Black suits and Shiny Shoes !

We do chat, We do mail

We do all on the move …

We’re the Blackberry boys

Oh yeah ! ...

I like the new Blackberry commercial for more reasons than one. It is fresh, entertaining and compelling. For once, it has found a seemingly perfect blend of elements that make a good Ad. There is the humor underlined with a strong message, there is visual chaos unified by uniformities of music, there is action throughout which maintains a healthy engagement with consumers. Above all, it is the take-away for a consumer that does the entire metabolism – The music. Agreed that there are plenty of commercials that have given us memorable tunes, but this one stands out quite confidently with the quintessential Vodafone touch. But is it a good strategy to stand up and be loud disregarding the consumer-attributed conventionality to the product?

Blackberry, although quite unintentionally, grew up to build a “professional” aura around it. Its architecture, embedded features and the whole user experience was, to put it bluntly, monotonous in a world that was increasingly looking towards innovative technology that catered to our fancies. This was a no-frills phone in a sense that it catered to the basic needs of its user-base. More like if-you-want-music-buy-an-iPod kind of a philosophy. Hence, its popularity was limited to the ever-concerned, “Black-suit and shiny shoes” corporate honchos. They were not playful and did not have the time to experience the luxury of features that other phones provided. At least the conversations of common man conveyed such perceptions about the product.

Shattering all such conventions surrounding the product, this Ad was refreshing .Refreshing because the message was crisp and brilliantly executed. It endeared a whole new segment of consumers and at the same time made sure not to estrange its existing users. A conscious effort to dispel myths around the phone that this was, it played out the intelligent card of brotherhood. It was very important for someone to break the ice and shout it loud and clear - Why stereotype people or products? This almost brahminical image built around “professional” is so outdated. The new age corporate is young, trendy and uber-cool.

Another thing I found extremely interesting about the Ad is the confidence with which the Young guns enter the screen space. Although the “Black-suits and shiny shoes” seemed perturbed, it really didn’t bother the new entrants. They came in, all of them, bringing their own moods and colors into the space and not for a second intending to intimidate the ruling party. At the end it was a good ecosystem where everyone found their reason for their Blackberry.

The campaign is also an interesting extension of the widely quoted “Blue-Ocean strategy” where the value innovation was in identifying a whole new customer base. Re-engineer the product slightly to fit the needs of these new consumers (which in this case was cost consciousness) and reinvent it for their convenience. I think this could do for Blackberry what Air Deccan did for Aviation or 1100 did for Nokia.

Indeed, you don’t need to do things differently as long as you can find ways of doing them differently !