First relief workers and now skateboarders. Cisco is turning off consumers left, right and center it seems - something it can 
ill afford to do as it attempts to build up its name in the fickle consumer world. MyMediaMusings blogger has pointed to a couple of readers who are not so happy about the use of skateboarders in Cisco's latest human network TV ad. One said: "... as a skater you notice a lot of messed up things in the commercial..." Another, a consumer of Cisco gear who is a business owner, writes: "If I didn’t understand the advertising world I’d totally be turned off on Cisco. And as usual, the sad part is that it wouldn’t have taken all that much effort to get it right.”
In January, some viewers of Cisco's TelePresence ad featuring a relief worker catching up with his folks back home were none too happy that a "stereotypical young, white, middle-class aid worker" was in the center of the frame in the TV ad, instead of the folks such workers are trying to help.
Maybe Cisco should stick with selling to the audience they know best.
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Skateboarding comments
As the person at Cisco responsible for advertising, I'm happy to see that our spots are noticed and discussed (half the battle there). I have learned that advertising is often a magnet for hurt feelings. We filmed the commercial mentioned to make a simple point: with Cisco a small company can easily involve its customers in helping it design a new generation of products. We picked skateboarders (real ones by the way making me wonder what is meant by "... as a skater you notice a lot of messed up things in the commercial...") because it seemed to imply small business and it was a fun and energetic way to make the point.
On the relief worker video, the person who made the comment: ""stereotypical young, white, middle-class aid worker" was in the center of the frame in the TV ad, instead of the folks such workers are trying to help"... didn't understand the main point: to show a worker connecting with his family far from home via TP. The people receiving the relief are certainly worthy of a story, just not the one we were trying to tell.
Music
To Alan:
Personally, I have no problem with the commercial. It hit the mark - fun, fast, all parties linked-in and productive using the Cisco network. One thing that makes the spot work is the great music that plays throughout. Who is the artist and what's the track? If possible, email me at islander473 at yahoo dot com.
Peace
Dev