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Skype Bets On Power of Human Nature

By: Dwayne W. Waite Jr.

Your move, texters. Skype has a whole new campaign, and it is coming out swinging. Humans have seen technology bring people together, yet farther apart at the same time. Yes, we can keep tabs on old college friends and family that live across the country, but we don't develop a relationship or connection as deep as it could be if we were face to face. The number of close relationships people have has been dwindling, while the number of acquaintances and other shallow connections are on the rise. Is that a good thing or a bad thing? Or does it even matter?

Skype thinks it does, and the $12 million campaign believes that video-chats will beat text and Facebooking any day of the week. The campaign is being spearheaded by Pereira & O'Dell, and has just launched in the U.K. Plans for the campaign to arrive in the States in a digital fashion are said to be in a couple of months.

The campaign takes plain aim at Twitter:

And it sizes the Facebook giant up and takes a swing:

The advertisements are relevant. Don't we all have friends and family who have voiced concerns about their sons or daughters who text them more than picking up the phone, or the aunts and uncles that will like your status update but are missing in action at the dinner table.

As Skype is trying to position itself as the "human connector," it is still a technology. But if we had to choose between 140 characters and a video, we would more often than not go with the video, as we would like to think the general population would as well. Humans are visual, tactile creatures, and if the real thing (in real life or, IRL for our twitter friends) can't happen, being stimulated by sight and sound may be the next best thing.

What should Skype be careful about? The audience. We are not sure how the Late Gen-Y/iGen populace will handle this, but the GenX and Early GenY will find this appealing.

How ironic is it, though, that the campaign, according to AdFreak, calls for people to make their own "Humoticon" on Skype's Facebook page? We bet they'll get some funny wall posts from that. Or, better yet, we could call them?

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About the Author

Dwayne W. Waite Jr. is partner and principal at JDW: The Charlotte Agency, a marketing and advertising shop in Charlotte, NC. He enjoys consumer behavior, economics, and football.

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