This competitive campaign stayed classy. It’s smart, funny and, while it was conceived as purely competitive, it became an under-the-radar brand campaign. It’s now the most successful campaign in Spectrum history at shifting brand approval.

In Discussion on this campaign: 

In a world where campaigns come and go as quickly as CMOs it’s rare (with a few notable exceptions like Geico or some older DirecTV campaigns) to see one campaign continue in such a single minded vein for an extended period of time.

It begs the question: beyond sheer entertainment value and the desire to see more of these characters, what is it that keeps a campaign like this rolling? Well, it depends who you ask.

Ask the founders of the creative agency, Something Different, and they’ll credit the clients first. Founder Tommy Henvey says “From day one, Spectrum thought this campaign was the way to go. It’s a ballsy move to associate your competitors with bad practices, but they realized that the humor of the situations would make those kinds of messages palatable. And they also realized that the campaign is not about monsters, it’s about people who are being subjected to awfully unfair deals and shady practices. We’re not all undead, but we can all relate to that.”

The campaign’s director David Shane is equally complimentary. “Spectrum gives us the freedom to play with the characters and the stories. It’s an extremely trusting relationship. They know we’ll get what they need, and in return they allow us to explore and play. It’s a wonderful collaboration. It also doesn’t hurt that we have an Emmy and Oscar Nominated crew.”

Results, of course, are the ultimate decider. But even before its impact on sales was fully understood, it was clear that the campaign had struck a chord with customers and Spectrum employees. Stories surfaced of people recording the commercials on VCR (not a typo) with the intention of rewatching them. People have called looking for autographed monster pictures. Employees have left messages saying thanks for creating something that they could feel proud of.

But whoever you ask, it’s clear that it’s the client/agency relationship that lies at the core of this campaign’s success.

Something Different (an independent, full service agency, staffed by the experienced alumni of large agencies) is all about a dramatically nicer, more hands on, way of working. And Spectrum appreciates that. “We just enjoy working together.” says CD Richard Ryan “It’s almost embarrassingly fun. Even on set, when the actors and crew get together again it feels like the set of a sit-com. There’s a real family vibe and I think that shows in the commercials.”

Patti McConnell, agency co-founder, has her own take “We started SD so we could do the work we wanted to do, with the people we wanted to work with. Whether that was clients, production companies, directors or creatives. This campaign is proof that the model works. And we’re excited to do the same for anyone else who’d like to come and have fun with us.”