October 13, 2008

Cesar's blue disaster

There are commercials that work. They may not be funny or cute or amazing, but they work. And then there are commercials that are overdone, not very appealing, and don't work that well. Cesar dog food commercial belongs to the second category.



First thing that hit me, was that incredible amount of blue color. Why blue? And why so much of blue? Blue sky, blue car, blue sea, blue scarf on that woman's head and even her tank top is blue. What's up with that blue color? I appreciate that her sunglasses are not blue, but maybe her eyes are, who knows. Obviously, the point of the blue was that Filet Mignon Cesar is packed in blue but other Cesars are packed in yellow, pink, green, dark blue, red, so why blue only? One of their other commercials is all pink. For some reason it isn't as disturbing as all the blue in this one.

It's not only the color. Everything about this commercial seems so fake. Who would be so irresponsible to let his dog sticking out of the car when driving in a convertible? And what is that weird green thing covering the plate on which the food is being served to the poor by blue color surrounded doggie? I think it's supposed to be salad, but why does it look so plastic?
I don't understand another thing. Westie (West Highland White Terrier) has been a Cesar dog ever since I can remember. It is great because Westies are adorable dogs and very photogenic compared to for example Chihuahuas. I know, because i have both. But they are also known for being very stubborn, wild and very hard to tame dogs. So why would they make this beautiful dog look so unnatural and fake and so very lovey-dovey? Have him run around fields and play outside where you feed him Cesar, don't make him part of this ugly Barbie-like commercial.

There are only two things that are likable here. I like the "Cesar, Love Them Back" slogan. It goes straight to the point, and it isn't fooling anyone. Your dog loves you, you love him back, you give them good quality food like Cesar is offering. I like the music, too. I think it is playful and fits for a dog commercial, if only that commercial was better.

I love dog commercials and my dogs love Cesar. If I wasn't a long time buyer of Cesar this commercial would no way convince me to give it a try. If Cesar wants to have their commercials be like this, they should change their mascot dog to Yorkie. They will still have their terrier, but a little more fitting for their blue, lovely format. I'm sure Westies would appreciate this decision.

1 comment:

Allison Lipsit said...

I agree with the idea that the commercial
is not superb, but I also think there are some good points. The entire advertisement is in baby blue, which is a happy and calming color. Although I do not purchase Cesar dog food, if I was perusing
the aisle at the grocery store and saw a baby blue container, I think I would now associate it with Cesar dog food. I do think the post
has good strong writing with a clear stance on the topic. I also, however, think it is an opinionated entry and I think it lacks objective perspective of advertising techniques.