Status Quo Sucks. Most of the Time. posted by Steve Johnson

"Status Quo Sucks" is the mantra on which Chempetitive Group was built some seven years ago. It's beaten into everyone the first day they join the agency, signifying the fact that all of us should constantly be looking for ways to improve what we do for our clients.

I was reminded of this saying recently and why it doesn't always necessarily apply when building brands. I was playing with the kids (i.e. watching football) on Sunday when a new Corona Extra beer commercial appeared. The Corona campaign has been around for at least 10 years and is genius in its simplicity. A young couples is chilling on a beautiful beach, kicking back with a lovely ice cold Corona. Not a word is spoken, yet each ad in the campaign clearing sets the brand apart, carving a brand niche in the viewers mind.

But what really has made the Corona brand successful is the consistency of the campaign message. The company and their agency, Cramer-Krasselt, found a brand formula that resonated and stuck with it, searing it into the minds
of consumers.

But as I watched this new ad, the chilled couple no longer were sitting on the idyllic beach. Instead, the morphed from sitting in front of a wave-lapped beach to being in front of the New York City skyline. Then a mountain range, then a forest. The brand image I had of Corona immediately began to change in my mind, becoming a little more foggy.

I get it. I really do. I understand what they're trying to do by expanding the brand from the vacation/beach mindset into a broader relaxation mode. But they're taking a big risk. Will consumer allow this brand migration?

Only time, and the status quo, will tell.

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