At Least One of the Jobs Should be Easy
Here's the new (US) print ad for the K-x, which initially will run in several photo magazines. I thought some of you might like to see this preview. (Note: This is a low res jpeg, so please ignore the jaggies if you double click on the thumbnail.)
posted by Ned Bunnell at 9:00 PM
19 Comments:
i'll have to say the aim for shooting sports (at least it's how the poster implies) is a wrong direction of adertising for Pentax, especially for entry level like K-X.
dont get me wrong, I love Pentax, but I just feel the "promoting" part from Pentax has always been awful. SMC, size, Colour redering, LE lenses, weather sealed lens... are just not being advertised. Whenever I tell people I shoot with Pentax, surprisingly no one is aware of those listed above.
Hi Ned
I must admit I'm digging this little camera. It has been a good first year for us. And I must admit the last wedding I shot was mostly in the rain and my Pentax gathered a lot of attention. This couple are really into photography and it seemed the whole family was also into photography. there was even a few High end Nikon cameras there (under plastic bags of course) But as you know my partner and I shoot Pentax and Olympus cameras and we will never part with them. I will admit I purchased a Canon 40d for low light reception stuff. But I find that I keep going to my k20 with the 50-135. I plan on picking up a second K20 because they are just great cameras.Being up here in Canada having weather sealed gear is such an advantage. I do not mean for this post to be a rah rah Pentax is the best post but I just wanted to say that Pentax has allowed me to have an advantage in some respect in the wedding market up here in Canada. Now I'm very excited about this Kx I had a chance to play with it at London Drugs and I was very impressed. I think getting a white one with a good prime will create a bit of a buzz with our clients. I now this is a entry level product but it would be cool to see a battery grip for this camera that used a lith-ion setup. Anyways I know your super busy. But send me an email and I will send you a link to that wedding shot in the rain.
Cheers!
Adam
This add really screams: "Soccer mum"
Wich probably is a good demographic for this kind of camera
Regen, an image can certainly connote different responses or reactions. However, the soccer net photo is not intended to promote notion that camera is for shooting sports. It's actually the view or perspective that many young families experience when Mom or Dad try to watch or photograph their child playing soccer or other youth sports.
Adam, nice to hear from you and glad to hear the wedding business is going well for you. LOL, I think the white K-x with a nice prime would create a bit of a stir with your brides...it's the perfect camera to shoot white wedding gowns! Though it doesn't have the features of the K20D or K-7, I'm really liking the image quality of my K-x's. You could replace that 40D for low-natural-light mood shots during the wedding/reception with the K-x :-)
Best Regards,
Ned
Sorry Ned, I love my Pentax but I've got to call this one a total miss. The message I get from this ad is that if you want to take blurry out of focus pictures of youth sports from behind the fence get a Pentax, we'll make it easy. It's a little hard for us working photographers not to read a bit of a backhand into the "photography as an occupation is easy" idea as well.
I realize I'm not in the primary Kx target market, but I have a hard time imagining anyone looking at the photo on this poster and feeling compelled to rush out and buy the camera that took it. Why even read the text? It's a camera ad. If the picture doesn't sell the camera at a glance, it's a miss. What does this picture actually say?
Wouldn't a soccer mom better relate to a great low light photo of a 3 foot tall trick-or-treating storm trooper with a caption like, "fun moments are not complicated, why should your camera be?" How about a prom picture of a couple of embarrassed teen agers in front of the family fire place with the caption, "awkward moment, simple camera." Play up the "storm trooper" camera angle and shoot a Jedi: http://www.flickr.com/photos/goldenwreckedangle/2842216660/. The Kx will shoot circles around the K100D I made that image with several years ago. There is no reason even a pro couldn't be compelled to view it as a great "play" camera. No offense, I'm just saying have some fun. Be interesting. That's what I think of when I think of Pentax.
I like the ad - but why put it in photo mags, even to start out with? This should be in "O", "People" and other places where the entry level dslr reader is. I am a loyal Pentaxian, but I am not sure I always understand the marketing/sales plans for the company. A great general ad campaign and sales reps (Pentax needs sales reps!) in the shops before the holiday season would guarantee this to be the hit it deserves to be.
I just read the whole thing a bit more slowly and took the time to digest the message. I see now that it's not just a list of random jobs, it's a list of jobs that a mom does. That makes a little more sense. I hope all of the busy mom's (and dads) who see the ad will take the time to absorb the well deserved pat on the back.
sometimes i feel like i need to get paid by Pentax for advertising their products to people whenever I'm shooting my fashion projects and weddings.
My experience so far, I have met No salesman in Toronto recommands a Pentax to customers nor knows anything that Pentax offers exlusively. No matter it's Vistek, Henry's, Black's, Futureshop or some chinese independant stores. It's almost like they are paid to not sell other brands rather than you-know.
I personally is a bit frustrated to see such a company that offers such good products, not having a creative team to promote the products. I always thought they were trying to be clever, but failed, leaving people confused or not really tempted. (though the k7+da*55 covered in mud was a good one)
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LOL - Forget weather sealed. The busy mom demographic in our house might be more inclined to buy a camera advertised as "drool proof".
I like this advert.
Its an inteligent advert aimed at attracting new customers not nerdy spec freaks, with when coupled with the generous cashback offers arround at the moment should draw quite a few customers.
However you do really need to advertise the weathersealing more. It's a fantastic feature.
On another note my documentary photography course is going very well. Quite a few people have been inpressed with the K-7 and blown away by the DA 35mm limted lens. One thing that I and others have noticed is the built in flash has greatly improved. I hope that in the future you get the oppotunity to improve the hot shoe flashes my 540's zoom has broken twice now.
Anyway keep up the good work.
Sigh.... I find it curious how so many nit-pick. It must be, to some extent disheartening, when your prime fans/customers can come across so negatively. Seriously, for all who espouse loving Pentax, they are certainly quite critical. I like the ad, I "get it" and I don't need to read the fine print to understand a point. Sorry, I choose to look for the fun and novelty in things such as this, rather than pick it all apart.
I probably did come across more negatively than intended. You should hear the way I "cheer" for my favorite NFL teams. :-)
I actually like the photo and I like the message. I just don't think either one conveys in this ad. I too am looking for fun and novel. I just don't see it here. To use the NFL analogy, to me this ad comes off as a safe little hand-off up the middle on 3rd and fifteen. I want to see something that makes me jump off the couch and scream, "yea, that was brilliant!"
Probably not worth the emotional investment. What can I say? Armchair quarterbacks are easily frustrated but it's only for their love of the game and devotion to the team.
Ned,
I get the ad, and I respect its message and aims, but I think Pentax is heading in the wrong direction with the K-x ads. Pentax is losing display case presence in stores. Are soccer moms reading web reviews of the K-x and comparison shopping online? No doubt, the K-X is a wonderfully capable camera yet easy to use and great for soccer moms; but it could and should also be marketed to a different (namely younger and hipper) demographic.
The K-x, available in a variety of colors (okay, three here in the US), is as much of a fashion statement as a photographic tool. I think it would fit perfectly on the camera page of urbanoutfitters.com or the "multibrand" section of the American Apparel webstore.
Vintage and color choice are in, and there's no reason why the Pentax brand that has retro appeal, and a new, good-looking (and great performing) camera shouldn't be in as well.
-Jason
A bit off-topic, but would it be possible to update the firmware in the K-m to enable bulb-mode using the infrared remote the same way it's implemented in the K-x? Please?
Years ago, when our adult children were the age of the soccer players in this ad, Toyota sent us a video hawking a new mini-van. They had a soccer mom wearing a chauffeur hat and doing all the things listed on the Pentax ad. My wife nearly blew a gasket. To this day we cannot even consider a Toyota when we look at getting a new car.
Just wanted to say THANK you to all the engineers who came through on the K-x.
I just tok my delivery of a white K-x, and I was flabbergasted by the high iso quality!
I thought that maybe I was wonky due to my being messed up a lot by my night shift these days.
Then I saw that Imaging Resource has samples posted nwo.
Well, turns out, I am not wonky, even with my reading glasses on the images are super neat, and they compare toe to toe to Nikon and Canon FULL FRAME bodies (the usual expensive suspects a 5 times the price mind you!).
The IQ is simply stunning and this little marvel is fast on the trigger and the autofocus is flawless!
KUDOS!
Oh, and did I mention KUDOS!!! yet?
I am no hymn singing fanboy either, but have posted my share of ripping critiques in some forums :)
I REALLY like the K-x - and have I mentioned KUDOS yet?
Owen
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