1 00:00:00,190 --> 00:00:01,960 - An empty apostrophe from Shell 2 00:00:01,960 --> 00:00:03,940 and Apple's five-hour museum tour. 3 00:00:03,940 --> 00:00:06,230 I'm Jeff Beer and this is Fast Company's Brand 4 00:00:06,230 --> 00:00:07,130 Hit and Miss of the Week. 5 00:00:07,130 --> 00:00:08,640 First up, the miss. 6 00:00:08,640 --> 00:00:11,740 Technically, this one hit late last week but it's so bad 7 00:00:11,740 --> 00:00:12,750 we just can't skip it. 8 00:00:12,750 --> 00:00:15,890 Shell Oil announced for Sunday's International Women's Day 9 00:00:15,890 --> 00:00:17,550 that it would be changing the signs of one 10 00:00:17,550 --> 00:00:21,330 California station from Shell to She'll. 11 00:00:21,330 --> 00:00:22,460 See what they did there. 12 00:00:22,460 --> 00:00:25,240 That one little apostrophe is meant as the company's way 13 00:00:25,240 --> 00:00:27,430 of honoring women in leadership positions. 14 00:00:27,430 --> 00:00:30,940 What it ended up doing was being mercilessly mocked online 15 00:00:30,940 --> 00:00:34,410 for being the kind of vapid, token gesture that just 16 00:00:34,410 --> 00:00:37,430 confirms the worst stereotypes of advertising. 17 00:00:37,430 --> 00:00:39,910 It was so bad that when satirical activist group 18 00:00:39,910 --> 00:00:42,430 The Yes Men pretended to take credit for it, 19 00:00:42,430 --> 00:00:43,680 people actually believed them. 20 00:00:43,680 --> 00:00:46,620 Sadly, as Adweek confirmed, it was done by a real-life 21 00:00:46,620 --> 00:00:48,800 ad agency, Wunderman Thompson, Atlanta. 22 00:00:48,800 --> 00:00:50,970 Not only was this a silly stunt that distracts 23 00:00:50,970 --> 00:00:52,970 from the actual issues meant to be addressed 24 00:00:52,970 --> 00:00:55,930 by International Women's Day, it's also a bit of a copycat. 25 00:00:55,930 --> 00:00:58,760 Back in 2018, McDonald's flipped its Golden Arches 26 00:00:58,760 --> 00:01:01,690 to make a W at one of its California restaurants 27 00:01:01,690 --> 00:01:05,340 to symbolize female empowerment, Big Macs, or something. 28 00:01:05,340 --> 00:01:07,470 Look, if brands wanna play these silly stunts, 29 00:01:07,470 --> 00:01:09,570 they also have to have the action to back it up. 30 00:01:09,570 --> 00:01:11,620 Perhaps the worst part about this Shell stunt 31 00:01:11,620 --> 00:01:13,930 and the deserved attention it got over the weekend 32 00:01:13,930 --> 00:01:16,540 is that Shell as a company actually has a decent story 33 00:01:16,540 --> 00:01:18,530 to tell when it comes to gender equality. 34 00:01:18,530 --> 00:01:21,900 Gretchen Watkins has been its US CEO since 2018. 35 00:01:21,900 --> 00:01:24,270 Why not tell us more about Watkins, how she got to where 36 00:01:24,270 --> 00:01:26,410 she is and how the company is working to make sure 37 00:01:26,410 --> 00:01:28,830 her role as a leader isn't some anomaly? 38 00:01:28,830 --> 00:01:32,050 That is much more interesting than an empty logo trick. 39 00:01:32,050 --> 00:01:33,010 And now, the hit. 40 00:01:33,010 --> 00:01:35,080 This week Apple debuted its newest iPhone ad 41 00:01:35,080 --> 00:01:38,190 called Hermitage, which just happens to be a five-hour 42 00:01:38,190 --> 00:01:40,720 one-take tour through the St. Petersburg museum. 43 00:01:40,720 --> 00:01:43,190 Not only was it shot in one continuous take, 44 00:01:43,190 --> 00:01:45,630 it was done on one single battery charge. 45 00:01:45,630 --> 00:01:48,810 Of course, watching a five-hour ad is ridiculous 46 00:01:48,810 --> 00:01:51,420 though maybe the brand did time it right with our new 47 00:01:51,420 --> 00:01:53,010 reality of social distancing. 48 00:01:53,010 --> 00:01:55,150 In this attention economy, a brand stunt 49 00:01:55,150 --> 00:01:56,310 can't just be clever. 50 00:01:56,310 --> 00:01:58,980 It has to be followed through to its logical 51 00:01:58,980 --> 00:02:00,540 yet even absurd conclusion. 52 00:02:00,540 --> 00:02:02,750 Like, you can't just make a piece of street-branded 53 00:02:02,750 --> 00:02:04,930 street wear and post it on Instagram. 54 00:02:04,930 --> 00:02:07,260 You actually have to make the street wear, set up 55 00:02:07,260 --> 00:02:09,740 an e-commerce site, and sell it to the general public. 56 00:02:09,740 --> 00:02:12,290 And you can't just say your phone camera's good enough 57 00:02:12,290 --> 00:02:14,370 to shoot a five-hour movie in one take. 58 00:02:14,370 --> 00:02:16,460 You actually have to go and make that film. 59 00:02:16,460 --> 00:02:19,700 As with all its shot on iPhone ads, here Apple's able 60 00:02:19,700 --> 00:02:22,470 to combine stylish creativity with a straight-up 61 00:02:22,470 --> 00:02:24,980 product demo in a way few brands are able to do. 62 00:02:24,980 --> 00:02:27,250 Making it a five-hour homage to one of the world's 63 00:02:27,250 --> 00:02:29,470 great museums just adds a classy touch. 64 00:02:29,470 --> 00:02:30,550 What do you think? 65 00:02:30,550 --> 00:02:32,550 Let us know and we'll see you next week.