Ad of the Day: Sonos Skewers Sound-System Indignities in These Clever Mini Ads

Sonos wants to solve all your modern audio woes, especially when it comes to listening to music at home. The wireless speaker brand is out with a new ad campaign from 72andSunny built around the myriad pitfalls of listening to tunes in the digital age, when songs may be plentiful but, the brand says, headache-free sound systems are not. Fifteen-second spots showcase common frustrations like trying to play a banger—say, Skepta's "Shutdown"—on your laptop, but not being to squeeze out enough volume. Or maybe you're trying to put a date in the mood with some romantic music streamed from your phone to a Bluetooth speaker, and getting interrupted by a call from your mom. (Though in that case, your mom might actually be saving you, and your partner, and Sonos, from the incredibly explicit next line of Spank's "Lay You Down.") Ten such commercials run the gamut from impossible assembly of a complex home stereo to poor compression on your home entertainment system—meaning when you turn up the volume to hear the dialogue on the movie you're watching, the surprise explosion in the next scene is guaranteed to wake your infant and ruin the tiny little island of relaxation you thought you'd carved out in your evening. See the spots here: "You're better than this," Sonos promises in the wake of each disaster, a phrase that's the campaign's title and not an altogether unconvincing proposition. A 60-second compilation of the shorter clips—including one starring Paul Rudd and Rashida Jones, borrowed from the 2009 comedy I Love You, Man—makes the same general point. A longer, duller video reveals more of the thinking behind the strategy (while also showcasing the brand's voice control option), though further explanation isn't really necessary. Any music fan has experienced a version of at least one of the problems Sonos is targeting. Whether it can really solve them doesn't matter—that it says it can is enough to pique interest. On some level, that says more about how spoiled the current audience is than anything else. Effortless, instantaneous, unhindered satisfaction isn't just what consumers expect these days, says Sonos—it's what's they deserve. Imagine the horrors of having to pull a 78 out of its sleeve and align the stylus—or, gasp, go see musicians play live—to hear a song. But that's besides the point. Reality being what it is, why not pursue the easiest effective technical solution? Still, it'd be nice if Sonos would come in and design your entire house, too. CREDITS Client: Sonos Chief Marketing Officer: Joy Howard VP Global Brand, Creative Director: Dmitri Siegel Director, Global Brand Design: Andrew Clark Director, Global Campaign & Marketing: Lorrin Pascoe Specialist, Campaign Marketing: Christen Fallon Agency: 72andSunny Chief Creative Officer: Glenn Cole Group Creative Director: John Boiler Group Creative Director: Gui Borchert Creative Director: Jeremy Wirth Creative Director: Paul Sincoff Lead Designer: Sean Matthews Lead Writer: Lauren Ferreira Designer: Jonay Urbina Chief Production Officer: Tom Dunlap Senior Film Producer: Nick Gaul Group Strategy Director: John Graham Senior Strategist: Anneliese Rapp Group Brand Director: Yen Lovgren-Ho Brand Director: Ryan Griffin Sr. Brand Manager: Jessica Brewer Brand Coordinator: Molly Mohr Art Producer: Melissa Harris Business Affairs Director: Jana Nauman Production: HECHO EN 72 Sr. Producer: Jonny Edwards Line Producer: Brian Armstrong Director: Gui Borchert Director of Photography: Max Gutierrez Print Credits: Vendor: HECHO EN 72 Studio Designer: Frank Lucero Retoucher: Franz Steiner Producer: Jacqueline Kynoch Executive Producer: Cindy Bohm Post Production: HECHO EN 72 Editor: Thomas MacVicar Assistant Editor: Ted Stanley Post Producers: Becca Purice & Ryan Curtis Colorist: Michael Gossen Motion Graphics Producer: Caroline Anguiano Lead Animator/Designer: Jae Yoo Animator: Joseph Moon Audio Producer: Whitney Fromholtz Mixer: Brian Naas

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Ad of the Day: Sonos Skewers Sound-System Indignities in These Clever Mini Ads

Wifi hifi brand promises simple, satisfying solutions

Gabriel Beltrone

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Gabriel Beltrone