GoPro: Capture Different
GoPro launched this ad back in November, but it continues to run and I was so captivated by it that I had to write a bit on it. The narrator starts by asking "is this living in the moment?" as a crowd films the sunset on their smart phones. She continues to question "is this hanging out?" and "is this really playing with your kid?," then the tone shifts as she says "don't stop what you're doing to capture what you're doing...keep running, keep dancing...just keep doing."
The spot calls out our culture of mass documentation that gets in the way of us actually living out our lives. The ad cuts deep into our culture's habit to be more concerned with capturing than living. It pulls from the core of GoPro's mission which has always seemed to be to get people outside and make sharing the experience as easy as possible. This has also been one of their major edges in the market place for some time. GoPro's extensive range of mounting options has always enabled people to do what they love and record it, without having to worry much about the recording bit. It's a very simple function of the product, but an essential one that was twisted into a brilliant insight for this spot.
Strengths: The ad has such a chilling wake up call that's well delivered through the voice over and the visuals. The production quality is there but doesn't get in the way of the message.
Weaknesses: There is only one proof point for this (the voice over feature illustrated at the end). I know there are more with all of the mounting options, but none of that is illustrated in the spot.
Target: Mass Market, social, social media lovers
Insights:
1. The technology required to capture our moments, takes us out of the moment.
2. There is a conflict of values between living in the moment and sharing what you're doing.
Purpose: Enabling connection by providing an easy to use camera that stays out of the way
Positioning: Capture different, so you can live in the moment and share your experience
Personality: Easy, simple, caring