Sunnyvale, California — Trailing in the footsteps of Microsoft and Apple, Yahoo today has launched its big marketing campaign, called “Y!ou” Monday, a one-minute advertising campaign through its new US $100 million dollar “Anthem” ad that is intended to highlight all the things Yahoo can do for you.
Yahoo is paying more than $100 million it has assigned to its new branding campaign last week, Well, the first TV ad in the campaign was recorded in five countries and is airing on all the major TV networks and top cable channels in the U.S., where it debuts this week.
The video below is the first part of Yahoo’s re-branding. Here’s an excerpt from that report:
The campaign is being led by Elisa Steele, the chief marketing officer Yahoo appointed earlier this year. She reportedly has hired some big-name branding consultants to assist.
The long-rumored re-branding was delayed when Carol Bartz took over as CEO in January. Now, according to the WSJ, it is slated for the fall.
The new ad which is of a minute in duration covers people from all over the world, giving nice glimpses of their lifestyles, cultures and emphasizes on the word “You” a lot.
However, there is nothing particularly new, though. Undoubtedly it’s difficult to make a compelling ad for a search engine or Web-based e-mail, but this ad never even shows a computer. Instead, it features a diverse crew of models and actors, seemingly having tons of fun while not using technology. Blowing bubbles? Playing soccer? Shooting rose petals out of a gun in the middle of the desert while wearing an evening gown?.
“I think that “re-brand” is a very worrying word,” said Dean Crutchfield, a marketing consultant in New York. “Is it reinvention? Is it revitalization? Is is re-skinning?”
Simply putting a new face on Yahoo, without presenting any new services or anything worth a re-branding, would be “the biggest mistake they could make,” Crutchfield said. “Hopefully it is not just a new logo, and not just a new ad campaign.”
Poppy, cheerful music plays over a voice track that is similarly nebulous. “You are about to enter a place. A place where time and space collide and breed wonder and joy and wow,” a woman’s voice says. Um, OK?
Watching this ad, titled “Anthem,” the only thing it reminds about was how much money Yahoo must have spent on it. The budget for the entire campaign, reports All Things Digital, is $100 million.
The commercial starts airing today in the U.S. on the major networks, as well as cable channels AMC, ESPN, USA, Comedy Central and Bravo. It will also be aired in the U.K. and India next month—and in Brazil, Canada, France, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Korea, and Taiwan next year.
The Y!ou campaign will also include online, radio, and print ads, as well as something known as “outdoor creative,” Yahoo said.
Video is very dynamic, vibrant and certainly full of energy. It is so attractive and eye catching that “You” who is so important to Yahoo cannot just wink away.
Certainly a good start by Yahoo! About time they start doing something about their brand. The international reach is not surprising, considering that the campaign is global and the take away is supposed to be “your world and the world.” As for the ad itself, it is trying to be aspirational, with jumping people, dancers, athletes, and cute kids. There is even a “wow,” a nod to CEO Carol Bartz’s stated desire for the company to produce “a ‘wow’ experience” for all of its users.
The commercial ends with the old “Yahoooo!!” catch phrase, but it is no talking dolphin.