Today Rock Fight's resident brand, culture, and media experts, Shawnté Salabert and Producer Dave, join Colin to review some recently released outdoor brand videos by On, Puma, & Outdoor Research.
First the hosts rely on their experience working in the outdoor industry and media to breakdown what makes a great brand video including the best way to deploy these types of brand assets and what we should expect from the finished product. (02:26)
Then they take a detailed look at the following videos:
On: Dream Together, with Zendaya (22:43)
Outdoor Research: Rooted (35:51)
Puma: Go Wild (44:15)
After offering a detailed description of each video Colin, Shawnté, and Producer Dave give their thoughts and then rate each video with a thumbs up or thumbs down. Which will be their favorite?
You'll have to listen to find out!
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Episode Transcript:
Colin True
00:00:00.400 - 00:00:15.960
You're listening to Rock Fight Radio. Oh, you got DJCT back with you spinning the hits. And it's that time because we have another new song from that hit machine, Fitz.
And Fitz wants to ask you why just settle for a smart sock when you can opt for a smarter sock?
FITS!
00:00:16.040 - 00:00:36.426
You've got a million choices lying on the floor Thin ones, thick ones even some you never wore but there's a sock who specs rise above the rest don't settle for a smart one when the smarter sock is best option for the smarter sock fits Fits is the smarter sock fits Whole foot comfort is the answer to the question of the knit fits Opt for the smarter sock.
Producer Dave
00:00:36.458 - 00:00:37.070
Fits.
FITS!
00:00:45.330 - 00:01:24.782
Whole foot comfort is the goal it's only common sense with four different packed tents the difference is immense the wide lines added volume really is legit to the next level Comfort of the fit we call fits opt for the smarter sock fits Fits is the smarter sock fits Whole foot comfort is the answer to the question of the knit fits Opt for the smarter sock fits Opt for the smarter sock fits Fits is the smarter sock fits Whole foot comfort is the answer to the question of the knit fits Opt for the.
Colin True
00:01:24.806 - 00:02:20.668
Smarter sock fits and now back to the show. Welcome to the Rock Fight, where we speak our truth, slay sacred cows, and sometimes agree to disagree.
This is an outdoor podcast that aims for the head.
I'm Colin True, and today I'll be joined by producer Dave, along with outdoor author, journalist in pop culture aficionado, and of course, rock fighter Chante Salibert to review some of the latest outdoor brand videos released by outdoor brands over the past couple of weeks.
But before we get to that, if you missed Monday's episode of the Rock Flight, you missed producer Dave, Owen Comerford and I talking about how we kickstart innovation in the outdoor industry.
And then on Wednesday, Justin Hausman and I talked about mental health in the outdoors and also answered listener emails about your favorite brands of socks. And then just yesterday, we put up an emergency reaction podcast with myself and Owen reacting to the news that steel is up for sale.
What a week it's been. Well, let's cap it off right now with some brand videos. Let's start the show.
Chris DeMakes
00:02:20.764 - 00:02:24.840
Welcome to the Rock Fight. Rock Fight. Rock Fight.
Colin True
00:02:25.940 - 00:03:01.780
All right, we got a new segment here on the Rock Fight. We're calling this the outdoor brand video review.
And over the past week, I noticed a ton of new outdoor and athletic brand videos that were popping up on YouTube. It must be the season, but it also made me reflect on the special place these videos hold kind of in the culture of the outdoor industry.
Having worked at brands, there's a lot of work and thought that go into these videos, even though I feel like there's very typically very little return. But we'll talk about that in a second.
But with me to break three of these down, three new ones through New Outdoor Brand Videos is author, writer and podcaster Shantae Celebr, as well as Rock Fight fan favorite producer Dave. What's up everybody? How's everybody doing out there?
Shawnté Salabert
00:03:02.320 - 00:03:12.696
I am bright eyed and bushy tailed this morning. Very exciting to Today is going to be a merging of two of my biggest interests. So I'm very excited.
Colin True
00:03:12.888 - 00:03:16.980
What is the merge of those interests, you and Dave? Aw.
Producer Dave
00:03:18.240 - 00:03:19.944
And early morning starts.
Colin True
00:03:20.072 - 00:03:20.840
Yes.
Shawnté Salabert
00:03:21.000 - 00:03:25.460
Is this early morning listeners? It is 9:13. I don't know know if this qualifies.
Colin True
00:03:25.540 - 00:03:28.868
On the west coast. Yeah, yeah. Dave, how we doing?
Producer Dave
00:03:29.004 - 00:03:30.280
We're doing fine.
Colin True
00:03:30.620 - 00:03:37.588
I, I can't believe actually, Dave, in as long as we've known each other and as long as we've been making this podcast that we haven't done one of these before. This seems kind of like right in our wheel.
Producer Dave
00:03:37.684 - 00:03:42.320
I agree. I thought the same thing when you sent this over, like, oh yeah, we probably should have done this a while ago.
Colin True
00:03:43.900 - 00:04:08.896
Well, today we're going to define what makes a good brand video. Do we prefer a product video over brand video? We'll establish some criteria for a successful outdoor brand video.
And now we're going to take a look, take a look at some recently released videos from brands like Puma on and Outdoor Research. But let's start with personal experience with these videos to that point. Dave, let's start with you.
Like you've been behind the scenes on many of these brand videos. What makes a good one from your point of view?
Producer Dave
00:04:09.048 - 00:04:13.060
I don't think you can ask that so broadly, Colin.
Colin True
00:04:14.360 - 00:04:16.928
So they are indeed a waste of time and money.
Producer Dave
00:04:16.984 - 00:05:27.142
There are so many types of brand videos and that's the nice thing about a brand video is that it can be used to accomplish many different kind of purposes. I mean, is it an origin video to tell where you came from? Is it a product highlight video kind of your technology?
Is it a positioning video sometimes that overlaps with your origin but you know, like, so I guess there's really, really a lot of ways that you can kind of things that you can accomplish with a branded video that is different from a commercial. Right. Which has a very specific purpose concept and typically limited by time, you know, but with the brand video.
I mean, if there was one thing that connected them all together, I would say, do you know after 15 seconds, do I want to watch the next 15 seconds? Right? I mean, come on, that's what we're talking about here. Is it engaging? Is it entertaining? Is it interesting? Right? Is it unique?
Like, those are just kind of basics of good creative in general.
And the brand video is just kind of one of those centerpieces of am I making something that my audience will find interesting and compelling, not unlike any.
Colin True
00:05:27.166 - 00:05:38.582
Other sort of other visual media in a way, even though it's promotional and that you have, who is consider your audience probably first and foremost, Maybe some of my sort of critiques are often like, did you think about who you really wanted to watch this and why?
Producer Dave
00:05:38.686 - 00:06:11.218
Well, and a brand video tends to have one of the broadest audiences that you have. I mean, you're. Again, a brand video. Let's trip it back. Is a stakeholder video, right? I need to speak to my consumers.
I need to speak to my internal team. I need to speak to my sales force. I need to speak to my investors. Right?
I mean, everybody needs to be able to get something out of a true brand video. Otherwise it becomes a consumer video or a trade video. You know, that kind of, kind of idea.
Colin True
00:06:11.394 - 00:06:14.110
Shantae, what are you looking for in a good brand video?
Shawnté Salabert
00:06:14.410 - 00:07:02.870
Well, I'm coming at this from a completely different perspective, and that is listeners probably don't know this, but my. I work in the music licensing world and I've done that for 18 years.
So for me, I'm over here on the side of things where I'm pitching music, music for. For ads and for brand videos and things like that. And so for me, when I look at a good video, I immediately laser in on music and sound design.
It's actually at this point a character flaw because I can't even go to the movies without looking at trailers and being mad at the song choices. Like, I could have sent you a better song for that. It is I. I have a lot of opinions and it is I. I laugh sometimes.
And I think doing this work for so long has ruined me for. For any sort of visual media because I always think I it better.
Colin True
00:07:03.570 - 00:07:04.874
And you probably could have.
Shawnté Salabert
00:07:04.962 - 00:07:05.770
Let's be honest.
Producer Dave
00:07:05.930 - 00:07:14.314
That's just a part of the creative mindset, Shantae. You have to have a bit of that. There's. I could have done that better and I wish I had done that.
Shawnté Salabert
00:07:14.402 - 00:07:14.858
Yeah.
Colin True
00:07:14.954 - 00:07:19.082
I mean, does Martin Scorsese know two reactions?
Shawnté Salabert
00:07:19.226 - 00:08:18.430
Listen, I mean, I've licensed to Apple, Nike. I did a big coinbase spot. I just, I've done several super bowl ads. Like, you know, when I think about brand videos, music is a compelling factor.
And it's something I thought about in the ones that we were listening to. Are watching, watching. See, I'm always listening. Watching today is how is music used and does it help add to the story? Does it drive the story?
Music's another character in my opinion, and I'm very heavily biased.
But I really do think, just as somebody who can, who chooses to sit through ads and chooses to sit through trailers because I'm a weirdo like that, yeah, I have some pretty deep opinions, but I think it all has to work together to tell a cohesive story. And you know, Dave obviously is talking about the fact that it needs to speak to this kind of big audience.
But yeah, if there's no message coming across, I need to know what are you trying to tell me? And if I can't figure that out in the first 10 seconds, 15 seconds, maybe if I'm being generous, I'm out.
Producer Dave
00:08:18.730 - 00:09:33.690
Right. Well, I think music is probably the most underutilized, underappreciated aspect of building a video content.
Because not only does it, I mean, you're talking about. Do I know what you're talking about or are trying to say in the first, first bite. Absolutely.
I would say also equally important and where music is primary is what am I feeling. Yeah, right. And music is, like I said, there's so I have listened to more hours of stock, everything than I would ever want to admit to.
And same thing with footage because again, that's another province of the brand video is that it's undervalued and under capitalized. Right. As we try to build these things.
So you're always piecing together with found footage, old assets, stock this a little shoot that, you know, what, what can I piece together and create some cohesiveness.
So you're constantly using kind of different filters or kind of ways to make the footage match and looking for that piece of music that you can afford. Because what you talked about too, there is a cost to paying for good music or recognizable music, and rightly so.
But more importantly, music that's going to make you feel.
Shawnté Salabert
00:09:33.810 - 00:09:34.330
Yes.
Producer Dave
00:09:34.410 - 00:09:43.184
And I just, I, I would rather have more basic footage and a killer track any day of the week.
Shawnté Salabert
00:09:43.352 - 00:10:58.540
That's right. Wow. So everybody who's listening, who works at a brand, listen to Dave and then give me an email and I'll hook you up.
No, seriously, I mean, the Emotion is really important and it's so much of my job. There's part of it is musicology trying to figure out like interpreting.
Of course this is the bane of any creative's existence, interpreting what your client wants. But I think about stuff like I license a ton of music to film and TV as well.
And so I think about like for instance, I did a really killer scene once in Orange is the New Black where it was such a specific need. And it's the. I forget the character's name, but it's a.
She's got Alzheimer's and they're doing a compassionate release, you know, quote, compassionate release where they just kind of kick her out on the street. And it's the end of the episode and the supervisor is looking for this song and just not finding the right thing. And I nailed it.
And it's one of my favorite licenses ever. But I watched that show for the first time years later and watched that episode and I started crying.
And it's a song I licensed for the scene, but I'm still crying. It still works. It still works.
It's like even though I know that that song in a deep way and I've licensed it to other things, the way it was used there just hit me. And I think about that with advertising. Advertising, listen, like a brand video is simply.
You want to, you know, there's some emotion you want to get out of people who are watching it. And I think we see that with all three today to different degrees.
Colin True
00:10:58.880 - 00:11:00.328
One in particular for sure.
Shawnté Salabert
00:11:00.384 - 00:11:26.308
One in particular.
But I think you, you want to elicit something out of the person viewing because otherwise what, again, what is the point if somebody just watches it and they check out and they're not at all interested? You want that video that is going to be writt about in blogs, people are going to chat about it, it's going to be written about in the trades.
Like that's what you want. You want to have some sort of lasting impact. And yeah, the storytelling, the emotion, all of it has to tie together.
Colin True
00:11:26.444 - 00:11:43.796
Well in this, this medium it's even more impactful. Right, because we're talking like today, I think it's like 40 to 60 seconds of the videos we're talking about.
Typically you're in that 60 second timeframe for a video like this. It has to hit and it has to kind of. And you have to get that emotional resonance in a pretty short amount of time too. Yeah, right. So like.
So the music is probably the easiest way to get there.
Producer Dave
00:11:43.948 - 00:12:01.536
Well, easy, hardest. I mean, look I think though, the other issue is that we've seen this in photography through Instagram and things like that.
Quality visuals are not hard to do now, right? We've got drones everywhere. We've got a stock level.
Colin True
00:12:01.608 - 00:12:03.712
Steven Soderbergh's making feature films on his iPhone.
Producer Dave
00:12:03.776 - 00:12:43.640
Huge, right? And so story and emotion now have to be the concept of which we apply those great looking visuals to and the music that ties them together.
And so that's still a province where we can create some uniqueness we can tie to. We can call Halo with sounds that bring nostalgia to a piece or an emotion that's already baked into that song through at least generationally.
But yeah, no longer are just compelling visuals enough. And I think you've got to be. It's always been true, but really now everyone's got great looking visuals. It's what's the story and what do I feel.
Colin True
00:12:44.020 - 00:13:11.634
So before we get into the three that we're talking about today, and I know we're talking and Dave, to your point, like, it's a lot, it does matter and like what, what the intent is. And there's a lot of different ways to kind of drill this down.
But speaking broadly, it's just in both of your histories, you know, what are some things that brands are likely to get right in a brand video and especially for the outdoor space, and what maybe do they get wrong a little more consistently? Are there any consistencies that you kind of see coming out of the outdoor space when it comes to how well or how poorly executed a brand video is?
Shawnté Salabert
00:13:11.802 - 00:13:58.746
I mean, off the bat, I think aspirational, like you have to for the viewer to be able to see themselves reflected. And we're talking more on the consumer side, of course.
But think the, the element of inspiration and aspiration, like, either I'm inspired to do something in my life, or I aspire to be like what I'm seeing on the screen. I aspire to own that. I aspire to run like that person. I aspire to go to that place. Like there has to be something in there.
I think, especially from an outdoor perspective. Think about, like we talk about awe and wonder being these kind of key components of why being outside is so good for us in general.
Like, there's studies that show this. Now the same thing goes for these videos.
I think you need to see that and that wonder reflected in a way that makes you think like, oh, hell yeah, I want to get in there. I want to be in that video.
Producer Dave
00:13:58.898 - 00:14:01.450
What do they get right? Boy, that's a Tough one.
Colin True
00:14:01.490 - 00:14:03.390
You want to go with what they get wrong, that's fine.
Producer Dave
00:14:04.210 - 00:15:28.030
Judging, judging. Judgy. This is the rock fight, after all. Yeah.
I will say I have probably been fairly harsh for the most part on the general state of the outdoor brand video. Certainly when you see one that you like, you really want to respond to it well. But I see a lot of stock music, I see a lot of general platitudes.
I see a lot of the same points being made. This is where we've come from. This is why we're here. And again, standing on a mountaintop, silhouetted against the sunset, you get a lot of that.
So genuinely interesting conceptual pieces are still hard to find, I think, in our industry as we see the bigger players, the athletic players come in, things like that, you're getting a more sophisticated storytelling, for sure. And obviously, you know, Patagonia and North Face have been playing at this kind of level for a long time.
But, you know, Patagonia really, I mean, do they do a straight brand video? Are they just about documentary, really, as a. Yeah, as a position which works. I mean, it's their people in their products, in their environments.
And that's again, a crucial element of a brand video, too, is kind of defining who you are and where you belong and what you do.
Colin True
00:15:28.410 - 00:16:48.678
Yeah, you see product videos from them, and maybe next time we do this, we'll do more product videos versus just general brands. And I think that'd be good to drill into that, I think how it stays with you.
Because like we did a few months ago, we talked about the North Face side of their We Don't Play Games campaign, whatever it was. And it's funny, that video actually at the time I remember thinking like, oh, it's pretty cool. But it's kind of typical top of the mountain stuff.
But it definitely. I reflect back on it kind of a lot, actually.
I think about that because of how visually interesting it is and kind of shantae to your point too, about what do you take with it and what sticks with you? Just earlier today I was served in sort of Instagram reels as someone put up. Came across the old. It was a Nike ad from the late 90s.
It was, you know, the chicks dig the long ball ad. I don't know if you guys recall that one where I had Tom Glavin and. And Greg Maddox. You know, now it doesn't. That doesn't hold up at all.
One, because there's definitely a massage.
There's some misogynistic going on there, and there's also the fact that, you know, we all know now that Mark McGuire who's featured in there and everybody was juicing like crazy. But I remembered that ad immediately. I watched the whole thing again and I was genuinely entertained by it. But it's.
And it add is a 30 year old spot, like not again outdoor.
But it is that those little beats that like what sticks with you versus the countless other athletic videos that I've seen over the or commercials over the last 30 years that I have immediately forgotten.
Producer Dave
00:16:48.854 - 00:17:12.334
I would also say though that's. See that strays into a distinct difference between a commercial spot and a brand video.
They are not the same thing and they're not gonna perform in the same way or make you feel in the same. I mean there's obviously some similarities in the bits that make up the construction. Right. Moving pictures, sound editing, all of that.
But I think they are distinctly different beasts for sure.
Shawnté Salabert
00:17:12.502 - 00:17:40.526
Yeah, I agree. I mean a brand.
Yeah brand video is sort of I, in my opinion establishing, like deepening your connection with the brand, teaching you about the brand. Like it's, it's, it's their values are coming across. Yeah, the values, who they are, their identity.
And a commercial is like I would like to sell you something whether that's a product or an experience like that. It's a very different.
I mean they can come to the same end eventually, you know, because the brand wants you to know the brand so that you can buy things from them.
Producer Dave
00:17:40.678 - 00:17:41.630
Right, right.
Shawnté Salabert
00:17:41.670 - 00:17:45.322
But yeah, different, different, absolutely. Different means to an end here, I guess.
Colin True
00:17:45.346 - 00:18:03.162
A couple other just even like logistical questions before we get into the ones we're going to talk about. Like what's the shelf life of one of these things? Like how long should it last? Like what's the point of it if it gets dropped?
These are these, some of the ones we're talking about today came out in the last couple of weeks. What's. How long should they be relevant? Should they be timeless?
Should it be like this is a seasonal thing and don't expect more of them because of that?
Shawnté Salabert
00:18:03.266 - 00:18:24.490
Yeah, I mean we have, we live in an age of short attention span theater. So I don't know that anyone expects them to have a long shelf life. I mean that's the dream, right?
Especially when you're talking about, about say bigger brands who are maybe angling for advertising awards that sort of, you know. Elongate. Elongate. I'm full of weird words this morning, guys.
Colin True
00:18:25.470 - 00:18:26.758
And alliteration.
Shawnté Salabert
00:18:26.934 - 00:18:54.862
That's me. I'm gonna break into haiku. Pretty soon. But you know, it sort of gives you that staying power of the brand identity.
If you get, you know, whether it's press hits, I think is really important for some brands and just social chatter and things like that. But really, I don't know, a month maybe, if you're lucky. That seems like maybe too long, honestly.
Not that you don't want it to last that long, but I just don't know that we have the attentions for anything longer than that.
Producer Dave
00:18:55.046 - 00:20:49.078
Yeah, I'm gonna take again, get to the nuance piece of it. Right.
Look, if it's a seasonal campaign, you know, where you've got a product drop or it's a theme or a tagline that you're promoting, then yeah, it's gonna have a much shorter shelf life. But if it's a true brand origin story, you know, a kind of a positioning, then it can have a longer shelf life, even up to a couple years.
However, it's the audience shift that becomes different. If you just drop it on YouTube and think it's going to remain getting attention for two years, that's not going to happen at all. Right?
So to that point, to Shanti's point, it's going to be a much quicker kind of. It's going to find its peak and then level off. However, I don't think that's the best use of a brand video.
A brand video is best deployed one on one from the salesforce to the Republic or the retailer where they can present the line and they've got an iPad or a computer or they can project it up in there and it's one on one small group meetings. Right?
Or it's part of these presentations where it augments your presentation and then we can cut away for a couple minutes and tell this story and then go back to presenting the line. That's where you get, I think the best use of the brand story.
The format, the whole thing is in those smaller group meetings of stakeholders where they can, can focus on it. They're not being distracted by all the different elements that go onto it.
They don't need the hook of a 60 second commercial just to nail you and get in, you got a little bit more time for storytelling like you said, that deeper connection as to who they are, what they are. So I think that's kind of how you can extend the life of your brand video. Just knowing, having expectation from what audience you're showing it to.
Don't expect the YouTube placement to garner years and years of, of new followers and viewers.
Colin True
00:20:49.254 - 00:21:55.846
Well, that was me. My kind of final question before we get into it is like, how should they be deployed? I think you just touched on it, Dave.
And the thing about that is that takes a particular. A representative from a brand of a particular level of skill to kind of like, figure out a way to do that. Well, right.
There's definitely folks who like, hey, you should show this at next time you're meeting with a customer or whatever who just maybe wouldn't know how to quite work that into their presentation and have it be in a meaningful way. And a lot of times I've seen this happen. I'm sure you have. As. As well.
Actually, you and I may have been in the same room when this has happened, Dave, but the of, you know, someone shows a brand video or a campaign video to a customer and not really understanding, like, why are we watching this? You know, we're just putting this up there. Like, yeah, we're just watching this now.
No, right now I'm going to show you the products that we're selling you. So it is a but to your. To exactly what you said. If you do it well and it kind of sets the tone of the room and it kind of allows you and you.
You kind of. You feed off the energy.
That video or the commentary in that video or whatever you just saw into, hey, this is actually why we should be working together. Then it becomes this really powerful statement. You know, who's good at that or not is definitely up for debate.
Producer Dave
00:21:56.038 - 00:22:17.940
Right?
You know, look, you can cry with boredom or you can cry with emotion, and I'm happy to say that we have made videos that have made some of those stakeholders cry with emotion when they see the brand that they belong with or that the. Let's call it the outdoor lifestyle that they're a part of, represented in that way. Way, and it can be emotional.
Colin True
00:22:18.440 - 00:22:26.976
The more fun version of that is when you go through all the, you know, the pomp and circumstance, you know, showing all this stuff, and then they're like, yeah, that's Great. You're still 18 months behind on delivery.
Producer Dave
00:22:27.088 - 00:22:35.728
Well, there's that. Or when you've set up the whole. Whole presentation, you. You've played it 18 times in a row, and it's always worked. Except for that moment where you.
Colin True
00:22:35.784 - 00:22:36.624
Except for that one.
Producer Dave
00:22:36.712 - 00:22:39.696
And there's no sound. There's no sound. Right.
Colin True
00:22:39.768 - 00:22:41.500
Sad tramp. Sad trump.
Producer Dave
00:22:41.960 - 00:22:43.620
That's rite of passage.
Colin True
00:22:44.200 - 00:23:32.506
Well, let's get into the ones we're going to talk about today.
So I think the criteria we want to talk about for Today is, you know, what do we want from the video, from the brand we're talking about what worked, what didn't work, Recommendations you would have maybe for the creative team, you know, or kudos for the creative team behind the scenes. And then a final rating. We're going to go full Cisco and Ebird and thumbs up, thumb down. There's three of us, so it's great.
We'll end up with a majority of that. We approve of these three. And the three we're going to be looking at is a video by on, one by Puma and one by Outdoor Research.
Actually, we're going to go on Outdoor Research than Puma. So we're gonna go through each video, talk about what happens. Each video is linked in the show notes.
So listeners, if you wanna pause the podcast, go watch them and come back and hear our thoughts on it. Go for it. If you just wanna go ahead and plow ahead and raw dog this episode with no idea of what we're commenting on. Cool. Choose violence.
We won't judge around here. That's totally.
Shawnté Salabert
00:23:32.538 - 00:23:33.274
We love it actually.
Colin True
00:23:33.362 - 00:23:48.882
Yeah, go for it. Yeah. Just the chaos of video. Watch along. So the first video we watched was on it's their Dream Together campaign. Or it's called Dream Together with.
With Zendaya. So on breaking out the big dogs, what do you think they paid for Zendaya? Shantay. It's Zendaya. I'm pretty sure it's day.
Shawnté Salabert
00:23:48.906 - 00:23:52.034
It's Zendaya. Have I been wrong this entire time in my head? It's.
Producer Dave
00:23:52.082 - 00:23:53.666
I think we need to settle this right now.
Colin True
00:23:53.738 - 00:23:55.762
Let's settle it. Dave, you be the arbiter.
Shawnté Salabert
00:23:55.826 - 00:23:57.858
Research before you get on a podcast.
Colin True
00:23:58.034 - 00:24:03.714
I think I learned that probably from listening to pop culture podcasts. So they all could be wrong too. I think it's Zendaya.
Shawnté Salabert
00:24:03.762 - 00:24:08.450
Okay, we'll go with Zendaya and just know that I live in a cave.
Colin True
00:24:08.530 - 00:24:12.274
The, the very. The outdoor audience will write in and tell us if we're wrong.
Shawnté Salabert
00:24:12.322 - 00:24:12.658
It's true.
Colin True
00:24:12.674 - 00:24:14.742
But if you find out it's. Then we'll give you the opportunity.
Producer Dave
00:24:14.866 - 00:24:25.934
Will they call in? It's. It's that I go. It's. It's on. Will they, will they care about this one? Is this an outdoor brand video at all?
Colin True
00:24:26.022 - 00:26:07.140
I mean, on's become a billion dollar footwear brand who does show up in outdoor stores. So yeah, they think they'll care. I don't know if they'll care about this video they care about On. So Dream Together with Zendaya. All right.
The video opens on a stacked on logo and we fade in on Zendaya's looking very serious. There's cinematic music. This is where Shantae's gonna either be happy or not happy. Which sets an equally serious tone. The light hits Zendaya's face.
She turns, looks at the camera and to the audience and says, together. We then get a thumping soundtrack with a series of quick cuts and Zendaya's narration of Move, Learn, Dream together.
And this is where things start to get odd, because then we get a ton of choreographed extras moving in a unique dance. Multiple colors of people, multiple genders, multiple abilities.
Like there are folks in wheelchairs and there is a modern dance thing happening until it gets to a break in the action. And then there's Zendaya just standing there in some jeans, either smirking at the camera or looking up wistfully.
Then that goes around to a next round of narration with Zendaya saying, win, lose, fail, try again, get back up, grow together.
All while the choreographed movements of at least 100 individuals are happening, interspersed with random static shots of Zendaya doing absolutely nothing. I'm assuming the choreography is meant to represent the words we are hearing. Then Zendaya repeats the final the first words of the oh.
Then she repeats the first series of words, Move, learn, dream together. Before it culminates with the phrase whether we're athletes or not.
And that line is punctuated by Zendaya finishing it with the camera pushed up on her face. Her looking right at the viewer telling us that Zendaya has finished her half day of shooting. The video ends with the text Dream together, Dream on.
The word on up on the screen.
Shawnté Salabert
00:26:07.600 - 00:26:11.944
Do you think they couldn't afford Aerosmith's Dream on, Just be honest right now.
FITS!
00:26:12.112 - 00:26:12.632
Dream.
Colin True
00:26:12.696 - 00:26:19.176
Oh, that would have been. Have they used that? If they haven't used that yet, they really are like missing.
Shawnté Salabert
00:26:19.288 - 00:26:23.048
I don't think even on can afford licensing that they're a billion dollar brand.
Producer Dave
00:26:23.184 - 00:26:23.800
Sure they can.
Shawnté Salabert
00:26:23.840 - 00:26:25.032
They might be cheap in the music.
Producer Dave
00:26:25.136 - 00:27:06.396
I think this is where you get into a failure of imagination to cross that. Look what Nike just did with Led Zeppelin in their women. That is true contemporary women's athlete ads. They dropped Led Zeppelin riffs.
That's the kind of cross conflict that you get in tension between trends and audiences and art forms that create great work. Right now it feels very Euro, which makes sense for On. I mean, the style. Colin, you did forget to mention the.
What is it, super dark shadow dystopian treatment to the what's going on.
Colin True
00:27:06.468 - 00:27:09.672
Good point. Yeah. The color palette was just absolutely.
Producer Dave
00:27:09.736 - 00:27:33.208
You're spot on. The fact that they only had her for a half day, I'd say maybe even two hours. Like, there's just kind of two shots looking at the camera.
They put her in the sound booth for the voiceover for sure. And that's where they're getting their money from. But so you've got all those pieces together.
It reminds me of actually of a dystopian I was really waiting for. Like, what is it, synchronized swimming to break out or something with all of that.
Colin True
00:27:33.264 - 00:27:38.136
It had synchronized swimming, modern day. It really did to choreography.
Producer Dave
00:27:38.248 - 00:28:12.492
So I can see the European kind of influence to this in terms of. And it's beautifully done.
Like, let's be clear, like, this is a high budget spot, high production value, lots of extras they definitely, definitely put into it. But man, I would have to think I'm looking at the YouTube feed for a spotlight and this is a spot, not a video. This is where I get to.
This is a commercial. It's a 60 second commercial about a new campaign featuring their spokesperson person. So it's not truly a brand video. So this is.
To your point earlier, this is perishable. Like this. This goes away in a while in terms of zeitgeist and it's going to have.
Colin True
00:28:12.516 - 00:28:13.884
I'm glad we agree that it's perishable.
Producer Dave
00:28:13.932 - 00:28:40.392
Yeah, it's going to have to be replaced.
And I would have to think that the 121,000 views that they've got over the last nine months is probably a little disappointing for the money that was spent on this. And I imagine they're using it in paid areas a lot more. So maybe they are getting the reach that they're looking for.
And I think we should qualify all of this. We have no idea what the brief was, what the challenges that these creative teams are faced with, how to do it, what kind of 100% this could.
Colin True
00:28:40.416 - 00:28:43.060
Have been executed to achieve what was asked of them.
Producer Dave
00:28:43.440 - 00:28:47.160
All of these have that. It's really easy to sit back and poke holes in it.
Colin True
00:28:47.200 - 00:28:54.840
What was this though? Like, what was it like? What? What? Okay. If it was a commercial, if it was a brand video, if it was a product video, I don't know because.
Shawnté Salabert
00:28:54.960 - 00:28:56.200
Oh, I know what it is again.
Colin True
00:28:56.320 - 00:28:57.640
Okay, what is it?
Shawnté Salabert
00:28:57.760 - 00:29:02.450
I. Go ahead, Colin, you want to finish your thought? I'm going to throw a rock. Rock.
Colin True
00:29:02.530 - 00:29:27.202
There were so many things about it that were so well done, but it didn't make any sense. It looked like an unintentional SNL parody of an athletic brand video. Like just all of a sudden, the.
The seas part and there's Zendaya just stand there looking serious, like it was. It felt to me like if the brief was, let's get an A list celebrity and plug her in randomly to a video. Well, getting mission accomplished.
Otherwise, I don't really understand what the point was.
Shawnté Salabert
00:29:27.306 - 00:30:32.446
The point was you're not the audience. The point is, I thought this was a great ad because it's not for any of us. This ad is to draw a younger audience to on. It's to make it cool.
They're using a super hyped up celebrity. They're using a syncopated beat that has this sort of rhythmic nature. It doesn't break.
Like a lot of ads, the music kind of goes up, it goes down, it dips in and out. This is very syncopated, it's very rhythmic. The music, the choreography is the same. The vibe is very cinematic.
And the idea is to position this as a cool brand. I can't think I might have actually pitched for this spot. I can't remember.
But the, the production, the agency that worked on it is called Smuggler and they do really cool, cutting edge stuff. So it's like there's so much about this that is not about a traditional audience and it's about cool making the brand seem cooler. Honestly, that's.
It's a vibe video. It's not about selling a particular style of their shoe. It's not about getting you, Colin, to be, oh, gosh, I bet I should go get a pair of ons.
Colin True
00:30:32.558 - 00:30:35.150
I didn't think it was for me. Don't make that mess.
Shawnté Salabert
00:30:35.190 - 00:30:46.830
Clearly not. Clearly not for you. And it's not a traditional brand marketing kind of thing. This is, in a way, maybe it is.
It's to make the brand cooler for a different audience.
Colin True
00:30:46.990 - 00:31:09.738
So two things. Just before I let you chime in, Dave. One, I would have loved it if Zendaya hadn't been in it. That was the stuff that threw me off anytime.
All of a sudden, she just popped up. I'm like, what is this? Like, why is she there? Like, they have this cool choreography, which is total.
Totally in the vibe and the color palette and the way it was looking. And then it's like, hold on, wait here. She in a pair of jeans, looking weirdly at the camera. That felt really.
Producer Dave
00:31:09.794 - 00:31:14.906
That was my biggest industry. We have a name for that. That's called the crowbar. Okay, thank you.
Colin True
00:31:14.978 - 00:31:52.212
That's what it felt.
It felt crowbarred the second thing I'll say is that knowing this was probably not for me, I showed it to my 14 year old non outdoorsy daughter who likes to dance, who takes dance lessons, who immediately saw Zendaya said, I love Zendaya, loved the dancing. But at the end of it she's like, I don't know what that was like, she had no. It did not resonate with her whatsoever at the end of it.
Like there was no like takeaway front for her at the end of it. There's another one on here, by the way, which is going to surprise you of the final two, which one she really liked. But so I don't know.
And that's a sample of one. But I thought for sure of the three of them this would be the one that would get her. Right? But it's supposed to.
Shawnté Salabert
00:31:52.396 - 00:32:01.758
It's funny because it's probably supposed to get her because the whole in Zendaya makes no sense from an episode athletic perspective. That's why she's the. How did that. That tagline was like the athletic or.
Colin True
00:32:01.814 - 00:32:05.486
Not or not like me in jeans in this commercial.
Shawnté Salabert
00:32:05.598 - 00:32:19.790
Downtime. Yeah, it was an interesting. I mean it's a strange choice from like all of our perspectives, but I get it from a cultural cachet perspective.
Sometimes you shoehorn. I mean, I guess this is the crowbar thing. You just like shoehorn something in because you're like, well, this is cool right now.
Colin True
00:32:19.830 - 00:32:28.622
Well, good point.
If we're all making this video and we have this awesome piece and then someone at the last minute goes, hey, you know, we could probably get Zendaya in this. We'd all say, okay, okay. So it's a good point.
Producer Dave
00:32:28.806 - 00:33:09.286
Right? I think all of that, spot on. I think like you said, it is absolutely for a specific audience trying to do a specific thing. Right.
And to broaden the appeal, it's a lifestyle ad with a little bit of movement that is performance. Right. I think that's absolutely what it's doing.
I think, you know, again, this is where we said, you know, the technical criticisms are all about how they're making it. The choices is that, you know, you said the syncopated. Is that the right one? Is it the good or could they have done something different?
Different, sure. All those are creative choices that could be made. But at the end of the day they are, they are reaching a different audience with it for sure.
And positioning brand on as that type of. Type of brand.
Colin True
00:33:09.438 - 00:33:13.366
So we don't think we see a single running shoe in the video that I Noticed.
Producer Dave
00:33:13.558 - 00:33:14.758
I don't even care about that.
Colin True
00:33:14.814 - 00:33:19.686
Yeah, but if it's a commercial, you guys say it's a commercial, not a brand video. Wouldn't they want. What are they selling?
Producer Dave
00:33:19.718 - 00:33:32.500
Well, Colin, there are all types of commercials. There are brand commercials. Again, I'll go back to Nike's recent, you know, winning ad. Like, there's no shoes in that. It's just.
It's not about the shoe. It's about the.
Colin True
00:33:32.540 - 00:33:38.724
So is this them trying to be more Nike? This is just sort of like almost them trying to be more Nike, everybody, Right? That's right.
Producer Dave
00:33:38.812 - 00:33:53.120
I would say that this is actually. I mean, overall, this still feels on brand to me.
For a Swiss based running brand, that is a little sleeker and more beautiful than, say, some of their other comparisons. That fits the bill right there, right?
Shawnté Salabert
00:33:53.240 - 00:33:54.220
100%.
Colin True
00:33:54.520 - 00:33:57.968
So I'm guess gonna write down thumbs up from you two. All right, fine.
Producer Dave
00:33:58.064 - 00:33:59.520
I'm gonna go neutral.
Shawnté Salabert
00:33:59.680 - 00:34:01.440
I'm a neutral.
Colin True
00:34:01.600 - 00:34:03.936
This is the rock fight. You have to commit.
Producer Dave
00:34:04.048 - 00:34:06.384
Fine, I'm gonna go.
Colin True
00:34:06.472 - 00:34:08.928
I'm gonna go down. Just be that guy.
Producer Dave
00:34:09.024 - 00:34:18.944
It's just. All right, we will have no you. If they'd have gone into actual synchronized swimming, I would have been all over it. That would have been fantastic.
Shawnté Salabert
00:34:18.992 - 00:34:20.684
Can't do that in a 10 issue.
Colin True
00:34:20.852 - 00:34:48.057
Like, all joking aside, I do. I would like to see the director's cut without Zendaya. You know, it be interesting, actually, if she narrates it, but you never see her. It just.
It just didn't. Just felt like this big dingleberry in the middle of it. And the rest of it was so cool. And you had these incredible.
The cinematography, it was beautiful, right? The. The way that the. The choreography was moving through. And then all of a sudden she just pops up and you're like, that's.
It felt like an SNL sketch. I'm like, let me just throw this. A celebrity in the middle of it, like, like awkwardly.
Producer Dave
00:34:48.153 - 00:34:49.309
Zendaya.
Colin True
00:34:49.729 - 00:34:50.633
Zendaya.
Producer Dave
00:34:50.681 - 00:34:50.985
Okay.
Colin True
00:34:51.017 - 00:34:53.721
Or Zendaya. We'll figure it out after the. After the podcast.
Shawnté Salabert
00:34:53.865 - 00:34:54.809
We'll never know.
Colin True
00:34:54.929 - 00:35:02.921
We'll never know. Well, you know what?
We refuse to answer the question unless Zendaya comes on the podcast to talk about it in an exclusive conversation with Shante Salibert.
Shawnté Salabert
00:35:02.985 - 00:35:09.257
I think that'll be great. Listen, I've interviewed Tom Hanks. I've interviewed the Kardashians. I can interview Zendaya. Zendaya.
Colin True
00:35:09.433 - 00:35:16.585
Every time. Every time we hang out with Ashante, she's like, did you think that's the time I Solved the Cuban Missile Crisis. Ever tell you about that?
I'm like, what the hell?
Shawnté Salabert
00:35:16.697 - 00:35:18.781
Yeah, I forgot about that one. I'll tell you.
Producer Dave
00:35:18.945 - 00:35:22.790
Wasn't even born yet and she solved it. That's diplomacy, baby.
Colin True
00:35:22.870 - 00:35:32.006
Can we just. Can you just start writing, like, revisionist history for the. For the like, just you showing up at different time periods and.
And fixing a problem over the last, like, thousand years?
Producer Dave
00:35:32.078 - 00:35:33.222
Screenplay about that.
Shawnté Salabert
00:35:33.326 - 00:35:36.998
That's my next book series. It's going to be a children's book series starring me.
Producer Dave
00:35:37.054 - 00:35:40.518
It's Forrest Gump meets Quantum Leap. There we go.
Shawnté Salabert
00:35:40.654 - 00:35:42.010
Scott Bakulich.
Colin True
00:35:42.510 - 00:35:46.374
She is dumb as Forrest Gump in this book series. Like, what is happening? I'm just saying she's just.
Producer Dave
00:35:46.462 - 00:35:47.920
She's just well positioned.
Shawnté Salabert
00:35:48.330 - 00:35:49.830
4.0 student.
Producer Dave
00:35:50.730 - 00:35:51.602
Okay.
Colin True
00:35:51.746 - 00:37:06.710
All right. Video number two, outdoor research rooted.
All right, so this video opens with quick cuts that open the video with wide, outdoorsy, foggy vistas, close ups on individuals like an elderly man looking out the window and narration talking about how people spend their whole lives looking for a place to call home and how some never do. We then get an older VHS style shot of Ron Gregg, the founder of Outdoor Research Research.
And the narration then pivots to talking about how the Pacific Northwest isn't just where we come from, it's where we sleep and where we eat. I'm sure Shantae noted that shit is absent from what they do there. She's probably bummed out about that.
The narration escalates, talking about how the Northwest is what pushes them to be bolder and more adventurous. And this whole time we're seeing shots of volcanoes and people recreating and also the testing of technical fabrics.
The video culminates with some standard narration about pushing past boundaries before the before ending with the narrator saying, saying born in the elements, built on the trail and the word rooted prominently displayed on the screen, notably absent through the 39 second runtime. They never once say the words outdoor research. I don't know if that's an issue with you guys. I felt like that was a felt.
Would have felt like maybe they should have said that at the beginning. But overall, before I get too deep into that, impressions unrooted by outdoor research, I have thoughts.
Shawnté Salabert
00:37:07.450 - 00:38:12.226
This video didn't hit the mark for me. This felt like. Like a strange melange of all of the stock things that Dave was talking about earlier.
It felt like stock music, it felt like stock footage. None of it felt special. And it's funny because I think of I have positive views of Outdoor Research.
You know, we've talked about it and clearly accessories, you know, episode and they're, they're a go to for me for certain things. And I have a really positive association. Outdoor research and the outdoors. And there were some beautiful visuals in this. Absolutely. But I came away.
This is one of those ads. Had I not watched it for this, that I would have walked away a couple minutes in and. Or a couple minutes I watched it for. It was much longer for me.
Fifteen seconds, a couple seconds in and I just would have been like, I don't know, you know. All right, cool. It's nice. But it didn't even hit that inspirational, aspirational mark for me that I think it was close to hitting.
It just didn't quite get there because everything felt like. Like even the voiceover had no emotion to it. The voiceover was kind of dull. And I felt like all in all it was like.
Like a rough draft version of what could have Been.
Colin True
00:38:12.378 - 00:38:15.682
You could have told me it was a AI voiceover. I'd believe you, honestly.
Shawnté Salabert
00:38:15.746 - 00:38:18.146
Yeah. There was no heart.
Colin True
00:38:18.218 - 00:38:20.050
Dave. Thoughts on rooted.
Producer Dave
00:38:20.210 - 00:39:21.538
Thoughts on rooted. Okay. I'm going to start with the fact that it is a proper brand video. It tells an origin story. It tells why we make our products. And like again, you.
You kind of see this. It's very literal. Literal, right.
It's a very literal piece in terms I've show the founder, I show some dated footage, I show some technical things and I show lots of fog and vista and people outdoors being very outdoorsy. So that's what it does. It is, it is a brand video. It all stops. It's kind of at that point.
It is, it is the perfect specimen of a corporate brand video. Like she said, there's a lot of stock looking footage. Even if it isn't stock. It's just so generic in terms of terms of what it's doing.
It's disconnected, if you will, from any sense of emotion. The voiceover was truly disturbing in the sense that it felt like AI for sure. It was just weird.
Shawnté Salabert
00:39:21.554 - 00:39:22.690
I love the outdoors.
Producer Dave
00:39:22.770 - 00:39:46.642
Weirdly cast, frankly. Like there's just a lot of. And it's all subjective. There's a lot of ways you can go.
I would be curious as to how they got to that and who didn't they cast for for it Me thinks this has the feeling of a lot of cooks in the kitchen. Oftentimes when you get to something that is so middle of the road, you're getting input and forces from all sorts of.
Colin True
00:39:46.666 - 00:39:47.746
It's a Franken video.
Producer Dave
00:39:47.898 - 00:39:48.562
What's that?
Colin True
00:39:48.666 - 00:39:49.938
It's a Franken video.
Producer Dave
00:39:50.074 - 00:40:10.492
Yeah. Because you're very safe. This is definitely a middle of the road type of thing. Right. You're not going too far out. I'm not feeling anything.
But it's all on paper. How could you argue that this isn't on brand? Because it's literally everything the brand does except make me feel why this brand is different.
Colin True
00:40:10.676 - 00:40:24.396
Yeah, I had to double check a couple times like hey, did this actually come out in like 2009? Like you could have told me. This is a bit of a they're going for Evergreen sort of this will last forever.
But it doesn't stand out in a good way in 2025. There's, it just, it's playing the hits a little too much.
Producer Dave
00:40:24.468 - 00:40:25.120
Yeah.
Colin True
00:40:26.420 - 00:40:32.684
I did wonder if maybe we re edited it with Zendaya emerging from the summit of Rainier when all of a sudden it go up a notch for.
Producer Dave
00:40:32.692 - 00:40:41.352
You guys that the footage is so generic. You could probably put a lot of different voiceovers to it and it would work and maybe even work better.
Colin True
00:40:41.536 - 00:40:54.168
I, I, I think yeah, it's just look, I, I think this is a, like I said a couple specific things.
Like I think they should have said outdoor research because like they, they, they're really trying to hit a tone at the beginning of like where your home is, who you are, where you're from.
Producer Dave
00:40:54.224 - 00:40:57.080
Aren't we? Nitpick, really? That's going to change the trajectory of this?
Colin True
00:40:57.120 - 00:41:39.216
I don't think it's going to change the trajectory. I think like, you know, that's, I think that was a kind of a misstep from the beginning too.
I've never really liked the home based marketing like oh, we' that's why we're awesome. I haven't liked that since it was a thing in the early 2000s either. So like it definitely missed a mark of me on a bunch of different levels.
In addition to everything else you said, the one thing I will say, this is the one that got the thumbs up from my 14 year old. Cause she thought it was cool seeing all the different because of the imagery.
She's like, other kids my age would not have seen stuff like this before. Which I was like, okay, that's interesting. But yeah, I mean it's just, you know, it's playing the hits.
It's just a standard outdoor brand video with a note, white guy narrating and you know, I don't really know what you do with it.
Shawnté Salabert
00:41:39.288 - 00:42:12.456
I don't know. Cause it didn't even feel like a great corporate video. To me because I've licensed music to corporate sizzle reels.
You know, where they're just really showing them internally. They're showing them at trade shows, whatever. And even that they. They're so picky with the music to make sure the music is part of it.
And this was just so clearly stock music and bad stock. Like really bad. Middle of the road, trying to be inspirational, aspirational, have some anthemic build to it, but it didn't do.
There was not one half of a heartstring of mine that got plucked. I did not come away feeling warm and fuzzy about this brand. Even though I already like the brand. Right.
Colin True
00:42:12.608 - 00:42:15.000
I'm in your camp already. Like, speak to me.
Shawnté Salabert
00:42:15.040 - 00:42:24.100
Yeah, you might be pushing me away. I don't know. You know, who, like, who is this for? Who is. And what did they want to accomplish with this? It's so unclear to me.
Producer Dave
00:42:24.560 - 00:42:50.508
Let me just last, last kind of bits on that is that I think you have to take everything you just said kind of speaks to budget. So clearly they didn't have a ton to put to this. And so they put their money into making some of those visuals. Even though they're generic.
They, they. There's some original stuff in there. And it's again, it's high quality is visual, but the edit and the voice and the music lacked.
Because I, I think that you can see that in it.
Colin True
00:42:50.564 - 00:43:08.066
Well, there's a world where if this is truly like, hey, we're, we're marketing. Budget's a little thin this year. Here we have 40 plus years worth of video archives. Go through, piece together kind of a new cool video.
I could see that. You know, there's probably a lot. There's a scenario where that works out. This just kind of. I miss the worst case scenario or something like that.
Producer Dave
00:43:08.138 - 00:43:32.850
The other thing too about the visuals versus the sound and the voiceover is when you talk like you said, a trade show, oftentimes we're looking for things that can be played without sound at all. Without sound and still track. And this does that. Like I get what you're talking about visually, without the sound or the voice.
I don't need any of that to get that. This is an outdoor brand that makes outdoor technologies that people use in beautiful places.
Colin True
00:43:33.270 - 00:43:46.734
Yeah. But I think when, if you.
I'd rather see the on video without sound in a trade show because then you're going to look at them like what's going on there? Like this just tracks with what we expect from an outdoor brand. Like, oh look, there's A volcano. Oh, there's a misty mountain. You know.
Producer Dave
00:43:46.822 - 00:44:04.230
This is where though you'd like to ideally have a messaging mix that goes from emotive emotional type of concepts to rational literal type of messages and you bounce them back and forth so you know it's not one or the other, it's both.
Colin True
00:44:04.530 - 00:44:04.890
Right.
Producer Dave
00:44:04.930 - 00:44:06.430
In a cadence.
Colin True
00:44:06.770 - 00:44:08.954
Well, I'm assuming we're all voting down on this one.
Shawnté Salabert
00:44:09.042 - 00:44:10.570
Thumbs down. Sorry guys.
Producer Dave
00:44:10.650 - 00:44:14.218
Sorry. Cause we love you out there like the brand. We love you like the products.
Shawnté Salabert
00:44:14.354 - 00:44:15.738
So many of your gloves.
Colin True
00:44:15.914 - 00:44:45.738
All right. Our last video by Puma. It's Go Wild is the name of it. And in this video we open on a Puma logo.
The sound of an alarm is going off and you get a close up on someone's eye opening in the dark for those of a particular age. We get a familiar bass line and beat and the voice of or a good imitation of the voice of Afroman kicking in with a familiar singing of.
And then I got high. In my research I couldn't find if it was actually Afroman or not. I found that this was. It is. Okay. Did he re record?
It's a remix but did he record anything new to me?
Shawnté Salabert
00:44:45.794 - 00:44:47.690
He may have. He may have but it is him.
Colin True
00:44:47.810 - 00:45:34.776
Okay, that's great. That think that makes us even better.
We go through multiple life scenarios all showing the stressful times and situations that can be helped by getting that runner's high. Situations like sleeping in late, having a baby that needs a nap, texting an ex, driving to work.
And the video culminates with the joy and smiling that comes with running juxtaposed by the glares and scowls of those who didn't choose to get high while running. While Afroman apparently we know now truly Afroman singing La da da da behind the happy runners.
And the video ends with the words for the runner's high followed by the name Puma and the phrase Go wild. My only real nitpick on this is like I don't know what Go Wild is in relation to this video.
I guess assuming this is part of a broader Go Wild campaign it doesn't really fit this but that's a kind of. Kind of a just really is picking nits because is this like a perfect video?
Shawnté Salabert
00:45:34.848 - 00:47:01.586
I mean honestly like just a plus plus plus plus this is. I'm not even surprised. I looked up the agency behind this and it's Adam and Eve.
BBDO and BBDO is one of the biggest most accomplished ad agencies in the world and they. I was not surprised. They've Done some incredible ads. And this just. It hit everything. It was like, everything you want in an ad.
Everything I want in an ad. I would have stayed and watched this if it was playing on Hulu in between shows. I would not have fast forwarded or paused. It's like, you know what?
Have you guys seen the Dove ad that's out that uses my neck, my back? I don't know if I have this. Oh, my gosh. Okay, Colin, look it up after this. Here's the thing. Both of these ads sit in the same world.
They're hitting humor, they're hitting nostalgia for people at least of a certain age and a certain musical taste.
And they're doing it in a really cheeky way that if you don't know the song and you don't know the history of the song, you're just like, well, that's kind of interesting. Like, my neck, my back. And they're putting lotion on in a Dove ad. And that song is like dirty. Very, very dirty.
Afterman's I Want to Get High, which is a lot more obvious in the lyrics. Here is about smoking the dubes. So it's like the whole thing is just so great because it hits. It hits at every level. It's just. It's humorous.
It's doesn't take itself seriously. It's got, like, this lackadaisical song paired against this idea of, like, running and stuff. It's just a plus plus, plus, plus.
Give them all the awards, please.
Colin True
00:47:01.658 - 00:47:02.642
What do you got, Dave?
Producer Dave
00:47:02.786 - 00:47:04.870
I believe we are easily amused.
Colin True
00:47:06.730 - 00:47:08.470
Oh, Dave is zagging.
Producer Dave
00:47:11.050 - 00:47:13.362
Right? You thought this was a slam dunk.
Colin True
00:47:13.506 - 00:47:14.898
I thought it was a slam dunk.
Producer Dave
00:47:14.994 - 00:48:52.530
I agree with so much of that. Right. Again, the song's genius. The position of that is genius. I don't get what it has to do with the Go Wild campaign necessarily.
It is a little bit, again, because we're right. But okay. To me, that's even secondary. All of the instances are good. The pacing is good. All of that. My only quibble is with the art direction.
I feel like the photography that was used, the cinematography is pretty basic. It's pretty plain. In contrast to the song, which is so gritty. And you can feel the resonance in the voice and the baseline and of course, the top.
The subject matter. I think they could have done more. More with. And again, do I have perform. Do I have athletes or actors? Right.
I think there could have been done more with the performances of the people to sell this idea of runners high, of this sense, this lighter levity sense that the song is bringing, for sure, again, hard to do between actors and athletes. How do you do that? And they were trying to blend that.
But that's my quibble with it, is that I think you could have done harder in the acting and the visual presentation to go along with the killer song and the position. I mean, the concept is fantastic. And again, I don't think that's gonna impact its popularity.
People are gonna go look right over that and hear the song and get the double entendre and think that's the cleverest, coolest, subversive thing in their day.
Shawnté Salabert
00:48:52.650 - 00:49:06.014
Oh, this song is being talked about on all of the. Not just the advertising websites and blogs, but broadly. And that's exactly the goal of a campaign like that by a major global brand.
You know, this is ex. What you want is for people to be talking about your ad.
Producer Dave
00:49:06.102 - 00:49:07.374
That's why you pay for it.
Shawnté Salabert
00:49:07.462 - 00:49:26.734
That's why you pay for that song. Like, I think this video is really about the song and the juxtaposition of that.
And I think that that's probably where you're seeing that disconnect for you. And how the visuals come across is that their focus is that song lending that cultural cachet and that wink and a nod.
You know that it's doing a lot of heavy lifting here, right?
Producer Dave
00:49:26.902 - 00:49:45.960
I mean, you could have. I mean, you could have gone into a more of a homemade clerk style type of videography.
It would have changed the whole tone of this piece, yet still done everything that they're doing, same performance, same places. Just that little bit of an indie vibe to go with the song. Would have. Would have brought that together.
Colin True
00:49:46.080 - 00:49:49.176
But again, this is picking nits as well, though. I mean, isn't that kind of picking nits?
Shawnté Salabert
00:49:49.288 - 00:49:58.872
This is us dreaming about the work we're going to get as an agency. Guys, I'm ready. Let's do it. Dave, come on, man. We're resurrected.
Producer Dave
00:49:58.936 - 00:50:07.754
Have you seen the comments at an advertising awards show? I mean, my God, the. The levels of that can be layered upon really great work. Is amazing.
Shawnté Salabert
00:50:07.882 - 00:50:17.050
Listen, just think about all of the emails we'd get@myrockfightmail.com your ad sucked, you losers.
Producer Dave
00:50:17.130 - 00:50:18.150
That's my ex.
Colin True
00:50:18.770 - 00:50:23.034
Yes. We did it, guys. We have true hate in the world now because of what we made.
Shawnté Salabert
00:50:23.122 - 00:50:29.990
Listen, I want to feel big, okay? I want my feelings to be big. I want people to give me big feelings. No, no. Middle of the road stuff. Go big or go.
Colin True
00:50:30.600 - 00:51:30.662
The reason you both are here, obviously are the, the technical, like, level of expertise you both bring I. I think this. There's something about this, watching this, and obviously it's the reason why it's getting so. It is so talked about.
Goes back to something we were talking a little bit about in the innovation episode last week that Dave, you and I did with Owen is that. And I know this is a running brand. This isn't like a. This is an outdoor research, but it's like more of this.
Please, please bring something different. Please don't. Don't just lean. You can have. Have the vistas and the outdoorsy stuff. It can exist, but it. But also, like, bring this vibe.
Like, people understand what it is to go outside now. You don't need to explain to them, like, you're gonna go out and climb up a mountain and you're gonna be on a trail.
It's like, no, like, we get that that's what you exist to do, but go this route with. With that messaging and make it fun and make it different and think a little sillier and. And play on the.
The pop culture references that people understand. Understand. And I just would like to see more of that. For sure. That's why I think that's why I love this so much.
It was a running video with Afroman song in it. Like, just. Yep.
Producer Dave
00:51:30.726 - 00:51:33.718
Sign me up. You got me right. No doubt.
Colin True
00:51:33.814 - 00:51:36.130
Are we all thumbs up or. Dave, are you gonna go thumbs down?
Producer Dave
00:51:36.590 - 00:51:37.878
Thumbs up. I said I'm.
Colin True
00:51:37.974 - 00:51:39.862
You didn't seem to like it very much, Dave.
Shawnté Salabert
00:51:40.006 - 00:51:50.486
Oh, he had one small nitpick. It was really. Come on, it's the art director in him. I. I think we are all like, I'm two thumbs up, in fact, so. Oh, we've added a fourth thumb.
Thumb to the mix.
Colin True
00:51:50.678 - 00:51:53.650
So we're basically. We're split on.
Producer Dave
00:51:54.110 - 00:51:54.518
On.
Colin True
00:51:54.574 - 00:52:04.022
You guys went thumbs up. I went thumbs down. So two. Two against one. Outdoor research. We are sorry, but we all went.
We were unified in our thumbs down and we are unified with Puma.
Producer Dave
00:52:04.086 - 00:52:05.734
I genuinely feel bad about that.
Shawnté Salabert
00:52:05.822 - 00:52:16.684
I know. Don't worry. We like you guys so much. I promise. Listen, if you want some creative consulting, just hit me up. Seriously.
I think there's so much they could do. I mean, we talk about budget is a real fact, right?
Colin True
00:52:16.772 - 00:52:17.164
Sure.
Shawnté Salabert
00:52:17.252 - 00:52:42.716
But we also talked earlier about how there are so many ways to sort of create compelling things at a low budget. And I think humor is one thing.
And like cinema verite, like kind of leaning into some of this more homegrown vibes would be really interesting to see in a future spot from. From Outdoor Research. They're a brand that I think takes themselves fairly seriously. So it would be. I would notice if they.
If they started injecting humor into things. Like I would be shocked.
Colin True
00:52:42.748 - 00:52:43.004
Yeah.
Shawnté Salabert
00:52:43.052 - 00:53:00.776
I used to write for their blog and my blogs for them were. Were all hum. Like the that is that can be part of their brand identity. But I think the blog was pretty separate from kind of the other marketing.
So I think it's all possible and it's a brand like that. I would love to see something cheeky come from them.
Colin True
00:53:00.848 - 00:53:15.624
Like even I made fun of it. I think on our top on our top five accessories episode.
But like I would first thing I would say is let's do a whole series of videos around the Seattle Sombrero. Like make it a sort of anthropomorphic Seattle sombrero. Like going on adventures and people getting hot when it's hot. I don't know.
Shawnté Salabert
00:53:15.632 - 00:53:17.936
Just like don't get of just for free.
Colin True
00:53:18.088 - 00:53:23.792
Right. You have this kind of odd but iconic. It's odd and iconic sort of product. Like I don't know, like what could.
Shawnté Salabert
00:53:23.816 - 00:53:31.872
We do with just that mullet hat? Like why is there not a whole thing based on let's take that desert mullet hat out. I volunteer as tribute for this.
Colin True
00:53:32.056 - 00:53:39.120
Maybe it's the Seattle sombrero family reunion and the desert mullet hat is there too. Right. You know, and they're all hanging out and not talking about things. I don't know.
Shawnté Salabert
00:53:39.240 - 00:53:41.056
Outdoor research. Call us.
Colin True
00:53:41.208 - 00:53:46.816
Yes myrockfight gmail.com rock fight creative has apparently started now because Chante is willing.
Shawnté Salabert
00:53:46.848 - 00:53:50.000
It into ex happening guys. It's happening.
Colin True
00:53:52.340 - 00:53:54.380
I think it's good. Anything else, guys?
Shawnté Salabert
00:53:54.540 - 00:53:57.840
No, I feel satisfied and caffeinated.
Colin True
00:53:58.500 - 00:53:59.628
Great way to start the day.
Shawnté Salabert
00:53:59.684 - 00:54:00.320
Yes.
Colin True
00:54:00.900 - 00:54:30.330
All right, that's the show. No parting shot for today, but we do want your emails like we said. Do you agree with our assessment? Have you viewed these brand videos?
Which brand or product videos should we review next? Send it all to myrockvlightmail.com Today's episode is purchased produced by producer David Karstad.
Art direction provided by Sarah Animate this gensert. The Rock Fight is a production of Rock Fight LLC for Shantae Salibert. I'm Colin True.
Thanks for listening and here to take us out is our guy, Chris Demaiks with the Rock Fight fight song. We'll see you next time, Rock Fighters. Woo.
Shawnté Salabert
00:54:30.910 - 00:54:31.734
Awesome.
Producer Dave
00:54:31.862 - 00:54:33.014
See original music.
Chris DeMakes
00:54:33.102 - 00:55:28.990
Rock Fight. Rock Fight. Rock Fight. Rock Flight. Rock Flight. Rock Fight.
Welcome to the Rock Fight where we speak our truth, slay sacred cows and sometimes agree to disagree.
We talk about human powered outdoor activities and big bites about topics that we find interesting like pop culture, music, the latest movie reviews, ideas that aim for the head. This is a where we speak our truth. This is where we speak our truth.
Rock fight, Rock fight, rock fight welcome to the rock fight Rock fight, rock fight welcome to the rock flight Rock flight Rock fight, Rock flight Rock flight, rock flight welcome to the rock fight Rock fight Rock fight.
Colin True
00:55:31.210 - 00:55:33.610
Rock fight, Rock flight fight.