It was one of those rarest of television commercials -- the kind that leaves you smiling. New England-based Jordan’s Furniture, known for its humorous sendoffs of popular ads, did a spot featuring khaki-clad dancers swinging to the tune, “Don’t Sit Under the Apple Tree (With Anyone Else But Me).”
The commercial had the look and feel of a Gap commercial, and in fact, it isn’t until a dancer executes a flip with a half twist over a comfy looking couch that the viewer realizes they’re not watching a commercial for the Gap at all. The tip-off? Jordan’s Furniture owners Barry and Eliot Tatleman are sitting on the couch, tapping their fingers to the music.
It seems that everyone was amused by the commercial. Everyone, that is, except Gap, Inc. The company complained and Jordan’s pulled the ads, which also appeared in print.
It’s trendy, even cutting edge to poke fun at advertising in ads. Doing so is a way to connect to the consumer, a sort of wink of the eye, as if to say, “we know you know we’re trying to sell you something. So why don’t we share a good laugh about it.”
The danger, as Barry and Eliot Tatleman found out, is when parody crosses the border into copyright infringement. But that doesn’t have to happen. It’s simple enough to get at the essence of an ad without coming so close to the real thing as to confuse people. Burger King did it with their dancing silhouettes, which end with the man presenting the woman with, not a De Beers diamond, but a Chicken Crisp sandwich. And Boston Chicken used the slogan “eat something” in a spot which closely resembled a Calvin Klein ad featuring waifish models.
As long as its done with a light touch, parody in advertising is worth trying, especially if your target is the young adult, in their 20s and 30s. This group is especially media-savvy, and harder to reach through traditional advertising. They grew up with television and have learned to distrust ads. The best way to forge a bond with these consumers is not to play up the features of the item being pitched, but to endow it with a personality. It’s through their print ads and radio and television commercials that New Englanders have come to feel they know Barry and Eliot Tatleman. They seem like the kind of guys you’d like to have over to your next backyard barbecue. The ads’ humor grabs the consumers’ attention, allowing the message about quality furniture at low prices to seep through.
However, as with all innovative ideas in advertising, it doesn’t take long to reach critical mass. There’s been a flood of ads parodying other ads over the past few years, and it’s just a matter of time before consumers get bored and tune them out.
And there’s even a greater risk of mocking ads through ads, and that’s biting the hand that feeds you. Consumers fed a steady diet of self-parodying commercials and print advertisements will become conditioned not to trust ads. Should that happen, it’s up to the creative minds to think of another way to get through to people. Perhaps by promoting a product’s features. What a concept.
