The Mummy Meets Olympia – It’s Not Nearly Monstrous
So much of what is called viral advertising, a term I refer to in my book, Living Brands, Collaboration + Innovation = Customer Fascination, as “cohort advertising” is really finely orchestrated, banal, predictable, subliminal propaganda. It makes me sick. Passing fantasy off as reality has its place — in fact, it is the essence of art. And, great art tends to grow in recognition through word of mouth. However, when commerce distorts or misrepresents reality to promote consumption, the question of ethics arises.
In one of the best recent examples of marketing bridging this dilemma with at least some degree of finesse, the film, The Mummy and the Olympics have co-branded — all driving consumers towards pivotal August launches. Guess what? It works on multiple levels. It charms. And, in my opinion, while far-fetched and a little dopey, it truly neither demeans the Olympics nor passes the movie off as having anything at all to do with the games. Yet, together, each “brand” becomes stronger. How? I have my theory.
The commercial which adroitly threads compatible elements and emotions common to both “brands” — both of which are are “filmed on location” in China this, fuses fascinating, finely edited threats, an effort in co-branding that goes beyond the deception of passing fantasy off as reality — such as is the case, in a far less fascinating marketing link, as it relates to claims that Olympic limited edition crap (such as Olympic Coke cans) have any legitimate place within the spirit of the Olympic “brand”.
Perhaps true to its new “Coke Side of Life” positioning, Coca Cola believes it has the right to reinvent and modify one of the world’s oldest shared cultural events in order to sell soda pop. Or, maybe it was just an easy thing to do? They did it because they could. I really don’t care and doubt the consumer will either.
What the Mummy and Olympic commercials have done is create something new, something less deceptive — something less deja vu. They have created an example of a new type of co-branding, one that is based on something I call hyper-reality. I don’t know whether it is I who coined the term hyper-reality relative to marketing. I hope that I have. I would feel smart. Why? Because the reference is needed when it comes to explaining how something like Olympic Gymnastics and Cheerios might have anything to do with one another - and it makes those of us working in marketing and advertising look less like fools.
When done correctly — and it rarely is — the reality of culture can indeed fuse with both the myth and the reality of a brand. It’s not often I have seen it done — let alone done well. But in the case of Hollywood meets the Olympics, the Mummy meets Beijing — my hat goes off. I did not want to like the result — but I did. For once, I almost had to.
Raymond Nadeau is the author of the New York Times Business best-seller, Living Brands. He is also secretly pro-communist - or at least populist. He wants to change the world through branding - Prada for the People - Luis Vuitton for all.
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