I don't know whether this company is worth a damn, but this :60 spot by HTC is one of the best examples I've seen of an advertisement that attacks reality through product usage. Well written and beautiful, great editing and direction - this is a talent (real talent) heavy spot. And it proves three things:
1) If you want to connect to people, show people.
2) If you want to create empathy, show sensitivity.
3) If you want to sell product, show it in action.
However, I freaking hate their tagline. "Quietly Brilliant" doesn't really make sense. There's nothing quiet about saying you're brilliant.
Jim is a father, husband, copywriter and founder of smashcommunications You can find him on Twitter @smashadv
Really smart spot. Unfortunately, I had one of their phones for about 5 days -- it sucked. My favorite part is "you don't need to get a phone, you need a phone that gets you, and you, and you, and you..." That's definitely the space where the tagline should live. Quietly brilliant? Bleh. Hope you're well, Jim.
Posted by: Michael Calienes | November 05, 2009 at 01:53 AM
Their new tag line doesn't sit in well with me either. I'd rather they structured it differently (even if using the same words) like so:
from "quietly brilliant" to "quiet brilliance"
The latter seems to bear more weight for me, I think.
Posted by: Niki | November 06, 2009 at 03:35 AM
It needs something, that's for sure.
Posted by: Jim Mitchem | November 09, 2009 at 01:57 PM
"Unassuming genius"
Would be worse.
Compared to many of the other ads I've seen from this sector, HTC does seem quietly brilliant.
I like how they showed the functionality instead of laying it out for us like we'd never used a phone before.
Posted by: Seth Simonds | November 09, 2009 at 07:27 PM
I try to avoid self-proclamation taglines when possible. the active voice CTA is almost always a better way to go with these things.
Posted by: Jim Mitchem | November 11, 2009 at 02:12 PM