Ad Post: eBay Hail Mary January 8, 2008

eBay :15 spot
Agency: BBDO New York

eBay & BBDO are managing to outdo even the brilliant “It” campaign of recent years with their new “Shop Victoriously” spots. Whether bidders are fighting for the Hail Mary pass for a vase, racing at the track for a radio, fox hunting for a thermos or ice-fishing for a guitar, these commercials are charming. And anyone who’s gone on eBay know the little adrenaline rush you get from bidding. It really is better when you win it.

It’s interesting that eBay has changed their messaging focus back to the auction function of the site. The “It” campaign was really all about finding whatever you could want on the site, but with the proliferation of online shopping sites like Amazon & Overstock.com, the auction aspect of eBay is really its differentiator. Thus the new campaign is selling the experience, rather than the product. Doing just a quick search about the new campaign, it seems to be getting mixed reactions. I wonder how it is translating in terms of traffic.