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Cisco Skateboard Commercials Get it All Wrongposted February 11, 2008 under skateboarding in the mediaOnce again, some ad agency shows the skateboarding world they don't have a clue when it comes to portraying skateboarders accurately in an ad campaign for Cisco. Then again, are skateboarders really their target audience? Probably not, but why not get it right? I actually am a consumer of Cisco products since I'm a business owner, and if I didn't understand the advertising world I'd totally be turned off on Cisco. And as usual, the sad part is that it wouldn't have taken all that much effort to get it right. So let's take it from the top and point out everything wrong with this series of commercials.
 1. Outdated board shape, trucks, and wheels. You can't see it all that well here, but if you watch the commercial you'll see a board that is mostly flat, with a tapering tail, and a pointed nose. And these large, semi-transparent, red wheels mounted on what are obviously not Independent trucks. Now, if this commercial were featuring somebody riding a longboard, or if this were a commercial showing a flashback to the 70s, then I wouldn't be criticizing it, but given that nobody skates street or ramps (the only type of skating shown in this commercial) with a board, wheels, or trucks like this, it's strike one.
2. Corporate types. I don't think even George Powell has ever been in a meeting as corporate as this one. Certainly not Rick or Mike. Correct me if I'm wrong, guys, but this is not the skateboarding industry I know, unless the guys making skateboards for Wal-Mart have meetings like this, but in that case they wouldn't be doing actual product testing, seeing as how the skateboards at Wal-Mart aren't real skateboards. Strike two. BTW - Is Tanya taking a nap?
3. Dork. Please, please, please, advertisers and marketers! Please do not portray skateboarders as being anything like this guy! Where'd you even find this guy? I've NEVER met a skater who was anything like this guy in my 20 years of skating. Strike three.
Ok, I don't have time to take screenshots of all the other mistakes in this campaign, but here's a list: 4. Product testing cycle. What product testing cycle? I don't think any real skateboard company has a product testing cycle like this. And if they did, they wouldn't turn out product like the junk shown in this commercial. 5. ThunderSk8? They "are the dudes who invented the twin tail trend in the early 90s"? 6. Product developer? Find me one skateboard company that has anyone on staff they call a "product developer." C'mon guys, do your research. 7. Graphics on the top of the board. Once again guys, if you had just walked into a skate shop and looked at decks you'd know that nobody does this. 8. David Wein, pro skateboarder? Yeah, nice rock n' roll on the launch ramp. 9. Why is Dylan calling Sean if they're both obviously at the same place, about 10 feet from each other? 10. Helmets for skating flat bars? Guys--I mean you guys at the ad agency who came up with this--do a half hour of research next time. Buy a skateboarding magazine, visit the website of a real skateboard company, go to a skateshop, talk to a skater--anything! But please don't churn out this Bill-and-Ted's-80s-"dude" marketing slurry that is based on outdated stereotypes. Yeah, I know, 99% of your target market might not know any better, but why turn off that 1% when an hour or two of research could prevent it? Cisco and their ad agency--people working together to make lame advertising. comments Kap on March 19, 2008 09:14 PM The point wasn't to sell to the skateboarding public. The point was to sell Cisco. I'd say it did its job. The point was "we can make your product creation process better." The story illustrated it. Whether it was true or not is rather immaterial. Sublimited Administrator on March 19, 2008 10:51 PM Well yeah, but can't people use skateboarders in advertising without making them look like idiots? And actually I am a skater and I have spent about $20K on Cisco products in the past. Not that this advertising would stop me from buying more in the future, but it sure doesn't engender any positive feelings. Steve on March 30, 2008 10:57 PM This a horrible commercical created by ad geeks who have no experience or historical knowledge of skateboarding. Lame!!!!!!!!! Olaf on April 4, 2008 02:00 AM Well it is about what the "wider" audience thinks and awaits from "skaters" and such a company. So the story is narrative. The woman which is so happy with the new washing powder hasn't used it at all as well - everybody knows this. pHim.theprince on April 8, 2008 03:46 AM I think you are right. They could have done a little more research, even if it was not the goal to sell cisco products to skaters. I believe they wanted to present ways to use the "human network" and its capabilities and did not come up with another effective example ;-) Mr Long Cat on April 9, 2008 08:10 PM anyone know the song that plays in this commercial? its about the only good thing thats in it Joel Aigner on April 10, 2008 12:47 PM I work in the IT industry and a fair amount of my business is Cisco-Centric, so to speak, and this commercial was really poorly executed. Seriously, WTF was up with the shape and such? Are kids really doing tre-flips and skating mini's on a sector 9 reject? Case in point, if I showed such a lack of knowledge in regards to networking as they did to skateboarding, my deals would not close. I appreciate the effort but it would have cost them absolutely nothing to have made the ad more realistic. vince on April 19, 2008 03:04 PM I was curious about this commercial too, but I assumed it was a metaphor rather than a realistic dummy company. The board they roll out in the beginning looks like some of the earliest skateboards, yet in no time this company has developed the modern shape, trucks and deck art of the skateboards people use today. The point of the add is that, if the skateboard were invented today, Cisco systems would have it perfected in no time. I'd have to agree that they are way out of their demographic though. How would a CEO know about the history of skateboarding? RebekahJF on April 25, 2008 07:56 PM I am a 39 yr old female in no way connected with skateboarding (at least not in the last 29 years), but this commercial left even me saying, "What the heck?!" I recognized the skateboard in the original scene from the 70's. Yeah, I had one like that. Then they seemed to update it to the 80's/90's version. What sense does that make? Was Cisco around with those kind of high-tech cell phones at the time skateboards transitioned from 70's style to the more recent style? It doesn't make any sense. Surya on April 26, 2008 07:24 PM This is exactly what ran through my mind when I saw this bull**** ad. I had to let it out to my poor girlfriend for about 10 minutes about all the things that this commercials got wrong. Post a comment |
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