I remember SoBe from my time in high school. The drink company hit the shelves in the late 90's so it was still fairly new when I started drinking it. With its big glass bottles and natural ingredients it felt really 90's and always made me think of Sheryl Crow for some reason...maybe it was that whole free spirited "soak up the sun" attitude SoBe associated itself with. The iconic lizard was plastered all over jeeps and surf boards and to be "healthy hip" meant a steady supply of the stuff in your fridge at all times.
Then something happened. SoBe fell out of favor. Whether that has anything to do with the emergence of Glaceau and it's Vitamin Water brand around the same time remains a matter of opinion, but something caused the lizard and it's Life Water to loose its way.
The Super Bowl Ad
Since this is commentary, I can say what ever I want and I want to say "What were they thinking!?" I've posted the ad below. What do dancing "Thriller Lizards" and Naomi Campbell have to do with a health beverage?
Let's break this down as a lesson in a bad commercial. 1) Note the perils of using a celebrity spokes person. Any person in the ad game, who knows their stuff, will tell you that attaching your company's image to that of a star or starlet is one of the worst mistakes you can make. Its the equivalent to putting all your eggs in one basket. If their ship sinks, consider yourself caught in the undertow. 2) Pop culture does not stand alone. It would be safe to say that since music videos were invented, "Thriller" has been in the top 5 of the best videos of all time. Its a total cultural phenomenon that has managed to retain its popularity and relevance (at least to some extent) for decades. Grafting yourself into the famous dance sequence will NOT make YOU famous and will do less for your brand. Things like Thriller became popular in the first place because they were unique, original and sometimes ground breaking but always the first of their kind done right. Never expect revolutionary results from re-hashed ideas. 3) Mascots are an identity, identities are unique. Both SoBe and Geico have lizard mascots. You don't need me to tell you which one is the more successful. The Geico Geko is a friendly employee in an insurance company--that's his identity. The SoBe lizards are well, props. They can be used and misused in any way that an advertising agency feels fit. A muddled mascot identity can lead to a muddled corporate identity.
The Super Bowl Ad Pt 2
Just another example of how a muddled identity can spawn some weird commercials. But while you watch this look closely for something that is missing.
Did you catch it? It was proper product placement. I think the product appeared around 7 times. A couple of "Mmmm, I'm drinking this beverage" shots but nothing about Life Water's benefits, flavors, why you should pick this over Vitamin Water or anything useful really. What should you take from this? TV commercials are expensive. Don't waste your time or your viewer's time. Get to the point and showcase your product's features and benifits. Animated lizards, ballerinas and monsters with aliens will not improve your bottom line. Don't believe me? Check out the comment thread on YouTube for this commercial.
Ashley Greene + 0 =???
Ok so obviously SoBe did not learn their lesson with Naomi Campbell and rounded up another starlet. This time the "angelic" Ashley Greene from Twilight. They painted her with body scale paint and put her naked on a beach to sell Life Water. The connection? She is "Wearing Zero" and the Life Water has zero calories. Clever right? It would be except for some obvious problems:
- Zero calorie beverages are generally targeted toward women.
- Women don't normally buy a beverage from another woman who is trying to sell to them naked on a beach.
- Men think Ashley Greene is hot. They will look at the SI spread and watch the commercials but will probably won't buy Life Water
- Twilight, despite what everyone says, has a limited appeal and a hardcore fan base of young buyers. They are too young to watch the Mature rated commercials on YouTube.
- SoBe has still not created a brand or identity for its product. They handed a bottle to a beauty with no clear plan.
