Home Movies Spark New Ad Fad

Nearly three years ago, Peter Kagan filmed a music video that appeared on the MTV network. Instead of a slick new flick, it looked like the kind of home movie that Dad used to shoot on the family vacation.

The video was grainy and filled with pock marks. Some of the shots were out of focus. But it was a hit. And its reverberations are suddenly being felt in the ad world.

For years, advertisers have eyed the creative techniques of videos aired on MTV, carefully looking for new ideas they can transform into prime-time commercials. But Kagan says he was still surprised last year when Barney’s, a Manhattan clothing store, asked him to film a commercial for them. When the commercial aired in the New York area in September, 1986, a whole new genre hit television’s advertising airwaves--the home-movie commercial.

“All of the big New York ad agencies were calling me,” said Kagan, who was then a virtual unknown. “I didn’t even know who they were.”

He does now. And his concept of home-movie ads has become one of the ad industry’s new darlings. Over the past few months, major advertisers including Nike, Guess?, American Honda, and, most recently, Safeco Insurance Co., have produced commercials in this seat-of-the-pants format. Kagan’s commercial for Nike, which stirred controversy as the first commercial to use an original Beatles recording, mixes sports shots with the Beatles tune “Revolution.” And when Canada Dry breaks an ad campaign for its new flavored seltzer water later this month, it, too, will have Kagan directing a home-movie type commercial.

“It’s a totally different solution to the problem of getting noticed,” said Kagan. The creators say that most of the current home-movie campaigns were filmed in black and white with Super 8 cameras. But the Safeco commercials--which are in color--were just made to look homemade. Although all of these commercials had written scripts, many of the ads left room for the camera crew to capture unplanned action. For example, shots of a kid racing a skateboard downhill in the Honda ad were not planned. Much like in a home movie, the kid just happened to whiz by during the filming.

For Safeco, the home-movie theme meshed perfectly with its target audience: the 30- to 60-year-old. After all, this customer is more familiar with old-fashioned home movies than with the newer home videos. “These people have the home movies in their closets and pull them out once a year at holiday time,” said Ben Benson, Safeco’s advertising manager.

Of course, not all products shine well in the home-movie light. “I don’t think it would be very effective to demonstrate a beauty or cosmetic shot,” said Neil Leventhal, national advertising manager at American Honda’s motorcycle division.

“What’s toughest in advertising is to not come across as someone trying to sell something,” said Dan Wieden, president of Portland, Ore.-based Wieden & Kennedy Inc., which created both the $7-million Nike and $10-million Honda campaigns. “Maybe that’s why Super 8 seems so appropriate,” he said, “It’s the common man of film.”

L.A. Group to Press for Improved Latino Ads

For Fernando Tamayo, it was the last straw. He spotted an airline ad--written in Spanish--that clearly confused the use of the language. Although the ad’s creators intended to use the expression “Fly Comfortably,” they unwittingly used a Spanish idiom that more commonly means “Fly Naked.”

“These ads are not only misleading, but they can be derogatory,” said Tamayo, creative director at the Los Angeles ad firm Bermudez Associates, which specializes in Latino advertising. Tamayo has organized a group here that will press for improvements in Latino advertising, the Society For Excellence in Hispanic Advertising. Talks are also under way to set up a New York branch.

That would be convenient for Tamayo, who expects to spend a lot more time in New York. After all, next month his agency, which handles national Latino advertising for American Telephone & Telegraph, is scheduled to open a New York office. Explained Tamayo: “AT&T; asked us to.”

Purina Director Quits to Focus on Her Job

Sometimes ad executives can become too busy--even for their biggest clients. That appeared to be the case last week when Mary Wells Lawrence, chief executive of the New York ad agency Wells, Rich Greene Inc., suddenly stepped down from her post as a board director of Ralston Purina Co. Her agency creates ads for such Ralston Purina products as Purina Dog Chow, Puppy Chow and four different Chex cereals.

Through a spokesman, Lawrence said that she wants to spend more time directing her own company. The agency has taken on a number of new clients in the past six months, including the $60-million Cadbury Schweppes USA account, the $10-million Ralph Lauren/Polo clothing line, and the $10-million Duncan Hines ready-to-eat cookies brand by Procter & Gamble. A spokesman for the St. Louis manufacturer denied that the company was reviewing its multimillion dollar account with the ad firm. “But it was a decision we weren’t expecting,” the spokesman said. “We just elected her to a new five-year term last year.”

Tailored Video Awaits Consumers of Future

Ah, to be a 21st Century consumer. Want to buy a piece of furniture, but don’t know how it will look in your home? No problem. A special video machine will show buyers exactly how it will look. And customers won’t even have to try on clothes. Video machines will also detect if the suit--or dress--fits.

This is one peek at the future of marketing--as seen by American Marketing Assn.’s so-called Commission on Marketing in the Year 2000. These early findings were revealed to some 850 marketing executives attending the Chicago-based association’s World Congress in Montreal last week. Executives from 16 nations were also informed that by the year 2000--through the use of satellite technology--some specialized television advertisements will be directed to individual households.

MGM Grand Air Aims at First-Class Tastes

The name MGM has already been draped across a movie studio, a hotel and a gambling casino. But it also takes to the air, literally, next month when MGM Grand Air begins all first-class service between Los Angeles and New York. One-way tickets will initially cost about $780--par with first-class seats on most competing airlines. Advertising for the new airline begins June 15, with a $3-million campaign created by Los Angeles-based Admarketing. “We’re going to let the differences speak for themselves,” said Jack Roth, president of Admarketing. Ads will show that MGM planes have 32 seats--instead of the usual 100-plus. And with a name like MGM, each flight will give passengers a choice of six films--with MGM classics available, of course.

Mr. Bill Returns to TV in Anti-Drug Messages

Mr. Bill isn’t over the hill. The animated character made famous on television’s Saturday Night Live has resurfaced after a long absence from TV. But this time, the puppet with the high-pitched voice--who is often slugged, choked or otherwise beat up--has made two public service announcement spots for the anti-drug crusade. The widely used “Just Say No” slogan, however, has been rejiggered to fit Mr. Bill’s most famous line. When the bad guys bully him to try some drugs, Mr. Bill responds with his familiar “Oh, noooo.”