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What to Do When Everyone Hates Your Advertising (Hello, TWC)

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What to Do When Everyone Hates Your Advertising (Hello, TWC)

It’s been more than three months since I posted a Smart Marketing Strategy blog assessing a TV commercial for Time Warner Cable Internet service featuring former NFL coach Bill Cowher as a spokesman.

If you haven’t seen this campaign, Cowher shows up uninvited in odd places and inserts comments about TWC’s Internet service into conversations that have nothing to do with the Internet.

I think it may be the worst ad campaign on television. It turns out I’m not alone.

More than 6,500 people have read this post to date and dozens have submitted comments. Nearly all commenters share my view that this is a poorly conceived creative approach and that Cowher’s role as spokesperson is strange and inappropriate.

What are people saying? It’s not pretty for Time Warner Cable:

  • Viewers either don’t know or like Cowher or think he’s the wrong spokesperson.

“You mention Coach Cowher and his celebrity status and TWC not knowing how to use him. Funny, because I had to Google his name to find out who he is.”

“I live in Cincinnati and we basically hate the Steelers down here and by extension, former coach Bill Cowher. Whoever thought he would be an appealing pitchman for [Time] Warner Cable must have rocks in his/her head. In addition to being stiff and awkward, he is seriously disliked by thousands of people in this city.”

“I think ALL of the Time Warner commercials done by Bill Cowher are irritating and frankly beneath his stature as a (former) professional NFL football coach and commentator. It’s uncomfortable to watch.”

“As much as I admired Bill Cowher as an NFL head coach, I have lost all respect for him, because surely he has enough money that he doesn’t have to stoop to such unmitigated crap ‘to turn a buck.’ I despise the complete TWC ad campaign — does TWC think ANYONE is going to fall for this bunch of malarkey?”

  • Many people find his appearances startling and creepy.

“All of the TWC ads creep me out. The unshaven creepy guy who pops in from nowhere in peoples’ private moments offends me so much that I have to either mute the TV or change channels.”

“The whole campaign is advertising at its worst. I’ve seen spots where this spokes-coach suddenly appears in a woman’s home early in the morning as she’s waking the kids. I don’t know why they picked this guy and why they think it’s…what, clever? to have him just appear in the homes of strangers. In a recent ad, I saw him enter the home of a young couple with kids and ask: ‘What’s going on?’ Really? I would call the police.”

“If Bill Cowher walks into my house unannounced, he’s going to find himself in a scenario that Time Warner would never approve of, I’ll tell you that.”

  • TWC customers find the message highly ironic in relation to their experience with the brand.

“I love the irony in the new ad in which Cowher says ‘you shouldn’t have to pay for things you don’t need’ while TWC is forcing cable/satellite providers in the L.A. area to pay for a Dodgers channel and pass the cost along to customers – whether they need it or not.”

“[The] ad where the guy buys more furniture than they need? HUH? Coach Creepy appears out of the blue and then announces that Time Warner customers shouldn’t pay for things they don’t need. Then why do I have to pay for a dozen or more Home Shopping Channels on our Time Warner plan?”

Ouch.

Of course, it’s possible the comments don’t represent what the market thinks, but I doubt it.  Take a look at some of the Google search terms people are using that direct them to my blog:

  • “Annoying Time Warner Cable commercial”
  • “Who is the obnoxious pitchman for TWC?”
  • “TWC coach commercials are so stupid”
  • “Time Warner Cable guy annoying!”

Clearly, this campaign is a bust. So what should Time Warner do?  Even more important, what should you do if you discover your advertising has laid an egg?

Here are three recommendations for your smart marketing strategy:

1. Put your listening ears on. Track conversations on Twitter and Facebook to see if your campaign is a conversation topic and what people are saying about it. Google the campaign yourself to search for commentaries by bloggers or the media.

2. Give it time. Don’t rush to judgment if you initially hear negative comments about an ad. The tide can turn, especially if your ad has a somewhat controversial message. Reaction to the Cheerios interracial family ad campaign is a perfect example. Supporters drowned out haters and the resulting discussion and expansion of the campaign reflected very positively on the company and brand.

3. Face it: Your creative might really stink. Sometimes an ad campaign just flops. If the creative approach truly is terrible, have a heart-to-heart discussion with your ad agency and get them started on a new approach.

Is it Too Late for Time Warner Cable?

TWC appears to be doubling down on the Cowher campaign with new ads that feature a hapless husband who buys too much furniture, above, and two attorneys who are surprised to see Cowher show up to give a deposition in their case. (At least this ad acknowledges the weirdness of his sudden appearance.)

If Time Warner Cable has seen my blog post, they haven’t commented. And if they haven’t seen it, they’re not tracking their brand very well online because everyone else who’s Googling “Time Warner Cable commercial” finds my post.

The key takeaway for smart marketers is the point I made originally: If you’re going to hire a celebrity spokesperson to represent your brand in advertising, select someone who’s a natural fit for the brand and use that spokesperson in ways that make sense to the audience.

19 Comments
  • Bob Nemens

    Spot on. And more, using a sports character you would think that the character portrayed would have something to do with his role in real life? Cower is a coach, but the script does not have any sports language or portrays him as he is seen in the sports world either—that of a tough, emotional (but successful) football coach. Showing is “softer” and “helpful” side is totally out of character with the common perception of the spokesperson in real life. But true….. not so unbelievable when you think about the overall customer service sensitivity of a cable company. Bizarre.

    August 13, 2014 at 11:40 am
  • Barbara

    I despise commercials with this creepy man –looks like his false teeth don’t fit –or at any rate, seems all you see is teeth when he’s talking. . And Time Warner plays these commercials over and over and over and over and over on ALL channels. Have to keep the remote handy so I can change channel quickly when one of the stinkers comes on. And now……. there is a NEW one..sigh. A company that abuses its customers with repeatedly advertising ITSELF over and over and over with commercials that are just sickening is bound to lose customers, which Time Warner has.

    September 1, 2014 at 8:34 pm
  • G. Bodner

    I absolutely can’t stand the commercials. I immediately hit mute, unless it’s DVR’d and then I fast forward. His ill fitting teeth are a total turn off, and, creepy too. Why are they just plopping him into scenes where it makes no sense, and why, aren’t they showing what they want to project about the product? To top it off, since when does Time Warner try to save anyone money?

    September 12, 2014 at 11:03 am
  • Ron

    TWC is the slimiest advertisement on television, or anywhere else! There ought to be a law against flat out LIES, and wasting money on this lousy ad campaign, when they have the lousiest customer service, and the most outdated equipment imaginable!
    TWC ads are the best possible reason to go with dish, unfortunately, if you are able to switch, you are still stuck watching those disgusting TWC ads!

    September 24, 2014 at 2:24 pm
  • Ron

    Creepy is being to kind, when referring to TWC television ads………………

    September 24, 2014 at 3:04 pm
  • Ron

    If anyone believes the BS in ANY TWC commercial ad, they can’t possibly be a current TWC subscriber!

    October 8, 2014 at 10:36 am
  • Genevieve Moreau

    I couldn’t believe so many people were doing the same thing I was doing when that TWC ad came on.. I would change the channel or mute…UGH!!!!

    October 19, 2014 at 6:15 pm
    • Ron

      I have started watching PBS only, or put on a DVD, just to not have to see another sickening TWC ad!!

      October 20, 2014 at 9:03 am
  • judy dowell

    Creepy isn’t enough…the guy is so creepy and such a turn off, I want to change from twc. I’ve had twc for years but this commercial is such a turn off! At a wedding, on a rainy day bursting into a house, the attorneys, the guy that’s talking and the creepy guy says “go on” when there wasn’t a long enough pause to merit the statement, they all suck rotten eggs! I’m sorry creepy guy, but your talent as a commercial actor is non existant! You should save face and bow out gracefully. I’d rather see lerch from the Addams family playing your part! You are out of place, time Warner cable may lose customers from this faupax!

    November 27, 2014 at 3:33 am
    • Ron

      I totally agree, the downside of dropping TWC is that no matter who provides your cable service, we still have to see those creepy ads!!

      December 1, 2014 at 9:12 am
  • Tim

    It’s not just the Bill Cowher commercials. All Time Warner Cable commercials are terrible, and they have been for as long as I can remember. The creative, the talent, the production quality. The entire approach smacks of small-time business and is amateurish. One would think that as a huge, publicly-traded company and consumer brand, they would invest the money necessary to put forth a professional image. I just find it so odd that a company this size continues to produce and run local-quality ads.

    December 5, 2014 at 4:41 pm
    • Ron

      Unfortunately, switching carriers, if you have that option, does not prevent TWC from invading your television viewing experience with those loathesome and creepy ads………………….

      December 8, 2014 at 8:54 am
  • Terry Henney

    Couldnt agree more, as a Brit expat living in the USA I can’t believe that the AD moguls would entertain, let alone pay for, such an innocuous creepy individual to promote what is clearly a lure to attract new custom! He would scare me and my entire family if he wallked (uninvited) into my home!

    December 6, 2014 at 11:53 pm
  • C. D. Hayes

    I think the main reason Bill Cowyer is so despised is his lies. He’s quoting a total package price at $89.99. I’m paying $220.00 per month for the same package. Even if it is a promotional price the difference is too overwhelming.

    January 11, 2015 at 1:52 am
  • Jim Twelves

    Too many commercial breaks, where’s the entertainment? Network and cable run these usually in 14 to 16 15 second sets. Many are re-edited after the first run or two and are cut short to put in another ad. The ad agencies should stop trying to entertain us (a poor job at that), and concentrate on a direct message to promote and sell the product. Less is better if you have a good copywriter. I for one hate paying my cable company to watch un-ending and mostly moronic commercials.

    March 21, 2015 at 5:52 pm
  • Sarah

    It seems that Time Warner Cable hasn’t learned much from their previous failures – I landed on this post by searching for “creepy TWC guy” after being barraged by their new latest ad campaign in which yet another disturbingly overreaching man invites himself into strangers’ homes. This is 2016, a full two years after the Coach Cowher ads. Either they need to hire a new marketing firm, or…well, no that’s pretty much the only hope for them.

    August 30, 2016 at 2:37 pm
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