THE AD: Thunderbirds' Brains dancing for Drench bottled water
THE AD: Thunderbirds' Brains dancing for Drench bottled water
THE BRIEF: Make an advert so watchable that everyone gets to know your pretty much unknown bottled water
THE BRIEF: Make an advert so watchable that everyone gets to know your pretty much unknown bottled water
THE SCHTICK: The puppet dances in an amazingly realistic frenzy of moves - with strings still visible. He stops for a breather and a drink, and revived goes on to even more acrobatic feats. Nineties anthem Rhythm is a Dancer by Snap is the incongruous soundtrack - as alien to Brains as Puppet on a String would be to a Thundercat.
THE SCHTICK: The puppet dances in an amazingly realistic frenzy of moves - with strings still visible. He stops for a breather and a drink, and revived goes on to even more acrobatic feats. Nineties anthem Rhythm is a Dancer by Snap is the incongruous soundtrack - as alien to Brains as Puppet on a String would be to a Thundercat.
THE BREAKDOWN: Last year's hit ad was Cadbury's gorilla drumming to Phil Collins. Cadbury's efforts to repeat the trick have not yet worked - an advert about airport baggage lorries racing unluckily coincided with the Heathrow Terminal Five problems. Brains already seems destined to be the memorable advert of this year.
THE BREAKDOWN: Last year's hit ad was Cadbury's gorilla drumming to Phil Collins. Cadbury's efforts to repeat the trick have not yet worked - an advert about airport baggage lorries racing unluckily coincided with the Heathrow Terminal Five problems. Brains already seems destined to be the memorable advert of this year.
Advertisers have spent lots of energy wondering how to find their audience when people are spending more time online at the expense of watching TV. Reaching the YouTube generation is an imperative - but Brains and the Gorilla seem to have turned this dynamic on its head. The approach now seems to be make a film which would be a big YouTube hit - and then show it in commercial breaks just like the good old days. The viral thing has worked as well, though; people have created a number of "Brains remixes", in which he dances to a variety of different tunes.
Advertisers have spent lots of energy wondering how to find their audience when people are spending more time online at the expense of watching TV. Reaching the YouTube generation is an imperative - but Brains and the Gorilla seem to have turned this dynamic on its head. The approach now seems to be make a film which would be a big YouTube hit - and then show it in commercial breaks just like the good old days. The viral thing has worked as well, though; people have created a number of "Brains remixes", in which he dances to a variety of different tunes.
What is wonderful about the advert is the care obviously taken over it. Some of it was done by highly skilled puppeteers following choreography, and some by clever computer work converting a digitally scanned real dancer into the image of Brains. But even there, they have taken the trouble to make Brains dance like a puppet trying to dance like a real dancer.
What is wonderful about the advert is the care obviously taken over it. Some of it was done by highly skilled puppeteers following choreography, and some by clever computer work converting a digitally scanned real dancer into the image of Brains. But even there, they have taken the trouble to make Brains dance like a puppet trying to dance like a real dancer.
What isn't so wonderful is that this is yet another advert based on Thunderbirds. They currently star in Specsavers adverts - and it's not so long since Brains himself was in an Economist campaign. With a film remake and even a stage show with actors playing puppets, the whole Thunderbirds thing has surely been done.
What isn't so wonderful is that this is yet another advert based on Thunderbirds. They currently star in Specsavers adverts - and it's not so long since Brains himself was in an Economist campaign. With a film remake and even a stage show with actors playing puppets, the whole Thunderbirds thing has surely been done.
This advert has cleverly tied up the name of the product and the name of the character in the slogan - "Brains perform best when they're hydrated" - but in fact it could be for pretty much any product.
This advert has cleverly tied up the name of the product and the name of the character in the slogan - "Brains perform best when they're hydrated" - but in fact it could be for pretty much any product.
It is, though, a true water cooler moment, and certainly memorable. More memorable perhaps than the research reported in April which debunked conventional wisdom about how drinking eight glasses of water a day keeps you healthy.
It is, though, a true water cooler moment, and certainly memorable. More memorable perhaps than the research reported in April which debunked conventional wisdom about how drinking eight glasses of water a day keeps you healthy.
BLOGGER'S VERDICT: Jonathan Gabay, who runs a Brand Communications blog, says: "Brains, once the epitome of what made Britain great: ingenuity, innovation, insight and character has, for many middle-aged peoplem, 'sold his soul' to the commercial puppet master.
BLOGGER'S VERDICT: Jonathan Gabay, who runs a Brand Communications blog, says: "Brains, once the epitome of what made Britain great: ingenuity, innovation, insight and character has, for many middle-aged people, 'sold his soul' to the commercial puppet master.
"Surely the notion of convincing the British mastermind behind some of the world's most daring international rescues (many which actually saved the world from the brink of extinction) to perform a rave just for the general public's vote of approval in the name of selling bottles of water is a commercial exploit too far. What are we to expect next? Older statesmen from the Royalty or politicians performing to camera just to grab the headlines?"
"Surely the notion of convincing the British mastermind behind some of the world's most daring international rescues (many which actually saved the world from the brink of extinction) to perform a rave just for the general public's vote of approval in the name of selling bottles of water is a commercial exploit too far. What are we to expect next? Older statesmen from the Royalty or politicians performing to camera just to grab the headlines?"
Ad Breakdown is compiled by Giles Wilson.
Ad Breakdown is compiled by Giles Wilson.
Add your comments on this story, using the form below.
Add your comments on this story, using the form below.
I don't think it's a sell-out. I think it's a wonderfully joyous moment. There's Brains, the nerd of the group, never gets any fun or action, mysteriously left alone in a studio for a moment, and the music comes on. Brains does what any good nerd would do - seize the moment to boogie on down! Of course as soon as the rest of the Thunderbirds appeared, he'd be sitting down perfectly quite and still.Nona, London
The ad is pretty memorable, but to be honest, until I read this article, other than knowing it was for some brand of bottled water, I had no idea which one it was for. In fact when I first saw it I thought it was another one for that beer where they have four versions of one bloke dancing in a very similar manner. So overall it's got to go down as a poor ad - no matter how well done it is, it doesn't make you remember the product.Spencer, Reading, UK
I really wish that advertisers would stop plundering old children's television for their own benefits. Are there no new ideas? Is the only option to sell a product to reach into the past and take what they want? It annoys me to see my childhood heroes reduced to an advertising gimmick. For the record Thunderbirds did not shop at any opticians, drink bottled water, and Paddington bear did not eat Marmite. Think up your own ideas and leave other people's alone. Mark Langridge, Leeds
Talking about what Brains stood for and what he means is pure intellectual garbage and shows a lack of touch with the purpose of the advert and the target audience. This ad is quite frankly brilliant and one many people will deliberately watch rather than channel hop during adverts, surely the ultimate desire of an advert. It is funny, relevant and best of all flies in the face of all the over modernist rubbish that you get from most brands trying to be far to cool. There is nothing worse than the carbon copy adverts that are trotted out by most companies after several rounds of focus group testing and continual attempts to try and make an advert which offends no one and appeals to all. This one may have had that but it doesn't look that way. Hence I will by some Drench solely because the advert made me laugh.Neil B, Putney
This is also yet another advert to target the YouTube generation by copying existing YouTube videos. This is "inspired" by the Evolution of Dance, there's an advert which apes OK Go's treadmill dance and whilst not inspired by a YouTube clip, the most recent Sugar Puffs advert copies a Mighty Boosh song. Do advertisers have any original ideas anymore?Darren Riley, Bolton, UK
... or just a blatant rip off of Fatboy Slim's Weapon of Choice video, starring Christopher Walken? Perhaps they couldn't get clearance to use that tune.Ed, Oxford
What I love in this advertisement is the setting. It is just like one of the scenes in Singing in the Rain.Alison C, Derry, N Ireland
International Rescue was clearly international but I never saw Brains as an Englishman. Perhaps Mr Gabay is getting confused because Gerry Anderson is English? He has missed the point of this advert - it is making a clear point to a huge demographic - 20-something to 60-somethings know what Thunderbirds was and who Brains is. Because it is classic in the real sense of the word. He should be reminded that Virgin Trains have run a fleet of rescue locomotives named after Thunderbirds characters for some years now.Jamie Dowling, Birmingham, England
Nice, but Brains (Hiram Hackenbacker) was American, not British as far as Thunderbirds is concerned. And we can never have too much of Thunderbirds.Al, Winchester
It's too smug by half. Obviously made by an ad agency desperate for a talking point but it doesn't have the subtlety or surprise value of the Cadbury's gorilla, it's not that original and I've already forgotten the product it's meant to be promoting...Hannah, London
