Hopper Commercial

DodgerKing

SatelliteGuys Master
Original poster
Nov 14, 2007
16,776
27
SoCal
Just saw my first Hopper Commercial. I have to say they have to do much better advertising if they are going to convince people to get one. The only thing the commercial did was point out that it is the whole home DVR. It said nothing about Primetime Anytime nor did it do anything to convince people why Dish's system is better than the other providers.

I think most people already assume that Dish has a whole home DVR since every other provider already does.

 
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Dish just does not have great advertising at anytime. The PIG thing was not bad, the BB family was ok, but nowhere near the DIRECT ads for instance. It's like they use some local guy to make them....
 
Directv hit a home run with the little giraffe & the Russian guy. I absolutely loved those commercials and haven't seen them in a while. Dish needs to step up & spend some of that moldy money.
 
It is all about marketing, selling your product, making people want to have it. In order to do so you have to do some advertising that is informative, convinces people that your product is better than the others, or very stimulating. DirecTV and U-Verse both do a good job at demonstrating why their products are better than the others, even if they are not. Dish must do the same. They must tell potential customers that the Hopper is the best MRV DVR on the market because of x, y, and z. No matter if it is or is not the best, they have to highlight the features that set them apart and sell it as if it is the best. That is how you win over customers.

The only thing I got out of this is that Dish's MRV system is called the Hopper, it is just like all the other MRV systems with the other providers, and it can always record 6 shows at once (face it people do not read the disclaimer, nor do they understand what they mean by primetime anytime).

If I was an uniformed customer getting my info from this commercial, I will be very disappointed when I find out that it cannot actually record 6 shows at once; it can in reality only record 3 shows at once. Most customers are not like us well informed satelliteguys members who understand that the 4 of the 6 shows are recorded only on the major networks between 8 and 11.
 
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Dish is light years behind Direct TV's newest ads - string of events leading to bad things if you don't get Direct TV....
Dish takes what could be a good base for a commercial but does not expand on it. The new ad above is an example of that. There should be more - maybe a family member who has a Bronx accent, I don't know something more than what they did. Even the visual quality and acting to me leaves alot to be desired, the whole style, like it was made in someone's basement using a consumer video camera.
 
I have to disagree. This is actually a VERY good commercial and seems the most sophisticated Dish has ever aired and I would bet a VERY successful and expensive ad agency designed it. This commercial is the first shot in a whole CAMPAIGN. I have to add, it is quite funny, as well. This ad is about creating awareness of the "Hopper" product: a single word that sums up a complex whole home DVR, and it is BETTER than naming it Whole Home DVR. At first, I thought ol' Clayton really picked a stinker with the "Hopper" name, but now I see the genius of his bringing in better marketing people using more successful and expensive ad agencies, like the same ones DirecTV or other deep pocketed competitors use. People will call Dish and say, "I want the Hopper" or "Tell me about the Hopper?" The word "Hopper" won't escape their minds with that or similar commercials. Indeed, just as with the big cowboy hat commercial, it seems everybody I talk to was able to say, "Yeah, I saw that commercial. It's funny," and "you can't miss it." It will be the same with the commercial because prior to these commercials, people would tell me, I don't notice Dish advertising on TV, and they have absolutely NO MEMORY of those PLAIN, BORING, "traditional" ad Dish runs touting about the lower price that goes on for like a full minute or a full 2 minutes.

You can't cram all the info in a 30 second spot about a company that has had virtually NO ADVERTISING (budget) compared to its competitors. Dish has to almost start from the beginning. After we've drilled the word "Hopper" into people's heads, the next part of the campaign with commercials including some of the features and advantages of the "Hopper." No doubt, several versions have already been recorded but will be launched with discipline according to the campaign, something Dish advertising have NEVER included: a campaign.

This ad is in the right direction, but often the most successful commercials with most successful campaigns have NOTHING to do with what the product is, how it compares to others nor any info abut its attributes and those really successful ones are often contrary to what we laymen THINK is good advertising. The Lowe's campaign has great commercials, and yet not a word about prices, service, selection, quality, etc. It's all about the EMOTION. Think Coca Cola and the massive "I'd like to teach the world to sing . . . " People bought Coke, not because of the taste, but, even unconsciously, they bought Coke because of the EMOTIONAL connection they had with the ad and, hence, product. Same thing for Pepsi ads that were much more about "cool, young, popular people drink Pepsi, not OLD Coca-Cola!" ads with Michael Jackson's hair on fire. Kingsford charcoal lighter, anyone. Even DirecTV ads are much more about what is "cool" and "hip" and humorous and spend about the last 3 seconds mentioning price or what the product is, but DirecTV has over a decade of expensive, ubiquitous advertising and marketing behind it. It is the household name.

Now, the folks on this forum may be too smart for such tactics, but NOT the MASSES, and when one is running a company and you want the most successful commercials on the air, not the ones that appeal to your sensibility, but that get the attention of the rabble, you WILL trust the agency with the winning track record and the "bizarre" concepts, because the data shows THEY WORK! Is there any one who would really say, "No, I want an ad that lists all the attributes of the product with a narrator and simple cards on the screen and Bobby Sue saying, 'Yeah, I saved so much money with Dish' [as if we really believe her] and stuff it with all sorts of information because that is MY idea of a successful commercial and ad campaign. Then get ready to go out of business or slide fast as Dish was with just the very types of commercials that have been championed on this thread so far. Does the Doritos ads tell you anything about the competition, as in"ours taste better and are made with the best ingredients and at the best value for your money"? Carona beer was crap. Absolute vodka was absolutely NOT the best vodka, yet their sales went up incredibly due to ads that never mentioned any attribute of the product, just long shots of secluded beach with your point of view. People ordered the stuff because they had made an emotional connection to the product.

There will be more commercials and more of the information posters have said they want to see in Dish ads, but first we gotta get people's attention, and then but 'Hopper" in their heads, then say what the Hopper is and so that warm family emotional connection with watching HD in every room and enjoying PTAT, but it won't happen in a day or a week.
 
I don't have a Hopper........yet,but one thing I've noticed watching TV on my 722k regarding Dish commercials,I've seen far more DTV commercials than Dish commercials. That commercial where the Dish TV is talking to the DTV TV with the DTV TV carrying a speargun & saying that he's going fishing for new customers with a "fishy deal" seems very amateurish. Until the Hopper commercials came out(which i've only seen 2 on TV so far),I wondered if that was the only commercial Dish had? I'm not bashing Dish because I like their service so far(I've had it almost 2 weeks),I just though that I'd see more commercials for them,on their satellite system.
 
Dishsub,

As far as name recognition, I would have to agree.

As far as selling the product, it did nothing to separate them from any other provider. I would be willing to bet that many people already thought Dish had a whole home system because everyone else already did. The most they go out of this commercial is the name of their whole home system.

The other message they got is that it can record six shows at once. I think people will be a little disappointed when they find out that statement was a little misleading. By making such a statement, most people will probably think that they will be able to record any six shows on any six channels at any time, or record 5 and watch a separate show.

The other issue is what happens when your only DVR takes a dive? Since the Joeys are tied to the Hopper, when the Hopper crashes you lose programming in every single room. All of the other providers allow you to link other receivers/DVRs to the primary MRV DVR, not only providing additional tuners for those rooms, but also allows these receivers/DVRs to not be dependent on only one DVR.
 
I don't have a Hopper........yet,but one thing I've noticed watching TV on my 722k regarding Dish commercials,I've seen far more DTV commercials than Dish commercials. That commercial where the Dish TV is talking to the DTV TV with the DTV TV carrying a speargun & saying that he's going fishing for new customers with a "fishy deal" seems very amateurish. Until the Hopper commercials came out(which i've only seen 2 on TV so far),I wondered if that was the only commercial Dish had? I'm not bashing Dish because I like their service so far(I've had it almost 2 weeks),I just though that I'd see more commercials for them,on their satellite system.
I have never seen that one. I wonder if that is a commercial primarily shown on Dish network itself?
 
The other message they got is that it can record six shows at once. I think people will be a little disappointed when they find out that statement was a little misleading. By making such a statement, most people will probably think that they will be able to record any six shows on any six channels at any time, or record 5 and watch a separate show.
Yep...

Just as I said. My father-in-law just called me after he saw this commercial. The thing that impressed him the most was the ability to record 6 shows at once. He called specifically to ask me about this because he thought you would be able to record any 6 shows on any 6 different channels at any time. After I explained Primetime Anytime and what they mean by 6 at one time, he was really let down. I can only imagine if he ended up ordering under the assumption that he could record 6 shows at one time. He would not have been a happier camper when he found out otherwise.


What Dish needs to do is be more upfront and honest while setting them apart from the others. Do not mention 6 shows at one time, instead focus on Primetime anytime and 4 shows at one time at the same time with still two recording options left. This will not only attract the Primetime viewers, it will differentiate them from the other providers and demonstrate true honesty (which most customers want).
 
Of course, you can get 6 programs at once with two Hoppers. Problem is that they can't honestly sell that as a solution either without disclaimers since many of us want two Hoppers and can't get it (for the time being at least...maybe permanently?) without adding outlets (Joeys) we don't need.
 
I thought the commercial was misleading to people as well. But for most they won't realize it until after the installer leaves that the system can only do 3 normally and that's if no joeys are watching live tv.
 
Of course, you can get 6 programs at once with two Hoppers. Problem is that they can't honestly sell that as a solution either without disclaimers since many of us want two Hoppers and can't get it (for the time being at least...maybe permanently?) without adding outlets (Joeys) we don't need.
The commercials claimed 6 programs at once with one hopper. The disclaimer was that 4 of the 6 were recorded at one time during primetime anytime.
 
image-3088397276.jpg

I think they do a nice job here explaining

Ad from our Sunday paper this morning
 
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I thought the commercial was misleading to people as well. But for most they won't realize it until after the installer leaves that the system can only do 3 normally and that's if no joeys are watching live tv.

I agree, but I don't know how you explain PTAT in a short ad. The cure is for the sales centers to explain that a bit.

Of course, the ad is misleading in the same sense that 'up to...' that another sat provider ran seemingly forever. :)
 
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I think they do a nice job here explaining

Ad from our Sunday paper this morning
This is how the commercial needs to be set up and exactly how they need to focus on the one thing (prime time anytime) that makes their MRV different than all of the others. That is how they are going to get subs from another provider.
 

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