Marketing 101: Bell’s “Er” Campaign
Posted on September 4th, 2008
Personally, I was a little disappointed when I heard that Bell would be stopping the Frank and Gordon marketing campaign, because those beaver mascots were incredibly entertaining. Where else could you find two inseparable males in an ambiguous relationship? Well, the higher-ups at Bell (along with some of the public) felt that it was time for the company to move on, so they devised a new marketing campaign that you may have noticed on television, online, and in newspapers.
Dubbed by many as the “er” campaign, Bell has changed its corporate image somewhat. You’ll see ads that highlight the Samsung Instinct as an Apple Eater, for example, with the “er” highlighted in a bold blue font. You’ll also see instances where it will say something about Bell being smarter, faster, or better in some way.
As far as I can tell, there are two possible interpretations of this campaign. First, “er” attached to the end of an adjective seems to implies an intensified or improved version of the verb. For example, there is fast and then there is faster. Using this line of thought, Bell could be saying that it offers superior services over its competitors.
Second, “er” attached to the end of verb signifies that a person or object that is performing that verb. With the case of Apple Eater, for instance, Bell is saying that it is actively eating the Apple (iPhone). You’ll also see ads showing people doing things, like the worker or the sprinter. In this way, Bell could be saying that it is an active company, in contrast to some of its more “passive” competition.
What’s your take on the “Er” campaign being run by Bell? Is it better or worse than Frank and Gordon?
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Related Topics:
Marketing 101: Why Negative Advertising is BadMarketing 101: Brand ConsistencyMarketing 101: Get Out of the Echo ChamberMarketing 101: Hyper-Localized CampaignsMarketing 101: Cultural and Language Barriers
7 Comments
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I like their new logo, but the whole er thing seems silly. I’m surprised they actually changed their logo, not many companies would do that after being in business for so long. Doesn’t make sense from a branding point of view. Although, I guess they’re trying to get that branding back, because they pushed out an update to their HD PVR’s to change the old logo to the new one in the guide.
They just moved back to their old Bell logo. Didn’t change much after all.
I will definitely miss the Bell beavers. What a loss!
Lame. You’d think marketing in 2008 wouldn’t be so bad. Wow.
I think the “er” idea is interesting, but it’s probably too grammatical for the average consumer. It’s not obvious enough.
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It could just be a completely arbitrary choice of letters generated to create BUZZ MARKETING, woohoo.
I teach media at the high school level. it is interesting to hear what teens hav to say about this campaign.
They dislike it a lot. The er bores and confuses them, and the use of those huge bits of letters annoys them a whole lot more.
This is a very affluent and techie crowd. They are turned right off.They all were not beaver fans, but they peferred it to this sillyness.