Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Is this an inside joke?
Thoroughly puzzled by the new ad for Discover Card. The basic theme isn't new: Americans are tired of reaching Hindus with fake American names when they call for service, and Americans are tired of seeing call center jobs go to Hindus.
Discover claims that its call centers are actually in America, which is a valid selling point. But the 'optics' are completely puzzling.
After you hear the Hindu male who claims his name is Peggy, you've formed an accurate image of the slender dark-skinned guy with a mustache, sitting in a vast boiler room with hundreds of cubicles.
The reveal is entirely different: Your Favorite Professor. Looks vaguely Jewish, curly hair, small beard, comfortably plump, amused smile, wearing a cardigan, sitting in a professorial office.
Huh? I understand why they can't show the Hindu reality in visual terms. ACLU would rip them to shreds. But why use good old Prof Weinberg?
= = = = =
A few minutes later: Oh, now I get it. I was over-analyzing. They used the surprising image because it works. The ad stuck in my brain more specifically than other ads, and it stuck with a pleasant association to the brand. What more could an advertiser want? ¶ 8:28 AM
Discover claims that its call centers are actually in America, which is a valid selling point. But the 'optics' are completely puzzling.
After you hear the Hindu male who claims his name is Peggy, you've formed an accurate image of the slender dark-skinned guy with a mustache, sitting in a vast boiler room with hundreds of cubicles.
The reveal is entirely different: Your Favorite Professor. Looks vaguely Jewish, curly hair, small beard, comfortably plump, amused smile, wearing a cardigan, sitting in a professorial office.
Huh? I understand why they can't show the Hindu reality in visual terms. ACLU would rip them to shreds. But why use good old Prof Weinberg?
= = = = =
A few minutes later: Oh, now I get it. I was over-analyzing. They used the surprising image because it works. The ad stuck in my brain more specifically than other ads, and it stuck with a pleasant association to the brand. What more could an advertiser want? ¶ 8:28 AM
