NEC, a leading technology provider of IT, network and visual display solutions, had turned its attention to the movies. At the time, on-screen theatre advertising was served up on slides and nearly all cinemas used bulky, easily damaged reels to show films. NEC's newly formed Digital Cinema division had a mission: To drag antiquated cinema technology into the digital age.
NEC needed to shake technology-resistant cinema owners and industry insiders out of their comfortable complacency. They hired B'stro to create advertising that would get their attention and persuade them to try something new. So we went with something topical, even a little controversial. Arnold Schwarzenegger had just been elected Governor, and NEC was targeting attendees at a Hollywood tradeshow. Our headline, "Slides are for girlie men", seemed like a natural.
NEC went nuts over the idea. And they loved the edginess and relevance of the theme to the industry audience. The "girlie men" execution led to a humorous, memorable campaign packed with double-meanings. Ads like "Film is a 4-letter word" literally stole the show.
The following year, NEC gave us a directive to humanize and soften the campaign. We came back with "Slides are for Playgrounds" and "Reels are for Fishing." And NEC became known for its bold, novel ad campaigns and tradeshow booth themes.
This year, we're telling a story. The ad begins "Oh Clark, I just can't take another slide show at the movie theater..." and goes on to highlight landmark theaters around the country that have switched to NEC's Digital Cinema solutions.
"NEC Solutions America's experiences working with Creative B'stro have been second-to-none. B'stro was challenged with developing a marketing campaign targeting the cinema entertainment industry - it is quite difficult to be "even more creative" in an market that is built on creativity. B'stro helped NEC achieve excellent visibility in our target market through an clever and edgy campaign without sacrificing the professionalism of NEC's brand. The results were absolutely stunning."
—Martin Dew, Director of Business Development