On sexual innuendos in ads, and why Comin got it wrong.

Ah here were are again, still talking about that silly, trashy Comin ad. Well, is this a triumph for them? They do say "bad publicity is good publicity". If this is the case then Comin was a triumph - to be honest I don't think so. Also, now that the door for sexual innuendos has been open, even their name "Comin" is starting to resonate badly. My previous post has generated heated discussion on Linkedin, and to be clear no it was not a "translation" - this ad was done in Arabic. Also many called it "sad", which I tend to concur with. Also, there was people saying that it differentiated itself from what is already on the panels and therefore "made you look" - a must for any ad. The problem? In 2005 (circa) we needed 500 panels for our campaign to be seen in Beirut, now only half a dozen billboards is enough. There is not enough competition and - this I know from an internal source - OOH companies have prices so low they just tell agencies "just book please".

So where does this lead us? Comin had done an ad with a sexual innuendo. It was at best, idiotic. Because as a company they were incredibly innovative when it comes to the packages they proposed to clients (in case you want to see the ad again, please do so here). I shall refer you to what I wrote previously about the Vote for Tolerance Aizone campaign (here):

The smartness was to dress the models in colors that resembled the Lebanese political parties (orange for FPM, green for Lebanese Forces, blue for Future Movement....) but look deeper and you shall see it is about homosexuality and bisexuality and their acceptance. The body language in the ad whereas barely dissimulated was enough to get past censorship.

You don't have to go above and beyond for things to work. As I said the Aizone campaign is a prime example of that. We may be talking about Comin, but there is also brand value - now this is tarnished for Comin. I hope it was worth it for the sake of just one ad.

Comin.... relax don't do it

Photo credit - Georges Serhan

Not sure where to start. Or maybe I am jumping the gun (har har)... But is that a gun in my pocket or is that ad happy to see me? Well, here we are. Comin, the insurance company, has a new ad.... It says "we stand by you" but it also says "you are having an erection". Is it attention grabbing? Yes. Is it the positioning wanted by an insurance company? Well, apparently yes from where they stand (no pun). The ad says "you are having an erection" and underneath "this is our number" just to be clear - and the visual is a man with a magnifier (apparently the size of the boner is not big enough). Well, this is sad people. Suddenly am remembering Frankie Goes To Hollywood and their "Relax don't do it"... Or it could be they are just comin(g) you know....

Comin - new insurance app

Well, apparently there is a  new insurance app called Comin. It is one of the very very few campaigns on the road. But still, it is quite visible viewing the lack of challenge from other brands still invisible on the billboards. So Comin seems to have a major differential point to the rest: It covers teleconsultations. Well, "creative" wise they went lowest common denominator with a hand in a white gown extending a stethoscope from the cellphone - as I said, lowest common denominator. But hey, I guess they tried to appeal to everyone and anyone at the same time, so I guess they just tried to deliver the message via an un-sophistical route. No points for guessing which they used the blue though - it has been proven to insure trustworthiness, calm and discipline.