Duracell: Trust The Power Within (Part 2)

A couple hours ago, I posted an article about Derrick Coleman working on a commercial with Duracell. It seems like this commercial took another extent and touched some people deeply into their souls. First of all, according to Adweek, it made Derrick one of the most admired players in the NFL. But most importantly, he proved he was worthy by responding with a hand-written letter to two twins who also suffer from hearing problems and who have to wear hearing aids. The father of the girls tweeted the letter written by one of his daughters but instead of simply responding to his tweet, Derrick Coleman took the time to take a pen in his hand and to answer the little deaf girl. He then took a photo of the letter and tweeted it back to the father, saying: “Your girls are awesome! Read them my letter back when you can! Thank you for the support! Means a lot!”.

The story has enhanced Coleman’s reputation of course and the girls and their father were featured this morning on Good Morning America.

I think this story is a proof of how advertising can do more than just push messages in people’s faces, screaming things that don’t matter in our ears. This goes further and touches people deeper, especially with brand advocates/ambassadors like Derrick Coleman. It was a very nice choice from Duracell to use Derrick’s story for their brand and let him speak himself about his life and his struggles.

Duracell: Trust The Power Within

Here is the story of a deaf NFL player, Derrick Coleman, the first legally deaf player to be part of an NFL offense, narrated in an inspiring and emotional Duracell advertising released by Saatchi & Saatchi New York.

As a huge US lover, I can definitely recognize the tone of this commercial and identify to it. This reflects the idea of the American Dream or the fact that anybody can achieve whatever they want with hard work, courage and perseverance. As a kid, his dream was to play for the NFL, but they told him it wasn’t possible, that he wouldn’t make it and he was passed over by the NFL draft: “They didn’t call my name, told me it was over. But I’ve been deaf since I was 3, so I didn’t listen”.  What a lesson!

Coleman was approached by Duracell, they said they were inspired in his story. Coleman said in the Sporting News: “I just hope to inspire people, especially children, to trust the power within and achieve their dreams.”

“Trust the power within”, a metaphor I find pretty cool… Good job Duracell!