Yes, I Want You Baby
I’m a sucker for 80s dance music. It reminds of the times I was hanging out with my friends and partying instead doing my homework, which is why Cornell’s Engineering School eventually asked me to take a “leave of absence.” That’s Ivy League speak for, “Get the hell out!” But I digress…
As I was saying, I’m a sucker for 80s dance music. So whenever I’m within earshot of a TV and I hear Human League’s “Don’t You Want Me,” I watch the Swiffer commercial. I can’t help but like that commercial. I even feel sorry for the mop that was dumped for the Swiffer.
I use the Swiffer products—although I hate the name. “Swiffer.” Kind of sounds like broken English or slang, doesn’t it? Like how I used to speak as a kid in Brooklyn, before I went to an Ivy League school and joined the forensics team. I can imagine how some Exec over at P&G came up with the idea during a conversation with a janitor from Brooklyn:
P&G Exec: I noticed that it’s taking you quite a while to mop the bathroom floors. Is there a problem?
Janitor: Yeah, it’s this mop; it ain’t no good. It slows me down, know what I mean? I need somethin’ betta, you know? Somethin’ that’s gonna make me…swiffer.
P&G Exec: Chi-ching!
The commercial captures my attention—and I bet it captures the attention of anyone who likes “Don’t You Want Me.” And the likability of the song is transferred to the commercial.
I also like the humor in the commercial; it too, ads to Swiffer’s likability. (The effective use of humor can increase the likability of the message sender.) Even the mop that got dumped is likable, which is an odd thing to say about a mop.
Yes, I want you, Swiffer. Yes, I want you—oh oh oh.
May 28th, 2009 at 10:37 pm
it’s always good to be able to activate the wink that lives inside of every brand
Erik Hauser
May 29th, 2009 at 11:52 am
Funny. I like that commercial too. The fact is, I have switched over to the Swiffer and gave my old mop away - that’s why I think that commercial is so funny; because it’s actually so true. I will never bother with a mop and bucket again - I, like everyone else, have better things to do so I’ll gladly pay the price for the convenience, which isn’t usually true of my buying pattern. And, I didn’t actually like that song (way back when) until they attached it to that commercial.
June 9th, 2009 at 2:48 pm
Great!