More Than Brains

Although I study advertising, a lot of commercials go right over my head. I hate to admit that I don't always pay attention during commercial breaks. However, I saw this commercial recently and it immediately caught my attention. It uses the song "If I Only Had a Brain" and transforms the lyrics into a motivational anthem of people from all walks of life trying to obtain a degree. It's called, "More than Brains."

The song acts as an inspirational speech so to speak that encourages people to pursue an education. I think it understands its target audience perfectly. It is an online school that's brand is built on convenience. It is targeting people that are too busy to go back to the classroom but want to move up in their professional careers. The commercial itself runs through a slideshow of people from all different walks of life, book in hand and studying intently. The song is sung beautifully with a perfect tone and the lyric changes are subtle and relevant almost the entire time... until the last line. 

"A degree is a degree, you're going to want someone like me, but only if you have a brain." The school has come under fire recently for the quality of its programs. However, to say, "a degree is a degree" diminishes the prestige of having one. If that were the case, nobody would spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to go to Harvard or Yale. Additionally, the tagline "We Rise" does not contain the same originality and inspirational context as the rest of the ad. It sounds cliche, which is what the ad avoids, amazingly considering it is rewording a Wizard of Oz Song.

Do you think the commercial achieves its goal of altering negative perceptions?