Remember the Roomba? The iRobot-made mini-hovercraft-slash-vacuum, which has somehow already been in existence for a decade, is back with a vengeance thanks to a $10 million ad campaign across print, Web and TV from Boston agency Mullen. There's also an iRobot-branded YouTube channel [1]—which ties in nicely with the star of Roomba's video spots, YouTube dubstep dance sensation Marquese Scott. [2]
The spot, titled "Do You?" (as in "iRobot, Do You?"—whatever that means), features Scott and a bevy of otherwise normal-looking people so inspired by their Roomba vacuum that they break into a very challenging version of "The Robot" dance with their electronic friend. But the real draw here is the Roomba song. There is literally a Roomba dance song. With lyrics. (Sample: "Got a robot vacuum cleaning up my life.") God help us, it's so bizarre (and passionately performed!) that it's actually kind of catchy.
The point of this whole song-and-dance routine, according to iRobot, is to show "the unique bond that is created between people and robots." Apparently, people have been known to treat their Roomba "as a member of the family," going so far as to name it. Shortly after I had finished rolling my eyes at this marketing angle, I happened to remember a long-lost member of my own family: The Polaris robotic pool cleaner, also known affectionately in our household as "The Little Guy." Too bad he never had his own song.
CREDITS
Client: iRobot
Product: Roomba vacuum
Agency: Mullen, Boston
Chief Creative Officer: Mark Wenneker
Group Creative Director, Copywriter: Brian Tierney
Associate Creative Director, Art Director: Jesse Blatz
Executive Director of Integrated Production: Liza Near
Producer: Zeke Bowman
Production Company: Smuggler
Director: Jamie Rafn
Executive Producer: Allison Kunzman
Producer: Ray Leakey
Director of Photography: Ray Coates
Editing Company: Rock Paper Scissors
Visual Effects: Brickyard VFX
Music: Scott Monaghan (Mr. Pitiful); Robot Repair
Audio Post: Soundtrack
Digital Credit
Associate Creative Director, Copywriter: Nicole Berard
Print Credit
Photographer: Kara Kochalko