Tuesday, March 16, 2010

Broadview Security commercials


I'm not saying it's ineffective advertising. However:


Do you see that the Broadview employees on the phone are presented - via camera angle, lighting, plot, and acting skill - as princes who are saving damsels in distress? Do you see that the unharmed women could call 911 for themselves just as easily as the prince-like savior/heroes manning the Broadview phones could call the police for them? That being the case: exactly what service are the Fabio-like heroes providing for the damsels?


Why doesn't Broadview show the true instance in which their phone heroes will make a difference, i.e. an instance in which the homeowner is being assaulted and cannot make a phone call for herself? Answer: b/c that scenario would drive home the point that the homeowner will be assaulted for however many minutes it takes until police arrive. Broadview doesn't want that message conveyed. Therefore, we get the silly vignette where a perfectly unharmed homeowner allows Fabio the hero to do a job (call the police) which the unharmed homeowner is perfectly capable of accomplishing herself.


I believe the advertisers, were they speaking frankly, would say Broadview is selling:


1. heroic masculine protection ........... which is not happening. The person manning the Broadview phone, via doing their job with excellence, will be heroic in their own way; yet will not be providing heroic masculine protection a la storybook Fabio. The client is not buying a prince on a white steed with a sword who will ride to their home 10 seconds after a break-in and implement manly protection for them. The client is buying a (hopefully) dedicated yet likely frumpy employee who will call the police. In the break-in, the client will still be shoved to the ground, some of their possessions will still be grabbed and stolen, and the police will still arrive with maybe an 8 minute response time (hopefully, manly neighbors will hear the alarm and arrive sooner). If the burglar is high on drugs, the client might still be shot, knifed, or raped during the 8 minute interval.


2. wish fulfillment fantasy for lonely women who pine for contact (even over the phone) with a rescuing prince. That the prince is not actually saving them (as, in the commercial scenarios, the unharmed women can call 911 for themselves) does not matter so much as potential clients' imagined contact with a Prince (the imagined contact being the stuff of their fantasies).


When you purchase Broadview's service, you cannot, after the fact, go to the Broadview offices and have your hand kissed by a white knight on a steed, and here's why: your white knight might easily be a 45 year old woman who smokes and has a Twinkie problem. She does her job with heroic dedication, and I have tons of respect for that. Yet, she is not the Fabio who is being sold in the commercials.


And, obviously, there is more to the equation: Broadview Security will increase your odds of escaping unscathed. There's the Broadview sign in the yard; the alarm; the ringing phone to confirm for the burglar that there truly is a security service on the job; a Broadview employee to notify police if you cannot. It won't help you escape unscathed, but there will be a Broadview employee on the phone to calm your nerves (assuming you want that instead of friendly neighbors) until the police arrive.


However, to the extent that a potential Broadview client believes she is safer b/c of an imagined Fabio prince rescuer on the Broadview phone: not happening. Whatever bravery the Broadview employee does possess is not going to prevent a drug addled burglar from stabbing a homeowner.


You want safe? Study Caesar Milan Dog Whisperer videos and then acquire a German Shepherd; purchase and train yourself in use of both pepper spray and a handgun - and keep them accessible. Now you are much safer. If you want Broadview Security, get it! But get it after Caesar Milan and the German Shepherd, and after the pepper spray and the hand gun.



Brinks Home Security, now Broadview Security, fails to provide manly protection to a damsel in distress, yet you would never know it by watching the commercial. Notice how the Broadview call center is literally "manned", i.e. is 100% inhabited by virile and active men who display decisive body language for the camera. There is neither a woman nor a frumpy person in sight:





Related?
Clumber Spaniel
Walking an old dog



1 comment:

Anonymous said...

The track record of our professional Commercial Security Sacramento begins with how our security officers look like at work. Each of them is uniformed and properly groomed for work each day even when patrolling. An officially marked vehicle is also designated whenever our team is doing its patrol routines. To help you avail of our services for your personal or business needs, we allow short term contracts and retail services. By this, you can customize the specific time and place where our security officers can conduct safety checks. On foot, our security officers can help secure your properties and businesses, armed or unarmed, as you may choose to customize the services you want to avail.