Cable companies aren't known for making things easy. I must have 18 different user names and passwords for various Time Warner Cable sites. But now, Comcast is out with some new ads from The Martin Agency that claim signing up for the company Xfinity service couldn't be easier. Or at least, that it's less hard than some of the hardest things in the world.
Those latter things would include: unmooring a beached whale; body-waxing Sasquatch; eating food while in a full-body cast; and yes, setting up a tent. There's no mistaking this for sophisticated advertising, but that's not the point. The point is to be entertaining, and if the spots are stupid-funny, so much the better—that surely means setting up Comcast Xfinity is stupid-easy. (Well, clicking a few buttons is easy. Let's see if the guy shows up within the two-hour window.)
The :30 is nicely paced and very funny. The :15s are good, too, particular the whale spot. (Guy needs an elephant or two to help him out.) All the ads wrap with the line, "Xfinity. The future of awesome," which is itself kind of awesome.
People don't need a lot from the cable company. They just want good service without any headaches. That's hard. Comcast is easy.
CREDITS
Client: Comcast
Agency: The Martin Agency, Richmond, Va.
Executive Creative Director: Joe Alexander
Creative Director: Trent Patterson
Copywriter: Andrew Beckman
Art Director: Brig White
Strategic Planner: John Gibson
Account Supervisor: Allison Oxenreiter
Agency Broadcast Producer: Meredith Knight
Agency Junior Producer: Andrew Campbell
Project Manager: Riana Lange
Production Company: Biscuit
Director: Jeff Low, Biscuit, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Director of Photography: Andre Pienaar
Executive Producer: Colleen O'Donnell
Producer: Dwight Phipps
Editorial Company: Mackenzie Cutler, NYC
Editor: Dave Anderson
Assistant Editor: Valerie Sachs
Post Facility: Mackenzie Cutler, NYC
Telecine: Company 3, NYC
Colorist: Tom Poole
Audio Post Company: Mackenzie Cutler, NYC
Engineer: Sam Shaffer
Music: RJD2 - "Games You Can Win"
Composer/Arranger: Ramble John Krohn
Principal actors: Daniel Abrahamson, Brendan Haloran, Boyd Banks, Sean Kaufmann, Nancy Kenny, Josh Murray, Kate Werneburg, Rolando Alvarez Giacoman, Garth Simpson, Akira Grieve, Zahriya Comrie, Juliana La Mara, Marc Borins, Mark MacDonald, Tyler McMaster, Wally Michaels
Voiceover talent: Selma Blair, Michael Izquierdo, Lloyd Floyd, Cynthia Darlow
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