Taking It To The Teleflora Ad
February 10, 2009 
Appalling? Genius? Downright awful? Whatever you thought about Teleflora’s 30-second Super Bowl commercial, it got people talking. In fact, it was among the most talked-about ads in the week after the big game.
First off, if you haven’t seen the ad, watch it here. The commercial debuted during the second quarter of the February 1 game, and its premise is that hand-arranged flowers are a better value than flowers delivered in a box.
We asked our readers what they thought of the commercial in last week’s eNewsletter, posing five choices to them in our Benchrunner Barometer. The choices were (1) I loved it; (2) I liked it; (3) I thought it was OK; (4) I hated it; and (5) I didn’t get it. Judging from the poll results, the commercial was apparently OK.
Thirty-nine percent of respondents thought the ad was OK, 19 percent hated it and 18 percent didn’t get it. A handful of respondents (9 percent) did like the ad, though, while some others (16 percent) loved it.
Still, the majority of viewers seemed more willing to criticize Teleflora for its commercial than offer it praise. Greenhouse Grower Online Editor Sara Tambascio blogged about the commercial at Sara’s Green Space, and she shared a few comments people made about it on Twitter:
– davidweiner: Has anyone ever heard of Teleflora before 1 minute ago?
–pwarnock: Teleflora ad mean FAIL
–MarketerBlog: Why are all the women featured in these ads stupid, insecure, or nags?
–bobduffy: Flowers in a box ad was uncomfortable
Greenhouse Grower Associate Editor Kevin Yanik also reflects on the commercial and the potential of Super Bowl advertising in his upcoming March 2009 column. The commercial is a reflection of the many distribution channels our industry serves, he writes, but there’s still potential for companies like Teleflora to deliver a message that benefits us all.
“We’re segmented as an industry in large part because of the distribution channels we serve, yes, but we’re all driven by the same motives,” Yanik writes. “We all believe our products are the best–and they may be based on the quality, price or assortment you offer in your market–so why don’t we all take that messaging route?”
The (Cleveland) Plain Dealer didn’t think highly of the Teleflora commercial, either, ranking it dead last among all the Super Bowl commercials. One Plain Dealer reader, however, had a different take. “I thought that the best of the commercials were the ones The Plain Dealer listed as the worst,” the reader wrote. “The Teleflora’s talking flowers. I thought that was hysterical.”
Advertising Age critic Bob Garfield was not as moved. He also called the commercial the worst on the big game, and you can begin listening to his take on Teleflora at the 45-second mark of the video. “This thing from Teleflora was just awful,” he said. “It was just mean. It was cruel to homely Americans everywhere.”
If anything, Teleflora stirred up plenty of debate and likely fixed the Teleflora name into the minds of many consumers who otherwise would not know about its service. Perhaps that’s what it sought from the get-go.
Do you have a take about the commercial? Come have your say at Fresh Air Forum.
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