I don’t remember a lot of ads from Sunday’s Academy Awards Ceremony.
But I do remember this ad for Poise with Whoopi Goldberg. But I’m not sure if that’s a good or a bad thing.
I keep thinking about this ad, and I can’t decide if it’s brilliant or ridiculous.
On the positive side, it definitely takes a unique approach to a somewht taboo subject (female incontinence) and attempts to bring it out into the open and a very public forum- using very public women.
Whether Whoopi’s humor works (fake French accent and all) is another story. I think she’s a polarizing celebrity. You either love her or hate her. I’ve never been a huge fan.
But I think what keeps me pondering this commercial, is I don’t really understand the strategy.
So if Joan of Arc, Cleopatra, Lady Godiva etc. had been able to use Poise, they wouldn’t have had to worry about leakage, and they could have accomplished more?
Huh?
There are so many characters in this spot and so many of them don’t make sense.
Assuming Joan and Lady G could have been even more effective with Poise (which I think is already asking a lot of some pretty incredible historical women) this metaphor completely falls apart for me when you bring in the Statue of Liberty and the Princess and the Pea.
What am I missing here? I just don’t get it.
But I am talking about it. Maybe that was the whole point.
Is that enough?
In these days of everybody has an opinion (and a blog) is all chatter, good chatter?
That’s my point of view. What’s your twist?
What do you think of this Poise ad?
I thought it was kind of funny/silly, but found it interesting that 2 of the people with whom I was watching the Oscars thought it was part of the show and that Whoopie was reprising some of her “characters” from previous hosting gigs. Then they didn’t understand why there was no Billy Crystal, etc. Obviously they weren’t paying very close attention, but isn’t that what we all do these days anyway? Seems like you had to really focus on it to even grasp what it was about. Maybe too many characters … comedy too broad … or something. Still, I thought it was pretty cool to have a well known celebrity talking about something that many “older” women do deal with but never gets discussed publicly. (Except among my mother’s friends.)
@Shelley thanks for the comment. I’m now picturing Billy Crystal in the ad and in a strange way that actually makes more sense to me 🙂 I guess it does highlight that you have to either really, really hold people’s attention or be super overt about what you are saying because I do think many of us watch TV and commercials with our brains only half on.
Oh come on now people! It might be a “taboo” subject but it is just too funny the way Whoopi does it!
@Scott, since you got a kick out of it, you should check out the whole series of them on YouTube. I actually think they make more sense and are maybe even a bit funnier when she concentrates on one character at a time. Thanks for the comment.
This campaign is brilliant because Whoopi took a taboo subject that women never talk about — in fact don’t even have a word to describe — and called it “spritz.” By taking a lighthearted approach to a terribly shameful condition, women may feel more “normal” about having it (one in three women do) and no longer endure the embarrassment of wetting their pants.
Fair balance: I work for one of the agencies involved in the campaign. But this is my personal POV.
@Debra thanks for the comment. Any insight to the choice of historical women?
i like it. As debra says, it takes a lighthearted approach to a shameful, and actually common situation, and one that will only have an increased audience with aging boomers. I think the strategy of the campaign is to show that it happens to the “every-women”. that even cleo and a princess spritz…so, hey, they can admit it so don’t feel so bad about it. I also assume that they are trying to get women comfortable enough to talk about it so they aren’t as embarressed to buy it at the drugstore. so, if we make it commonplace no one will think anything about going out and buying it.
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