Rivitid

Ford

Ford has had a hell of a year. They spent way too much time in Washington, filed for bankruptcy, got out of bankruptcy just months after, fired a boatload of workers, and that’s just on the surface. The most important thing that happened to Ford is that they got humble. Ford started becoming a people’s car company instead of a faceless luxury automobile manufacturer.

Consider BMW, on the other hand, who have a radio commercial out now. The commercial is narrated by a voice that can only belong to someone sitting in a smoking jacket in a social club. The voice spits out words like “Pristine certified select BMW.” Way to talk down to the people, BMW. Sorry, but I can’t relate. I need a car – not a Rolex on wheels.

Nike

Nike doesn’t have much of a special story behind it, but look at the epic crazy ninja movie they made in 2000 compared with the simplicity of their 2009 commercial!

Apple

AppleApple reviews have always been amazing Marketing leaders. But in 2000, the playing field was different – just like Ford and Nike, the focus was not on the consumer, or people working at Apple. It was on the product – how it looked, felt, and worked. And there is no better contrast than this 2000 Apple Cube (does anyone even remember the CubeCube reviews?) as compared with the simplistic 2 people talking to each other theme of the famous late 2000′s Mac vs. PC commercials:

So What’s Changed?

What’s changed is that we know we have technological innovation. What changed is that since 2000, we’ve gone from making things seem as close to real-life as possible, to making graphics look exactly like real life. And we’re now unimpressed. That unimpressed state caused a really cynical cycle of ads in the mid-2000′s which then encouraged the world we’re in now – a world of honesty, openness, and sincerity. A world where companies say “yeah, we can pull bells and whistles on you and wow you out of your pants – but we’re just going to level with you instead.

And that’s where we stand.

What do you think the evolution of Marketing over the past decade means? And what do you think comes next?

Popularity: 2% [?]