• by Barbara Lippert , Columnist, July 24, 2024

I saw news about Best Buy’s introduction of a “spokeshologram” in its new ad campaign, and as an extreme word nerd, I couldn’t stop fixating on that four-syllable neologism.

At first, I was getting stuck in the middle of the word and wondering whether there could be a cleaner, more readable spokes-word creation for the consumer electronics retailer.  

I mean there are some inherent awkward-pronouncing risks in there, when not sounding out what a “kesholo” or a “sholog” is. 

Of course, the “holo” possibilities are endless, which could also tip into “hollow man” territory, a place no big brander wants to enter. Plus, I find holograms creepy. 

Anyway, I had fallen down this spokeshole for a while when I decided to do the decent thing and watch the introductory spot. It’s called “More than a spokesman” and, as with this entire refresh, was created in-house.

I was predicting cringe. But it was the opposite. I couldn’t believe that the retail giant could spend a whole 30-seconds embracing my exact neurotic spokes-pronunciation ramblings. I felt seen.

Open on a bearded man and a humorous woman sitting at a kitchen table. Thankfully, they are not cookie-cutter commercial actor types. The table is modern, round, shiny, all the better for serving as the foundation for the new supermini-man, “Gram,” to stand there sporting a blue Best Buy jumpsuit, bathed in blue light projected through the hole in the yellow Best Buy tag. Holla, holo-man.

“So you’re like a super techie spokesman for Best Buy?” the guy at the table asks, looking directly at Gram. “Spokeshologram” the woman corrects him.  

Mr. Beardie rolls his tongue over several of the possible middle glitches inherent in pronouncing the word.

“That’s too many syllables” the woman says to him. She explains that it should sound like “hollah” gram, which she illustrates with easy hand gestures.

Gram: “I think we’re overthinking it.”

Woman: “I think we’re underthinking it.”

Gram: “Let me know when you want to talk some tech.”   

What a clever way to introduce the AI wizardry of Mr. Gram. The spot ends with snappy techno music and the yellow tag logo. Though the new tag line, “Imagine that,” seems generic (what brand couldn’t say that?), it leads into the feeling of some of the follow up spots that colorfully explore new features in laptops, games, scooters and tech accessories that bring the fun. 

Another spot ventures into the area of the “goats of gaming” and shows the “sweet new gear” that two dudes, seemingly addicted to the sport, are intensely playing. Many “goat” trophy jokes ensue, and the spot ends with a large, live sheep entering the room. Baah.

It seems to feed into an ad trend lately that features people—perhaps for shock value—interacting with large barnyard animals. If the goat goal though was to humanize tech, this goes a step further, ram-ifying it.

As with many retailers for the past two years, Best Buy is trying to reverse a two-year sales slump with a “replacement cycle” of pandemic-era purchases and ride a fresh wave of AI innovation. 

Corie Barry, Best Buy CEO, told CNBC that customers told Best Buy that their store experiences and the tech products they offer have “lost a bit of [their] sparkle.” 

“That is our big focus this year,” she said in the CNBC interview. “Getting all of that ‘new’ back in there.”

In June, Best Buy introduced the country's widest assortment of Microsoft's Copilot+ PCs AI-enhanced laptops in its stores and also will promote AI-enabled smartphones.

Also part of the rebrand, later this summer, the BB outlets will offer more in-store experiential spaces from brands like GoPro, Tesla and modular furniture company Lovesac.

Store employees will continue to provide tech expertise, but the company is also creating a trove of video content for customers—rolling out more than 500 videos by the end of the year. 

And let’s not forget Gram. We can always count on him to bring the spokes-sparkle.