Barbara Lippert's Critique: Visa's Anthem Falls Flat

Did I miss something? Are we back to exuberance? You'd certainly think so from this 60-second introductory spot for Visa, the first work from TBWA\Chiat\Day after it won the business from BBDO, the previous agency of 20 years.It's called "Life Takes,'' and it's an anthem, which is the first problem. Why is it that clients think they need to come out with a big brand statement to identify who they are, when, inevitably, it just makes them look more like everyone else? It's a sort of industrial-strength version of Sally Field's notorious acceptance speech at the Oscars—"You like us! You really like us!''The spot certainly looks good (granted, it would be hard for TBWA to make one that looks bad). It is nicely shot, cut and composed, and it contains likeable scenes heavy on wacky (a guy eating an enormous sandwich shaped like a Galapagos turtle, amateur bowlers and another crazy guy doing a backflip off a tree trunk—not something you see every day). Plus, the juxtapositions of words and images are clever ("Life takes" is the setup for all sorts of different nouns, including "risk,''which is visualized as smelling milk to see if it's spoiled). I like the placement of the type, and the big, fat, all-cap typeface. But here's the problem—we get a hopped-up, sweet and carefree world that Visa would like to own, and sure, everyone would like to live in, but at the same time, it's pure adland: Just as we fill in what "life takes," this big, celebratory spot could work for any number of fill-in-the-blank brands. (In fact, it reminds me of the Nissan "Shift'' anthem.)"What are you waiting for, a written invitation to participate in life?" the announcer asks."Well, you have one," he says, answering his own question. "It's called a birth certificate.'' I heaved a sigh of relief when I heard that—that it wasn't called a Visa card—because that would be just too much cognitive dissonance. Visa is not just another brand, like Snapple or Nike. Taking on credit card debt has a long life effect. In that case, the average consumer would no doubt be more excited to know what Visa is offering—a low APR that does not switch with a late payment, perhaps?—than the fact that the company has a bold new look and tagline. So what is Visa selling, exactly? Security? Ease? The last line says, "A little help. That's where we come in. Life takes Visa.''It's already been widely reported that the tag "Life takes Visa'' was created at BBDO five years ago. In last week's Adweek, it was reported that Visa evp Suzanne Lyons explained that Lee Clow, in sandals and shorts, walked into a room where they had hundreds of taglines posted—I was waiting for her to say he parted the sea of bad taglines—and pointed to "Life Takes Visa'' and said, "That's a good one.''It is a good line. The "takes'' works as a pun on acceptance and what life requires. Certainly, it's a big open construction that allows for lots of flexibility. And it's true that acceptance is no longer an issue, so "It's everywhere you want to be'' had outlived its usefulness. When "Everywhere" was created back in the 1980s, there was no appreciable cachet to having one; Visa was in the same image backwater as MasterCard (MC's brilliant "priceless, but for everything else …'' positioning came later). So scrappy Visa went after its prestigious competitor, American Express, announcing that it was accepted in a number of exclusive places that American Express, surprisingly, wasn't. (I learned about Cabo San Lucas through a Visa commercial.) There have been funny executions for the debit and check card, and all sorts of other products, but those years of "everywhere you want to be"—referring to exotic vacations and exclusive restaurants—put Visa in the land of high livin'. And that's why MasterCard staked out reality. What's brilliant about "Priceless" is that it effortlessly separates the experience of buying on credit from the experience of real human epiphanies. That's a subtle distinction. It also manages to offer realistic buying scenarios in a funny way.Visa's new 15- and 30-second spots specific to the Olympics are also nicely done—the one featuring Michelle Kwan is called "Poetry,'' and it's aptly named. Apparently, some of the footage already existed from the 2002 Olympics, and despite the wordplay ("Insanity … Determination''), they too have a generic feel. They'll no doubt look a lot like other spots during the Olympics—and could even work as promos for the NBC games themselves.So, right out of the box, the TV work is hardly galvanizing. The outdoor works best—it's funny and intelligent, and the scale and photography do suggest wide open spaces and possibilities. I particularly liked "Life takes stamina" over a shot of year-old quadruplets, all looking in different directions. Another shows a woman with a bubble cut cropping her bushes in shapes similar to her head ("Life takes inspiration").In the meantime, the strength of the campaign is in its flexible structure. The setup can go anywhere. And I know it will be terrific once it goes somewhere specific.'life takes' AgencyTBWA\Chiat\Day, Playa Del Rey, Calif.Production companyEpoch FilmsExecutive creative directorRob SchwartzCreative directorJerry GentileAssociate creative directorChuck Monn, Doug JamesDirectorJeff Preiss'Insanity,' 'poetry,' 'Practice,' 'Determination'Executive creative directorRob SchwartzCreative directorJerry GentileAssociate creative directorChuck Monn, Doug JamesArt directorBill HornsteinCopywriterRon Schlessinger

Brand Marketing

Barbara Lippert's Critique: Visa's Anthem Falls Flat

Barbara Lippert

About

Subscriptions

Events

Publications

WORK SMARTER - LEARN, GROW AND BE INSPIRED.

Subscribe today!

Barbara Lippert