These days it’s easy for the senses to be jaded from the overstimulating bombardment of the social media. As a result, advertisers are challenged to capture the viewer’s "ad-tention." Being, a New York agency, is one that knows how.
Using (Seth MacFarlane’s) Family Guy cartoon characters as celebrity spokespeople, Being has caused fans to tune in to the recognizable sounds of family dog Brian and baby Stewie as they banter about the pronunciation of another "wh" word: "Wheat Thins."
Yet what makes this typical Stewie/Brian bickering match brilliant as they debate whether the "h" is emphasized or silent in the word "wheat" is not the predictable fighting, but rather the constant repetitiveness of the product’s name that all Family Guy followers hear.
Such an annoying, yet strangely endearing, format of "to-may-to/to-mah-to" phonetics happens to work because it is a failsafe recipe called, "If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it…just mix it with another beloved winner."
And any fan of Wheat Thins knows this toasted, crunchy, addictive cracker that has been popular from the first bite needs no improvement (as is the case with many products — Coke, for example). All that is required is a clever reminder that prompts consumers to continue to purchase Wheat Thins.
Being is there with this spot, which has also been compared by Adweek to the Family Guy’s “Cool Whip” dispute. But through this classic FG use of self-indulgent, exasperating dialog coolness is the outcome as these pop culture characters give affirmation to the product that is delivered to a built-in fan base. And "wh"o could ask for such meaningless rhythmic reiterative chatter more?
These days it’s easy for the senses to be jaded from the overstimulating bombardment of the social media. As a result, advertisers are challenged to capture the viewer’s "ad-tention." Being, a New York agency, is one that knows how.
