DDB New York launched a new campaign for Time Warner Cable, entitled “Changing for Good.” It’s the agency’s first work for the client since winning creative duties in February, following a review in which twelve-year incumbent Ogilvy & Mather did not defend.
The campaign addresses the fact that the cable company has had a few issues with customer service in the past.
It was, after all, named the most unpopular company in the country in University of Michigan’s American Consumer Satisfaction Index in December of 2014. Time Warner Cable promises they’re doing better in the new campaign and that you can too (whoever you might be).
In “Motivational Speaker” a Gary Vee type thought leader gets perhaps a bit too carried away with the message while referencing the brand’s 1-hour arrival windows and technician tracking.
Another spot, “Elephant,” sees a misbehaving young boy receiving the message from a stuffed animal while drawing on the walls.
It’s a bit odd that he understands the reference so well, and also that he has a celery stalk in his pocket. We’re a bit concerned that the boy seems to have been left alone to scribble, that he’s taking orders from a stuffed elephant and that he carries vegetables around despite not having a real taste for them.
This might make him a future serial killer, but we’re probably reading way too much into it.
A third spot sees an airline baggage handler have a change of heart upon realizing that Time Warner Cable now streams all content to a wide variety of devices!
Time will tell whether the “Hey, we used to suck but we’re better now” message resonates with audiences and customers, but at least one person found the company’s honesty refreshing.
“It’s so great to work with a client brave enough to talk about change in such [an] honest way,” DDB New York CCO Icaro Doria told Adweek.