When it comes to producing commercials, Western clothing manufacturer Tecobas has a cowboy attitude.
Instead of spending marketing budgets solely on a series of traditional 30- or 60-second regular video ads, direct-to-consumer companies decided to achieve bigger goals. Tecobus will release a 13-minute short film starring Michael Shannon and Ryan Bingham and narrated by Sissy Spacek. “Love Letter to Texas” doesn’t have much of a hard sell, but company executives hope it will create a different kind of connection with existing and potential customers.
“This is just an opportunity to entertain the audience. There’s no product placement. There’s no logos. There’s no references to products or brands,” Scott Ballew, vice president of creative at Tecovas, said in a recent interview. “There are branded boots, hats, and shirts, but there are no overt shots or references to them. Nor is there anything that we would have done differently if we had just written an independent short film.”
This is not the first time Tekovas has taken on the position of a heretic. In February, the Western apparel company aired a commercial during the Super Bowl that only appeared on Peacock and was already being streamed frequently on YouTube and other media venues. Executives felt the ad also evoked a Western environment and would be more authentic than relying on celebrities and typical big game marketing staples.
In recent years, more and more advertisers have supported authentic content that bears no resemblance to typical Madison Avenue products. A+E Networks has created a humorous show for KFC and Chilli’s that aims to emulate the quirky romantic movies of its Lifetime cable network. Pepsi produced a game show that aired on Fox. But by stripping away any clear nods to commerce and branding, Tecovas hopes its short films will cast consumers on vibes rather than value propositions.
“The process felt very natural because I didn’t have a big brother looking over my shoulder,” says Jeff Nichols, who directed the film. He is also known for films such as “Loving” and “Midnight Special.” “There’s no editing there, there’s no decisions there that aren’t mine,” he added. “That rarely happens.”
Tecobas is betting that consumers will be interested in longer content at a time when many marketers worry they are over-saturating viewers with traditional commercials that play repeatedly during the streaming experience. Nichols said “Love Letter” isn’t trying to get instant attention with video shortcuts or viral antics. “These scenes,” he says, “unfold in very long sequences,” which are meant to evoke classic films about Texas, such as 1963’s “Hud” and 1956’s “Giant.” “To me, this is the opposite of what anyone is doing right now, especially in advertising.”
The goal is to build long-term relationships, Ballew said. “People know when they’re being marketed to, and sometimes they want to be marketed to. They’re looking for a specific product. They want to be informed. They want to know what it is and where to find it,” he says. I think movies are “something that stays with you and grows on you. And if it resonates with you, you kind of become part of the tribe for life.”
