UPS ad does the white thing

March 2, 2007
BY LEWIS LAZARE Sun-Times Columnist

We write about ad campaigns a lot. And then we expect to see them on television, but often never do. Then there are ads we don't preview and they later impress us.

We never wrote about one out-of-the-ordinary campaign for UPS called "Whiteboard" when it broke a couple of months ago. Since then, we've sure seen the various executions scores of times while watching television.

The commercials, 11 in all, feature a relatively young man with long, dark hair, a hint of a smile and a most unassuming manner who stands before a white board on which he scribbles images and words while talking about what separates UPS from its rivals in the highly competitive package shipping business.

That man doing all the talking and writing on the white board is actually a creative director named Andy Azula at the ad agency that created the campaign. The Martin Agency in Richmond, Va., had its already high profile upped a notch or two when it emerged victorious in the re-review for the $570-million Wal-Mart advertising account.

But as we were saying, we've seen various iterations of this UPS "Whiteboard" campaign numerous times. And one thing has surprised us again and again: We haven't grown weary of watching and listening to Azula.

That might not seem like such a remarkable revelation. But given how quickly we tire of so much mediocre advertising, the point is more extraordinary than it might seem on its surface.

We're tried to analyze why this UPS campaign works so well, and we keep coming back to the realization that it succeeds because it is simply trying to communicate a real series of messages in a simple, direct way. Sounds so easy, doesn't it?

Well, maybe.

But given the glut of mediocre commercials screaming at us on television, this kind of simplicity is a most welcome antidote to so much that we just want to tune out.

Plus, this campaign benefits greatly from the way Azula ever so gently inserts a humorous fillip at the end of most of the spots. It isn't much, usually, but it's always smart. And it invariably helped send us away quite satisfied with the clarity -- and civility -- of Azula's and UPS' message.

 

The music playing in the background of the "whiteboard" commercials is from a group called The Postal Service. Coincidence?

They are effective commercials. FedEx and UPS have really funny commercials featuring the NASCAR drivers they sponsor.

 

Here's the ad campaign: http://whiteboard.ups.com/

And you can create your own whiteboard by clicking "Create Your Own Whiteboard" when you get there. Be nice!

 

Great ads indeed. Simple, humorous, and very well done. In other words, completely opposite to the UPS culture.

 

The ads would be just as effective...if not more so...if they had a naked chick doing the talking and drawing. Another opportunity squandered....

 

I can't stand those ads. I want to cringe in embarassment for Big Brown every time I see one. I know I'm a Purple Guy (and therefore biased), but I can't help thinking how totally lame those commercials are.

Oh well, whatever fries your bacon.....

 

I think FDX likes a very light, humorous commercial geared toward younger folks (hence the Space Office with "The Final Countdown" playing as the delivery shuttle lands) while UPS tends to advertise more toward an older, conservative, perhaps more serious audience. While the whiteboard guy needs to get a haircut, I do like the ads because they aren't in-your-face but subtle and end in a bit of humor (like not being able to pronounce that city in China).

The FedEx "Caveman" is one of my favorite Super Bowl ads of all time, but the UPS "Race the Truck" ad with the jet engines on the package car was pretty clever.

 

Like the Japanese auto makers forcing our American auto manufacturers to improve their product, FedEx has forced UPS to come up with much more clever commercials. After all, it's freight and packages. What's the big deal. FedEx, from the beginning, has always had some very clever and humorous commercials, from the guy who spoke very fast to the FedEx caveman, and the hundred or so other great commercials. UPS commercials have always been very dry and well, brown. I commend UPS for straying from the brown line they've walked since their inception back in 1906, and coming up with some light and lively commercials. After all, it's only packages. Not really life and death stuff.

 

They do have those ads. They're called Porn! You just never noticed the whiteboard in the background.