Creative Director’s Choice: Decoded's David Weinstock on the analog promo for Just Tom
Creative Director’s Choice gives creative directors a chance to highlight the work they think is the best out in the ad world – the ads and campaigns they believe are making a difference.
Just Tom's analog infomercial
This week, Decoded Advertising chief creative director, David Weinstock, gives the simple reason why Canada’s Just Tom audio production shop promoted itself with an analog record and video infomercial.
You can ask anyone who knows me, that when I say “that’s so stupid,” what I really mean is, “I f#$king love it.” So, let me say that a company that puts its website on wax is so stupid that I’m jealous.
It makes total sense: Just Tom is an audio shop out of Toronto and their debut record’s production quality is amazing. That’s the point. What better way to peddle your audio prowess than with the warm, soothing sounds of analog? In a record, there’s no place to hide, and success is the kind of website you can listen to for hours.
So, in one simple gesture, Just Tom managed to make something memorable, nostalgic, troped (in the best possible way) and educational. Now I want one.
Just Tom’s informercial is solid gold. It’s a great example of a single joke that’s allowed to really breathe. Juxtapose that to what folks are being served today: ads that use editing and style over substance. At Decoded, we’re asked, time and time again, to make things shorter, faster, more 'cuttier' to “keep the interest up.” And so on behalf of our clients, we’ve tested theories like that, and the findings are fascinating – there are no hard and fast rules anymore – we shouldn’t take the platforms' “best practices” as gospel. Decoded’s created ads from three seconds to 11 hours, and every time we discover something new. But it’s applying those learnings that really make ideas sing.
Just Tom’s record is just another great data point that there are quick-get, yet slow-burn opportunities to let stories unfold.
David Weinstock is chief creative director at Decoded Advertising.
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