Let's start with the ad.
Oh my God. I never knew coffee could be so much fun. I instantly want that device. It even reminds me of happier times in the late nineties, with the Furby and Poo-Chi (a robotic dog made by the same company).
But as soon as the commercial ended, the spell was broken. "It doesn't really do that, does it?" I said to a friend nearby.
"Nah," he said flatly.
I actually felt a little sad. "I'd really, really want it if it actually danced and handed me my coffee with little robot arms."
"Yeah."
Okay, so he didn't care. But maybe you do.
This commercial seems to me a paradox, because Tassimo clearly knows its target audience. There has long been a rift between coffee snobs and the average Joe. (See what I did there? Pun!)
If you're an average Joe, you have a coffeemaker from the eighties and you get your coffee grounds out of a can. If you're a true snob, you go out of the house every time you go to get your Starbucks; but if you're almost a true snob and you've bought a home machine, it's a full blown espresso machine that pulls real shots of espresso and has a steaming wand for milk.
Tassimo attempts to bridge this gap. You may have heard of a few other companies working on it, such as Keurig. Instead of labeling any milk-related drink a cappuccino, like some other "you-don't-need-Starbucks!" attempts, Tassimo's "Brewbot" actually steams milk, as shown in the commercial.
If you've spotted the price (almost $200), you may ask, "For that price, why not get a real espresso machine?"
Well, that's what I asked - I'm a coffee snob.
But Tassimo isn't attempting to sell the highest quality of espresso drinks with its Brewbot. Tassimo is offering customers something other than black coffee, without being so snobby. After all, the machine is officially sold as the Bosch TAS4511UC Tassimo Single-Serve Coffee Brewer - not very hipster, is it?
So the commercial shouldn't appeal to the Starbucks crowd. Good call, Tassimo. And a dancing coffeemaker is probably a little too wild for the average Joe. Again, good call.
But does the in-between non-fussy coffee-liking citizen want a coffeemaker that's advertised like a children's toy? I doubt it. Especially since it doesn't work like a children's toy. No dancing, no voice, no little arms. It doesn't even have eyes.
Want to see another ad attempting to bridge the coffee-drinking chasm? Stay tuned for International Delight.
I think this should appeal to a specific 20s-to-30s crowd, as well as a completely different 40s + crowd. I've noticed in college students and younger adults, there's a growing trend of thinking starbucks is the devil, mainly because of their omnipresence and almost-monopoly. These usually tend to be the types of hipsters with facial hair and tight jeans. As such, a hipster coffee robot that subverts The (coffee) Man, might appeal to them. I'm being humorous, but I think I might be right.
ReplyDeleteAs for the older crowd, I think there's a lot of adults who don't like black coffee, don't know how to make espresso, don't want to spend the money on buying coffee every day, and would like something a little more posh than black coffee with creamer. Also, $200 for a little coffee machine like that is honestly pretty cheap, considering that a very quality espresso machine can run you much more, and you need to spend a certain amount of time learning how to steam the milk and pour the shots the right way. However, I agree that the little hipster dancing robot might not be the best way to reach that demographic.
Exactly - I think the product developers have the audience exactly right. It's people who want something other than black coffee and don't care enough to put in the time/effort/money for the best of the best (and nothing wrong with that, obviously). It's the advertisers who have gone wrong.
ReplyDelete(On a side note, while $200 won't get you the best espresso machine, it'll get you one that gives you more control over your drink than a fully automated brewer like this. But for Tassimo's customers, fully automated is the best part.)
Thanks for pointing out that trend in college students, though. Now that you mention it, I know some college students like that. :)
I actually have a Keurig and I love it. I can use it for the standard coffee, tea, or anything else that requires hot water such as hot chocolate or oatmeal even. But unless someone had gifted it to me I never would have purchased it myself, as boiling water on the stove isn't a chore.
ReplyDeleteI have seen this commercial in Washington as well, and it's honestly unfortunate it doesn't have any of the cuteness that they show in the commercial - even if the eyes and arms didn't do anything except be adorable. I feel since so much of the commercial is the robot dancing and making coffee, the gimmick of it should at least be featured on the product.