Surveillance Gets Prime-Time Spotlight

Coca-Cola’s “Let’s Look at the World a Little Differently” ad spot was ranked fourth by ADBOWL^® voters after last night’s Super Bowl XLVII. If you missed it, the 30-second ad is made up of surveillance camera clips from around the world that caught a good deed in progress.

I was excited to see this ad during the broadcast and even more to find out this morning that it had been so well-received. An extended version of the ad went viral in 2012.

While some reactions on Twitter poked fun that Coca-Cola is now the official sponsor of the police state, an overwhelming number of people seemed to find the ad heartfelt and even inspiring. Best of all, this mass exposure of surveillance clips that are discernible on a large, HD screen does a lot to show those still using outdated CCTV technology what they’re missing.

Aside from the free publicity, the ad is comforting — showing that even something designed to see bad things can’t help but see the good as well. Coca-Cola wrote about the ad: “A reminder that acts of kindness and bravery are taking place around us all the time.” And that’s certainly true. Still, it occurred to me that there is also a bittersweet beauty in a surveillance video that helps law enforcement catch a criminal. The world isn’t always a scary place; but for those times when it is, I’m glad to know someone’s got an eye on us.