Cognitive IBM and Ogilvy.

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Ogilvy launched a new ad campaign and idea for IBM yesterday. And in Ogilvy fashion it was big. Big media, big idea, big investment. The campaign idea is Cognitive Business. Copy pays of the claim with “A new era or technology. A new era of business. A new era of thinking.” The platform is IBM Watson, the mega computer that attempts to rival Lawrence Livermore National Laboratories biggest iron. The specific products are 28 APIs (application programming interface) that can be built into one’s digital business to crunch numbers that deliver insights and new processes….drum roll please…to create solutions for a smarter planet.

Campaigns come and go, a powerful brand idea is indelible.

Cognitive Business is Solutions For a Smarter Planet writ small. Same idea, new creative envelope. More productized envelope. To me it feels like an idea IBM marketing directors can more easily cozy up to. Cognitive Business is a little advertising retro but a strong evolution.

Brand ideas work best when combining “what customers want most” with what “the brand does best.” The most effective ideas, however, always favors the consumer. This idea and its support planks feels a bit too IBM focused: cloud, infrastructure, security. But it’s only day 2 let’s give it a chance. Glad to see some movement around Watson. Peace.

PS. Two really great TV ads here and here.