by Oresti Patricios (@orestaki) Let’s face it — the most common question in social interactions is probably: “So, what do you do?” It’s an innocent enough question, albeit an unimaginative one.
Normally it’s a way for someone to ‘size you up’ — and if you’re currently unemployed, or in an embarrassing job, it can lead to an awkward moment. In the latest campaign from Careers24, this awkwardness is capitalised upon, which leads to some great ‘cringe’ comedy.
Careers24, as the name suggests, is a jobs site belonging to Media24, a Naspers company. The media organisation tries to cover all bases, with free-to-download apps for many of these service offerings, including Careers24.
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The ads are all directed by Terence Neale of Egg Films, for Ogilvy Cape Town, with the creative team of Chris Gotz, Oskar Petty and Monique Kaplan.
Ogilvy Cape Town TVCs for Careers24: “Girlfriend’s Dad”, “Bus” and “Parking Lot”
In the first spot, entitled “Girlfriend’s Dad”, we find the archetypal scenario of a young man meeting his girlfriend’s father for the first time — an awkward moment for many. The scene is a dark and imposing home sitting room (or ‘smoking room’), replete with fireplace, imposing family portraits and crests — all dark furniture and an atmosphere of opulence.
The two men, one middle-aged and the other barely old enough to grow a scruffy beard, are drinking brandy from snifters. The older man holds his with style and grace; the younger man is holding his awkwardly in two hands as if it’s some sort of weird soup-bowl.
The father is grilling his daughter’s suitor, and inevitably the question is posed: “So tell me, what exactly do you do for a living?”
The camera tracks in on the young man’s face. He stammers: “I’m a … I’m a…” His eye wanders to the leather of the chair the father is sitting in. “I’m a leather… ch… a leather chair… man… chairman.”
He settles back in his seat, quite pleased with himself for coming up with something … but the dad doesn’t seem impressed. The voiceover declares: “Don’t be a leather chair man chairman. Get a career you can be proud of at Careers24.”
In the second ad, a young guy is chatting up a young lady on a bus. They are laughing and enjoying themselves. But when the question comes — “So what do you do for a living?” — he is caught off-guard.
“Who, me? I er… I…”
He spots a man with large ears. “I’m an ear… an ear ottolarynmonolologist.”
In this case, the young man realises his made-up career sounds ridiculous, and he looks as if he wishes he could fall through the floor.
In the third ad, a young lady (dressed very casually) is loading groceries in an underground parking lot, when she is accosted by an old acquaintance, possibly a schoolmate. The latter is dressed to the nines, obviously doing very well for herself, and she asks: “So what are you up to, what do you do for a living?”
“I’m a designer,” is the reply.
“Oh! For…?” asks the friend.
Panicked, the young lady looks around and catches sight of a cabbage in her shopping bag, and answers: “For… Cabbaage… Cabbaage Baggaage.”
The friend doesn’t look convinced. The voiceover is along the same line as previously: “Don’t be a designer for Cabbaage Baggaage. Get a career you can be proud of at Careers24.”
The final frame in all three spots is of a Careers24 graphic search box. “Search thousands of jobs. Online. On-the-go. 24/7,” says the voiceover as the wording types up in the search box.
Cringe-humour can all so easily fail but, in this case, all the elements pull together to make it work.
Above all, it’s the copy and performances that make these ads. In the hands of a lesser director or actors, it could well have fallen flat, but the direction and casting are spot-on, and the actors all manage to pull off that moment of panic and awkwardness with aplomb. They seem to be ordinary-looking people, easy to identify with.
The cinematography is great, set design and costumes well thought-out, and editing and sound-design tie it all together with a ‘no-frills’ approach: for example, there’s no unnecessary music. The voice-over artist has a light, sardonic delivery, which delivers the punchline perfectly.
For me, one test of humour in an ad is whether it stands up to repeated viewing, and I have enjoyed watching these three 30-second spots repeatedly.
Great work, that delivers a simple message, with impact.
Credits:
Client: Careers24
Agency: Ogilvy Cape Town
Agency producer: Sharon Martin
Executive creative director: Chris Gotz
Creative group head & copywriter: Oskar Petty
Senior art director: Monique Kaplan
Production company: Egg Films
Director: Terence Neale
Producer: Rozanne Rocha-Gray
Director of photography: Paul Gilpin
Editor & company: Julian Redpath (Left Post Production)
Ad of the Week, published on MarkLives every Wednesday, is penned by Oresti Patricios (@orestaki), the CEO of Ornico, a Brand Intelligence® firm that focuses on media, reputation and brand research.
If you are involved in making advertising
that is smart, funny and/or engaging,
please let Oresti know about it at info@ornicogroup.co.za.
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