Qualcomm may be one of the world's main suppliers for smartphones and tablets, but few people recognize the brand behind the processor chips used in so many of their favorite mobile devices. To grab mass-market attention, OgilvyWest pulls out the stops in this new Qualcomm spot: It's executed as an epic movie trailer with live action shot around Vancouver and fantasy elements including castles, crossbows, knights and dragons that tease Qualcomm's new generation of Snapdragon processors coming this summer.
The dragon is central here, acting as a brand character that epitomizes the processors' upgrades. In the tongue-in-cheek execution, the agency, working with special-effects house Framestore, cuts the commercial's fire-breathing monster down to size, making it smaller, cuter and more brand appealing to consumers. "People love their devices, but they don't always know what it is that makes them work," says agency co-chief creative officer James Dawson-Hollis. "A big part of this was 'How do you make an emotional connection that is key to the thing that you love?' "
Someone who's given that a lot of thought is Qualcomm's new CMO, Anand Chandrasekher, who was hired from Intel last August. While he's pledged to boost advertising to build a consumer brand, the company won't be as demanding as Intel: He has said partners can "opt in" to the marketing initiative and aren't required to advertise the Qualcomm brand on their products.
It's not the first time the San Diego company has used creatures to represent brand attributes. A year and a half ago, Qualcomm used insects, spiders and scorpions in the "Bug Circus Generator" spot to show the efficiencies of a bug-powered smart phone. It was a clever spot from Denizen Co. in Los Angeles, but not nearly as consumer-friendly as the new spokesdragon, which may well show up in future Qualcomm ads.
CREDITS
Client: Qualcomm
Product: Snapdragon
Agency: OgilvyWest
Co-Chief Creative Officers: James Dawson-Hollis, Bill Wright
Creative Director, Copywriter: Nathan Dills
Associate Creative Director: Dennis Lee
Art Director: Carson Liu
Head of Integrated Production, Executive Producer: Carolyn Johnson
Postproduction: Framestore
Executive Producer: James Razzall
Director: Murray Butler
Director: David Mellor
Head of Production: Jonathan Shipman
Senior Producer: Satoko Iinuma