Is this the Future?

Comments

[John Wall]

We'll find out soon depending on whether they win the account or take a beating...

[Ramon Ray]

If Agency.com does not win the account they STILL win as this video which MANY people are watching shows that Agency.com is the TOP DOG for advertising agencies!!!!

Ramon Ray
http://www.smallbiztechnology.com

[Marc Sirkin]

With viral, you have to take both the good and the bad eh?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cE0SsmAWI5k&mode=related&search=

[Doug Karr]

What you missed was the hilarious competitive response:

http://www.coudal.com/unsolicited.php

Doug

[Marc Sirkin]

The lettuce is, uh jeeze, i don't know what the lettuce is.

You are right, this is hilarious!

[John Wall]

"they STILL win as this video which MANY people are watching shows that Agency.com is the TOP DOG for advertising agencies!!!!"

If a Subway brand manager feels that this video (and subsequent parodies) do more harm than good, and litigation is the answer to that, it may be a quick ride from Top Dog to D.S.

(Possible, but not probable...)

[Ryan Warren]

I call "BAD FORM." I agree with AdRants.com when they called this an example of "agency masturbation."

Congratulations Agency.com. You have succeeded in making a 9 1/2 minute video about yourselves.

I think they may have a bright future in making low budget documentary films with lackless plots and poor production value. It sounds like a bright future.

In this case viral = virus. I give the Agency.com effort a major thumbs down.

[Wil Graham]

If you dont try something new how do you innovate. Agency.com are trying something new. It got my intrest and got me to their website.

[Ryan Warren]

I agree. Innovation is always good. In fact, I would go as far to say that it is the most important force that drives our society and economy. But there are some fatal flaws with the definition of this “innovative” experiment.

The Agency.com experiment is a classic example of could vs. should. It is a lot like when Apple released its Newton in the early 90’s. Afterall, Apple's Newton was innovative and cool. At first I thought I wanted one. But, it failed miserably. Why? I mean really, when you think of it Apple should be Palm. They were first weren’t they? They were first to market. They had a cool product that created a lot of buzz. And hey, it was from Apple so it must be really cool.

They had a major problem though. Aside from all the technical missteps, they NEVER MADE ANY MONEY.

In this case Agency.com is just like Apple. They have a truly innovative concept but completely failed to execute. A company like Agency.com must live up to their reputation of doing both. They are a great company and who have completely let me down on this one. They are better than this.

Listen. I believe Agency.com deserves praise as well as this harsh criticism. I compliment them for taking a bold move with their viral strategy, but just showing up at bat doesn't mean that they deserve a home run. They failed miserably to develop Subway's image nor did they explain how they were going further the Subway brand. Hell, it wasn’t until the 6th minute that we even saw them conducting consumer research.

As creative and marketing professionals we are tasked with creative problem solving for our customers. I feel that the video did nothing to address anything about Subway's business. To me, it was the same as going into a client pitch and vomiting out every reason why you think you are so great and never once asking how you can help solve their problems. There are thousands of agencies out there who can do exactly the same thing and in some cases better. There is nothing new being done here. Agency.com did a miraculous job proving to the world that they are just like everyone else. They also failed to show how they can actually make the Subway brand better. Oh yeah, how are they going to make Subway sell more sandwiches? They missed that as well.

Good ideas need good execution. This was an idea full of potential and in the end was poorly executed. As my grandfather used to say, "you can dress up a pig in a dress, but it will always be a Pig."

[Dave Forde]

We are in a lot of trouble if this in deed the future. However there are many lessons that can be learnt even from some of the 'worst campaigns'. Ironically enough, that simple video has gained a tremendous amount of word of mouth.

[David Geller]

Isn't is 4:21 too long? Didn't they say it had to be 5 minutes?

[david]

Excellent video and idea.

Will they win????

[jill]

Just dire. Great idea admittedly; so very, very badly executed.

I want my ad agency to be sparky, dynamic and, yes, 'pushing the envelope' (Coudal Partners, very funny!). This bunch seem as exciting as a group of accountants.

A lesson in: How to take a good idea and thrash it to death.