Back in April, Best Buy representatives told us that their company would become the latest big-name brand to move away from the old agency of record model.
This meant no more contract for CP+B, which had been working with the box store chain for about a decade since winning the Geek Squad business and eventually became its AOR in order to bring Ozzy Osbourne and Justin Bieber together in a Super Bowl ad.
The client said at the time that Crispin was welcome to pitch for future campaigns, but the ensuing review saw Best Buy choose Grey New York as its latest agency partner. (No word on whether CP+B participated.) Specifically, Grey was tasked with handling creative, social, digital and “content” for the client’s holiday push and a January campaign set to focus on home theater offerings.
Here, via our friends at YouTube, are the first spots from Grey in the Christmas campaign, “Win the Holidays at Best Buy.” The opener “Effort” is a perfect illustration of a traditional retailer struggling to find its way in the new e-commerce market.
Ah yes, Karate Kid III: Ralph Macchio’s Last Stand.
The next spot reminds us that Best Buy remains, first and foremost, a brick-and-mortar retail chain. You may visit to pick up the latest in fashionably wearable technology for the demanding tweens on your list, but you’ll still be getting in your car and driving to that nearby location just like our good friend Steve. (He’s not winning the hair game, but dude knows how to buy some presents. He also seems like more of a Christopher Guest ensemble film guy than a Karate Kid fanatic.)
We welcome a good/bad holiday pun.
Recent reports hint at Best Buy’s seasonal marketing plans, which will focus on sales, convenience and customer service. Last week Fortune told us of the company’s plans to waive its minimum order total for free shipping and hold Black Friday-style events that will be open to the general public rather than just loyalty program members. In this way, Best Buy hopes to compete with fellow chains Target and Walmart while hopefully nipping at the toes of the Christmas monster we call Amazon. One man from our nation’s greatest state has already begun his “camp out in front of Best Buy for 33 days before Black Friday” ritual, but he’s primarily looking to raise awareness of Orlando’s growing homeless population.
Best Buy reps have yet to respond to our queries and Grey New York told us to talk to the client, but we hear that this campaign will include more than a dozen individual ads. Some of the coming spots will focus on specific brands, much like BBDO Atlanta’s recent work for Toys ‘R’ Us.
The store’s own surveys tell us to expect lots of toys and tech. We look forward to the spot focusing on the iRobot Roomba, which we assume will be similar to the GE/Barbarian Group drone work if it had been a little closer to the ground.