Polaroid Spots Provide Instant Gratification

Advertiser: Polaroid

Agency: Goodby, Silverstein & Partners, San Francisco

Challenge: Show the everyday advantages of a Polaroid instant camera.

The Ads: In three new television commercials, Polaroid continues with humorous demonstrations of how consumers use the cameras. The best of the three uses a documentary format, in which three party-goers discuss their preferred poses for instant pictures. “I go with thumbs up,” a young man explains as the scene cuts to him practicing in front of his bathroom mirror. That’s not his only move. “I can do the double,” he boasts, signaling two thumbs up. Another party-goer says he does the “wacky face,” while the third explains that she poses with a spoon on her nose. “Some people eat with a spoon,” she deadpans. “That’s not comedy.” The second spot shows what people do while waiting for a Polaroid picture to develop. The third commercial centers on a bank manager embarrassed by a Polaroid of him taken at a party.

Comment: The commercials playfully show how Polaroid cameras provide instant gratification in fun situations, while poking fun at the vanity in all of us. Clever though they are, it’ll take more than advertising to rev up Polaroid, which has been losing business to one-hour photo processors. Sales have risen by an average of 1.9% in each of the last five years, and in December it slashed its work force by 15% to lower costs. $$$$