Denim

The newest gem from JWT comes to us in the form of denim diapers. The new Huggies Denim Diapers spot is catching a great deal of attention, as it should. Much to my dismay, it is causing some heated debate in message boards and the blogosphere.

Some say it is cute. Some say it is brilliant.

Others argue with criticisms like creepy, sick, and perverse. Racked.com even includes opinions of pedophilia. To those critiques I say: Whooooa, Sigmund Freud! Take it easy. It’s just a cute diaper commercial, not the deep recesses of your twisted, dark mind. Move along and be sure to pick up some Handi-Wipes to clean up your dirty thoughts.

Me? I say success. The idea is as simple, beautiful, & appealing as anything I’ve seen in a good five years in terms of an entertaining execution of selling and relating the right product to the right audience.

This 30-seconds includes fashion, style, parenthood, babyhood, and a story that makes sense and is – get this – easy to follow. It’s not weird for the sake of being weird, and it’s not cliché cute that makes you want to vomit. It is better than you expect it to be within the first 10 seconds. Aside from the adorable baby boy (that’s a given), I am perhaps most impressed with the color of the commercial. Bright, innocent, clean, and crisp, the camera colors and even sound act as an exciting opposition to the reactions of the adults and the coolness of the little Tom-Cruise-Toddler. The lighting and camera speed is a perfect match to the concept and the goal of the commercial. And there is even a touch of classic to it. From the utopian skies and beautiful people in the spot, JWT manages to fit in the classic white backdrop with the product centered as the closing shot. This could have easily been made in the ad-happy 1980s, only with worse clothing and hairstyles. But, lucky for us, Huggies has this coming out now, in a time where we are not flooded with astoundingly interesting commercials.

Pampers commercials or print ads? I cannot recall one. How’s that for memorable advertising? This is saying a lot given the fact that, as a relatively new father, I actually prefer Pampers’ product better. But since we’re speaking advertising and design, I prefer Huggies as a brand so far.

Kudos to Huggies for going this route and kudos to JWT for adding another hit to their portfolio. I would be interested to see a series of these or seasonal promotions. Christmas, Easter, or a tie in with a children animated movie or something. I am not saying I’d necessariliy like it, but I would be interested to see all the different places this could go. I mean, hey, even the Cavemen got a TV pilot out of there schtick. The clever creatives behind their monitors have achieved a great level with this and I’m eager to see what else they could work up. I am also interested if any copy cats are en route. I am afraid of the local, small market copy cats that only butcher the original in their efforts to promote only who knows what. It is inevitable, but I don’t have to like it.

Keep an eye out for this spot or see it here and enjoy the commercial for what it is. But if you want to further appreciate the spot, look closer at the colors and imagine this shot a little faster, a little less vivid, and any louder. Particularly with adults speaking versus their wise choice of no speech.

- Lance LaRue, Advertising & Creative Manager at Americom Marketing Ad Agency 2010