and ducks to pass levels and challenges. This boy goes from baby to boy after surpassing hurdles such as school, riding a bike, attending class et al. At the college stage, he is shown driving a car, entering his bachelor pad and finally staring into a mirror with a Braun electronic shaver in his hand. The shaver then appears as if a tool to clear the next level, which is his first date with a girl.
Why we like ?
Procter & Gamble’s Braun, which dates back to the 1920s Germany, is one of the world’s many giant brands which are competition-proof. And by that, I mean many of Braun’s products, especially the flagship shaving range, will always enjoy a Toyota-like following and loyalty across its markets. And although it had one of the greatest F1 drivers, Sebastian Vettel and its clearly superior technology to talk about, Braun has chosen an obvious hero for its campaign – the rich teen.
German technology can be innovative and exciting, but for those not inclined to listen to ZPTO-like terms and mechanical prowess, i.e. majority of us, it’s this approach that works. With ‘growing up’ as a theme, things could have gone the way they’ve gone for P&G’s Whisper, where emotionally tinged visuals of parents/kids are watched and forgotten. But it’s the treatment here that has set this commercial apart, and made it memorable.
I’m not talking 3D animation here, or special effects the size of Lord of The Rings. I’m only in awe of the very simple idea – 2D visuals laced with a retro game theme and treated with clever detailing in post-production. There is barely any copy here, no dialogues, but we witness about 20 years of a typical Western boy’s life in under 90 seconds – how could it be possible without a stroke of advertising genius? The life stages are shown through vehicles, games, environments, and each one, although very short, builds up comically toward the climax. The London agency makes the storytelling universal, and adopts interface that’s like Mario but actually isn’t – multiple bonus points!
One more thing – and it’s the one insight which might have made Braun’s top bosses very happy – that if you watch it again, you’d realise this film isn’t made for the guy who grows up, the 17-year-old rich kid from London. It’s rather made for his dad, who grew up on 2D games, and smiled widely when he saw ‘the next level’ being a girl, i.e. the princess of Mario. Braun’s shavers aren’t purchased from pocket money, they’re gifted by benevolent, emotional fathers.
Remember the MTS ‘Internet Baby’ ad of 2014? This one may have cost one third, but is as effective.
(To watch the film,type‘bit.ly/BraunTVC’in your browser)
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