Share Your Secret

It was another one of those - Stop - Tilt your head - Stare - Scratch your head - moments.

I was watching a TV commercial for Secret.  One sister confesses to the other sister that she told their parents about her first sexual encounter.   I must admit, it got my attention.  But not in a good way.  My reaction was, initially - ewww.    My next reaction was - what putz.  If my sister did that to me I'd never tell her anything ever again.   What kind of loser tells their parents and breaks a bond with her sister over what was a very private and personal moment?    Yikes.

So, I did some more investigating and discovered this was a series of commercials for Secret deodorant.  The premise is getting women to share their secrets.   The website, shareyoursecret.com uses this verbiage to explain the premise:

Look into the souls of strong women, whose candid secrets reflect their character - flaws, frailties, intelligence, nerve and wit.

Are you strong enough to share your secret?

Here's the problem, almost all the commercials I saw involve ratting out someone.  Now, Secret can call it "strong" to do that, but I call it "wimpy and spineless".   

You see - to me, a secret, if it is shared with you, is something to be guarded, protected, and not shared with anyone else   Sharing a secret means letting someone into your mind, heart and soul.  If someone is brave enough to share something, the receiver of this knowledge should protect it with her life.   

The other problem is, secrets are often shameful.  Does sharing it make you stronger?  Maybe sharing it with someone you love, but sharing it on a TV commercial to promote a deodorant?????

I do like the style of the commercials.  I think the director, Oscar winning Jessica Yu, has a unique perspective and a way of making real people look natural and engaging.  But it's the basic premise that simply does not resonate with me.

How about you?   Do you like the "Share your secret" campaign?  Sound off!

Comments

[Stephanie Weaver]

Hi Holly,
I had the exact same reaction as you did to these commercials, although the one I saw showed a mother and daughter. The daughter "confessed" to playing spin the bottle at a party, then the mother said she already knew about it. As I recognized the "mother" as an actress, the whole thing creeped me out as well. I think it's the case of a company trying to capitalize on the appeal of sites like PostSecret.com, which are real people sharing real (and frequently depressing, awful, or shameful) secrets in total anonymity. I do give them credit for including thoughts like "I like other girls" in the copy on the Web site, but overall think this is a bust.
Stephanie Weaver
http://experienceology.blogspot.com

[Rob Fields]

I have to agree with you and Stephanie. I'd jumped on this earlier because I had to see this awful campaign every day on my subway commute. Here are my comments:
http://www.marketingpopculture.com/the_spark/2006/07/marketing_to_va_1.html

[Mary Schmidt]

Well, ick (yes, that's my highly professional marketing opinion.)

This could be a fun campaign IF the viewer told something "nobody knows about me" and kept it light and silly. For example, we could share our secret addictions to things like Swedish Fish ;-)

[randi]

I just saw one of these commercials for the first time and was freaked out. I had to reply it several times on my Tivo to belive if I heard what I thought I just heard. It was two friends and ones secret is that she dosen't ever want children and the other women announces she is having a baby. Very Weird.

[jennifer]

I had the same experience with the same commercial. It was actually aired during SNL and I thought it was a joke. My husband told me it was a real commercial. I don't even understand what this has to do with anti-perspirant and how they plan to sell more of it with these ads. My husband and I did get a good laugh though. Sooo stupid. Embarassingly stupid.

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[ninabee]

who had the catch phrase, "keep that shower fresh feeling all day..."

[D]

Does anyone know where I can find a link to this view this commercial ad?

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