Well You, whatta ya think of Y!ou?

I noticed the new Yahoo! TV spot over at AdPulp and figured why not chill and say it’s actually more energetic than the dated print appeared to be. But it’s the message that David rightly focuses on.

I get “You” implies reaching out to everyone, but where it rings false is that I’m not seeing “everyone” represented up on screen. It feels like yet another agency-inspired demo where everyone is shiny and happy and 26, or emo and waif-thin.

Google has two things going for it in this regard though:

1) It just works. There was and is no doubt about its core search product. When your product is solid, the advertising just naturally flows from it. In this case, word of mouse was the only ad it needed. (Also see Apple for brands with DNA so good their advertising doesn’t have to do much.)

2) It never appealed to or defined any one type of person. It works across the board regardless of income, race or religion. Right now, a guy in his 50s in his trailer is looking up Civil War memorabilia. Teenagers are looking up how to make things that explode using simple household ingredients. Models from TV commercials are looking up how long they can safely go without eating.

It must also be a frustrating challenge for any company taking on an 800 lb. gorilla in the same category. Even more frustrating considering the gorilla started after you and has never had to use national TV to reach people, let along change perceptions of its product.

It’s also probably doubly frustrating for any agency helping them. I’m sure Yahoo!* wanted upbeat, and that’s what they got here, replete with revamped choir-like cue that seems to abandon their inner Hillbilly.

Maybe it tested well, who knows.

While I could identify with the various people in the I’m a PC spots, You doesn’t feel like me. I imagine others feel that way too, and if that’s so, then how can you expect to challenge Google if you only appeal to a fraction of their audience?

*Then there’s the issue of the Microsoft-Yahoo! partnership. Bing pushing its own little quirky ad message seems at odds with Yahoo! trying to assert itself in search. Someone’s going to have to figure out who’s on top in the relationship.