As part of a project by Google, Alka-Seltzer is turning its famous commercial with a guy who says "I can't believe I ate the whole thing" into a video clip styled like a 1970s sitcom.A project by Google to reimagine classic advertising campaigns from the 1960s and 1970s for contemporary sensibilities — and technologies — is proceeding with work for two additional brands.
The effort, called Project Re:Brief, last month brought out its reworked versions of the 1971 "Hilltop" commercial for Coca-Cola, in which a chorus sang of its desire to "buy the world a Coke and keep it company"; and a Volvo campaign from 1963 that carried the theme "Drive it like you hate it."
Google is to introduce on Friday its updates of the 1972 commercial for Alka-Seltzer about a gourmand named Ralph who moans, "I can't believe I ate the whole thing" and the "We try harder" campaign for Avis car rental, which began in 1962.
The goal of Project Re:Brief is to change minds on Madison Avenue about new technologies in general, and Google products and services in particular. The idea is to demonstrate that Google Maps, Google Mobile, Gmail, YouTube and their gaggle of siblings can help create advertising that is emotional as well as rational.
For instance, for Alka-Seltzer, the idea is to imagine the rest of Ralph's day, beyond the meal where he "ate the whole thing." Video clips, titled "The Day Ralph Ate the Whole Thing," are styled like a sitcom from the '70s; the actor playing Ralph was cast because he resembles Milt Moss, the actor who played the part in the original commercial.
Each video uses interactive display and mobile ads, and each ad impression is personalized for a viewer depending on factors like location and time of day. (For instance, if it is lunchtime, Ralph may be seen eating lunch rather than breakfast or dinner.)
For Avis, consumers will be invited to write online about their experiences renting cars with Avis. The words and phrases they use will help Google generate personalized video clips that can be shared with friends and family.
For Project Re:Brief, Google is working with some of the creators of the original campaigns like Paula Green, who was at Doyle Dane Bernbach when she worked on "We try harder" for Avis, and the creative team of Howie Cohen and Bob Pasqulina, who were at Wells Rich Greene when they worked on campaigns for Alka-Seltzer.
Google is also involving three of its agencies in the initiative. They are: Grow Interactive, which serves as the lead digital agency for Project Re:Brief; Johannes Leonardo, part of WPP, the creative agency; and Nexus Productions, the animation agency.
Stuart Elliott has been the advertising columnist at The New York Times since 1991. Follow @stuartenyt on Twitter and sign up for In Advertising, his weekly e-mail newsletter by clicking here.
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