Obit for a summer spot

This commercial made me cry every time I saw it. With this tear-jerking spot the Deutsche Telekom, Germany's biggest telecommunications corporation, introduced its new company-wide line "Experience what connects (us)". The copy translates: "Life presents us with extraordinary moments. How wonderful that we can share them with others."

I loved the original Paul Potts video. I forwarded it to many of my friends and watched it all over again and again myself. Perhaps I even cried once or twice. And then came the Telekom and ruined it all forever. I just don't see the "connection."

Maybe it’s because all summer long the really long spot bombarded me during every commercial break on every channel, before every movie I watched in theaters and even online (oh yes, singing banner ads). Your very own special moment – 20 times a day. That heavy rotation could have killed it even if I would have loved it in the beginning.

Maybe it’s because I didn’t like the timing. Paul Potts’ “Britain’s Got Talent” performance was back in June 2007 and his video became a youtube hit shortly afterwards. Somebody at Telekom should have listened to Nessun dorma (Italian for “None shall sleep”) much sooner. Besides, the spot always felt more like Christmas to me - too much opera and emotions for hot summer days.

Maybe it’s because the Telekom tried too hard to create a “real” Lady-Di(e) moment - everybody in Germany remembers what they did when they heard that Princess Diana was killed in a car accident. Many also remember what they felt when they first saw Paul Potts on “Germany’s Got Talent”. Oh no, wait… So, I wonder are all those people in the spot British? It’s kinda like if AT&T would air a Superbowl spot with Herbert Grönemeyer. See!

So us Germans either knew Paul from youtube - but then the whole clip with background story, uncut aria and real tears was much more moving then the commercial. Or we have not heard about that chubby, Welsh guy before...but without the Cinderella story, there is not much of a story. Thankfully, the Telekom presented us with a number of deeply-stirred people so even the dumbest Kraut must have realized that it’s time to be moved. You know, we are an uncaring people, so you better not trust us when it comes to feelings and all that crap.

But probably I don't like the spot because sweet emotions and the Telekom don’t fit. They supply wires and contracts, not content and contacts. The former state-owned company is notorious for its bad customer service and high prices, and recently it had to face a number of serious scandals. Hence their effort to improve their image. The question is: Would I like the commercial if it was for a likeable brand? Or are real-life wonder and authentic magic simply too big to be pocketed by any brand?

Undoubtedly the spot worked great. For Paul Potts at least - his album became an instant top hit in Germany. And the highjacked viral spot became a viral itself. For days, the blogosphere talked about nothing else –with mixed results. Even I love one thing about the spot: The fact that a crappy telecommunications company tries to improve its image with a guy who obviously was NOT very happy selling mobile phones!