OK then. Need a campaign (1, 2, 3, 4) that explains Texas Instruments DLP technology which makes a TV’s picture better and brighter? Easy. Get a cute little girl. Bring on that “elephant in the room” metaphor with an actual elephant. Put them together in environments that need DLP technology to look good and talk about the mirrors. Yes, the mirrors. You see, DLP TVs are powered by Texas Instruments chips filled with millions of mirrors that direct the light towards the TV screen. The trouble is, unless you knew that prior, you’d think it was some strange entity called “meers” that made DLP TV beautiful. Here’s a tip. When casting a kid for a spot in which she needs to say the word “mirror,” it helps to make sure she actually can before you cast her in a campaign about “meers,” uh, mirrors.
With Plasma, LCD, LCOS, CRT and several other acronyms fighting for attention, DLP is going to have a tough time. That said, our research – and we do know what we’re talking bout on this particular topic – does indicate DLP is, in fact, one of the better television picture technologies out there. Perhaps this ingredient branding approach will give DLP some notice in the growing sea of TV technobabble. But if you’re going to highlight the centerpiece of the technology, at least make sure your spokesperson can pronounce it properly. JWT created. Final Cut produced.
UPDATE: We recently had a conversation with the child’s mother who correctly chastised us for picking on the girl explaining the spots were shot two ways; first with the girl pronouncing “mirrors” in a fashion our mean-spirited brain could understand and then in the girl’s natural accent which we chose to trash here in a most unfeeling manner. Texas Instruments chose to go with the version in which the girl used her natural accent. We now feel like a schmuck and apologize for being such an idiot about this. Sure her pronunciation sounds a bit different to some but we didn’t need to get all mean-spirited on her. We are sorry for that.
The girl, who comes from a family of actors, worked 12 and 15 hour days without complaint and didn’t flinch at all when working with the elephant. You might want to check her – and the rest of her family – out for your next commercial.
