Today marks 8 days since my phone interview, and I still have not received an offer/NLICed. This is good obviously, because in terms of the DCP no news is often good news, however I'm pretty impatient (especially considering that last time I applied I was accepted within two days of my phone interview, so that is the experience that I'm basing this process off of.) The recruiter I spoke to on the phone said that I should receive an update within 2-3 weeks from the date of my interview. February 24 is the two week mark, so hopefully I will hear something by then. (:
In the meantime, I came across a thread on WDWmagic (www.wdwmagic.com) in which a user posted an older Disney commercial that marketed the parks for adults, with no mention of children in the ad at all. In terms of today's marketing strategy, I would say that this is pretty uncommon, so I thought it might be interesting to look back on some of the more unique Disney commercials, and mention which ones are the best and worst in my own opinion.
Let's start with the best Disney commercials:
This first commercial is one of the best ones I've seen.
I really like this commercial, because it covers so many aspects of the resort. This one shows a variety of different kinds of vacationers-- couples, elderly guests, teenagers, children, families... It also shows a number of Disney employees. I think that one of the strong points of this commercial is the beginning, where it shows all the different Cast Members getting ready to start the day. The theme of diversity in a Disney vacation really shows through with the different activities the people in the video are doing as well. This ad shows families on attractions and walking through the parks, the bride and groom at the Grand Floridian, children meeting characters, and a group of adults having some drinks. Lately it seems as though Disney commercials are pushing the "family vacation" dynamic-- a more recent change from the focus on children alone. This change is great, however many different kinds of people who are not a typical family visit the parks as well. (I visited Walt Disney World in August with my roommate for instance, and our relationship would ordinarily have no purpose in being in a Disney commercial.) The true strength of this commercial then, is showing the variety of people that would enjoy Disney vacations, without focusing on one target audience.
Another great Disney commercial is one of the first ones used to advertise Animal Kingdom:
Even though this commercial doesn't show any actual parts of the park itself, I think there are so many great things happening here. First of all, it starts off with reminding viewers of the Magic Kingdom, EPCOT, and then MGM Studios. This would make you nostalgic if you've been to any of those parks and so you would want to know more. Then the Circle of Life music starts playing, which is obviously a song that is well known and brings excitement to a lot of people. I also love how this commercial clearly shows you what the different parts of the park will be, especially how it clearly depicts the book with the dragon on the front! (This is interesting to me because I love the now-defunct concept of Beastly Kingdom, and it's kind of cool to see little hints that it was going to happen in older commercials.)
The reason why I think this is one of the best Disney commercials is plain and simple: Mickey is on top of Spaceship Earth. I don't really have anything else to say about this one, I just have a weird fascination with anybody being on top of Spaceship Earth:
Moving on to the worst Disney commercials:
This first video has a lot of positive things going for it, however I would still list this as being in the "worst" category for a couple of reasons.
The concept behind it is great, and the commercial is very well put together, though I do have two major issues with this one. 1. This commercial is meant to appeal to an audience of children, or parents of children, and not so much anyone else. A couple without children for instance, is not the target audience here. It is cute, and heartfelt that the children in the ad are explaining why they like to go to the Disney parks, however the appeal here would likely not be as successful for a viewer who does not have children of their own. 2. "Disney Parks." Not Disneyland, not Walt Disney World, but "Disney Parks." I think there is some positive use to this term, in that someone who ordinarily only visits one of the American theme parks may be enticed to visit the other that was not previously thought about. At the same time, I dislike that the two theme resorts are lumped together. Personally, one of the biggest reasons why I would be more likely to go to Walt Disney World over Disneyland is the location. I live on the East Coast, so it would be cheaper and easier for me to get to Florida vs. California. It's kind of like showing one of those Connecticut tourism commercials in California. It's not that California residents necessarily have no desire to go to Connecticut, it's just that the trip across the country is more costly and difficult than traveling to say, Las Vegas. Because of this thought process, I find it to be kind of a waste to show the two parks in one ad, because most viewers are really only interested in going to one of them, unless they do further research on their own. Basically, a commercial might entice me to look into going to Florida, but I would need to look into the details of a trip to California more, just because it is a more difficult trip to make. My other issue with the "Disney Parks" marketing campaign is that the average person already has a difficult time differentiating between Walt Disney World and Disneyland, so these commercials that show both places may be kind of misleading. If you're someone who is not obsessed like myself, or who didn't do enough research, you may be sorely disappointed when you arrive in Florida and realize that Carsland was in the other "Disney Park" shown in the commercial.
Another one that is not one of my favorites-- I present to you, the Small World Christmas Commercial:
Again, I think this commercial is well made, but it appeals mostly to kids and the song is not exactly something I'd want to hear on my TV on a regular basis. I love the Christmas theme, and that aspect might appeal to more than just kids, however the main characters here are children. This also does the whole Disney Parks thing again, and shows footage from both coasts. It's less of an issue in this commercial than the others, which show specific attractions that are only in one park, but I'm still not a fan of the Disney Parks marketing strategy.
I have a love/hate relationship with this next commercial, but unfortunately I think I'm leaning just a little bit more on the hate side.
Let's start with the positives: I LOVE the nostalgia factor of this commercial. Some of the characters shown here are never seen in the parks anymore, and I would assume that they are only in this video because their movies were closer to the 1970s than to the present. I also think that the Eastern Airlines part of the commercial is cool, but this is mostly just because I'm really into Disney history, so it's kind of funny to see ads like that. Now for the negatives: I HATE the way that characters look. I know that this is just the design of them from the 70's, but it's really bad. Maybe if I were around in the 70's and that was the first time I saw them I would feel differently, but for now, the style of the characters creeps me out. I also don't like how the little girl is wandering around in the woods all confused with no one helping her. It reminds me of the similar scene in Snow White, which scared me as a little kid. I also don't understand why characters who should be "good guys" are ignoring her.
Honorable Mentions:
This 1987 Delta Airlines in flight Disney commercial (complete with cheesy 80's dancing):
The "Little Souvenir" Disney Cruise Line Commercial (I don't think I understood this when it was on TV when I was younger, but it's funny now):
The "Let the Memories Begin!" commercials are great because they are made with real footage filmed by Disney guests and are not staged:
That just about wraps up the Disney commercials post, stay tuned for the next couple of weeks to hear about what happens with my DCP application! (:
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