It Doesn’t Work

Plain and simple, the ad doesn’t work. We all know Facebook and have certain feelings about it. I’m sure there are metaphors and analogies that might make me feel warm and fuzzy about this behemoth of a social media icon. But frankly, starting off with “chairs” and trying to rope me in from there is an exercise in futility. Of course, there will be those that totally buy into this ad, and will welcome this filmic promo clip as a means to endear themselves deeper into the rabbit hole. After all, Wieden + Kennedy (a huge advertising company) managed to get Alejandro Inarritu (top-notch director of Babel) together and sell it to Facebook, probably for sizable fee. So somewhere, somehow, someone approved this.
After watching the video, please post comments on your impression of it. Yes, it was shot well. Yes it does tell a story. But really, how does it make you feel about the product it represents. I see it as a weak attempt at using visual imagery and poetic discourse to explain a product in a way I am not totally comfortable viewing it. It makes me feel disconnected. I am not the only one that feels this way. As proof, check out this site and see how many reposts they are working with: www.AreChairsLikeFacebook.com

Chairs Are Like Facebook

Wait.. What!?

And The Meme Marches On

UPDATE: The internets really didn’t care for the Facebook ad campaign at all. One more testament to how web developers can make the best of a really poor idea can also be seen in the site arelikefacebook.com. The concept is simple, add any word to the beginning of the sentence “__________ are like Facebook” and an image will pop up in the background to represent your keyword. It would be super awesome if (when) someone designs a site where video pops in where the pictures are.

Sidenote:

I have also never been a huge fan of integrating rap into advertising either. It’s not that I don’t like rap (at least not all of it) but I feel it’s often patronizing and condescending when used in most advertising. But I must admit, this recent clip from Microsoft promoting their product line is pretty engaging: