Mr. Six Returns

[larrygator]

Hercules and Joey both make some good points. Here are a few of my jumbled thoughts.

 

Just something for everyone to keep in mind is just because people like an ad campaign and its' characters or music this does not translate to success for an advertiser.

 

Production costs for shooting multiple commercials are ridiculously expensive, that is how creative agencies make they money today.

 

The "more flags guy" was doomed from the start. When the main character has 4 words to utter and no one can understand what he is saying, that's a bad thing.

 

Keep in mind some actors hold advertisers hostage when a campaign becomes successful and demand huge salary increases that force campaign characters to disappear. Remember the "Dell Dude", "Chad - the Alltel guy that is now a cartoon" there are plenty of examples out there. With a character like Mr. Six at least this can potentially be neutralized as the actor is behind make-up and the actor can change.

 

Six Flags certainly looks to be abandoning any hopes of targeting families through TV ads in bringing Mr Six back as he did creep out parents of small children in research groups. However, teens do love him.

[ebl]

If Six Flags is indeed focusing on a more family friendly environment, I don't see how some Asian guy shouting, "MORE FLAGS!!! MORE FUN!!!" would bring more families in. Mr. Six may have scared children, but he could always be toned down just a bit to come across as a hip, old grandfatherly type.

 

That's what kind of grandpa I plan to be anyway, though maybe without all the dancing...

 

Eric

[Guy T. Koepp]

I know the true story of what happened to Mr. Six.

 

http://www.themeparkreview.com/videos/mrsix.htm

 

Well, at least the first half.

 

Guy "Long live Mr. Six!" Koepp

[larrygator]

Eric - agreed SF claims they wanted to go in a family friendly direction and the new messaging (more flags guy) in broadcast ads did nothing to re-inforce a new direction.

 

Before even considering seperate ads for each park, SF would be best served creating secondary messages that focus on the family friendly elements and run them only shows targeting mothers.

[Guy T. Koepp]

Eric - agreed SF claims they wanted to go in a family friendly direction and the new messaging (more flags guy) in broadcast ads did nothing to re-inforce a new direction.

 

Before even considering seperate ads for each park, SF would be best served creating secondary messages that focus on the family friendly elements and run them only shows reaching mothers.

 

Like perhaps Yo Gabba Gabba!

[coasterqueen13]

i was at ACE's no coaster con when Brooke from SFGA announced that. Everyone cheered when she said Mr. Six would be back >.< i definitly prefer him over the asain

 

But she also said there would be a Mr. Six at every park that the kids can get their picture with and what not. Heh.. don't we all just love taking pictures with random old men..

[Bolliger&Mabillard]

It's cool to see this character back in the limelight. I'd imagine hime to make is debut in the upcoming campaign for Terminator at SFMM.

[Hercules]

^ And that would comply completely with Joey's feelings about the whole Mr. Six thing. And believe me, I completely agree. It is just very tough from a business stand point. Once again, it is just a lot easier and more cost effective to have the Mr. Six character shoot a few generic commercials at 1 or a few parks. That way, another campaign can be created showing each park in their regional market. Things just get really dicey when there is a national figure involved in a marketing campaign.

 

Cedar Fair does a very good job at marketing each individual park, because there is no need for brand identification - due to the fact each park is not "flagged". Each park is sold as its own product in each market that it operates in. And the formula is very simple too - a couple of family oriented commercials, a couple of commercials aimed toward teens, and a couple of commercials promoting a new attraction. Six Flags is really caught in a tight place because it is a national brand, and they have to find a way to promote that.

[packfanlv]

^If you look at the recent "More Flags More Fun" commercials they all used cut ins with the Asian guy along with footage from each park. I think they can use Mr. Six and also use voiceover and footage from the individual parks, thus making each commercial a little more local than the previous Mr. Six commercials.

[Hercules]

Honestly, I didn't even really notice it. I thought that was all generic footage also. I think they were still using shots of some wooden coaster from the promo commercials for El Toro before the ride was even completed. The Great Adventure commercials I saw were just compelations of random parks and random footage.

[Electerik]

^^ I'm really not convinced that it matters. Ulness they live in, like, Texas, most of the GP don't really think of Six Flags as a chain. Here in Tennessee, for example, "Six Flags" means Six Flags Over Georgia, period.

 

I also don't think showing generic rides is a big problem. When you and I see a shot of a coaster, our brains immediately identify which one it is. The GP just see something that looks fun. They're not going to remember a 1-second shot of an inverter, and then be pissed off when they can't find it.

[Jew]

^^^Maybe that is where Six Flags is really going wrong: are they really a national brand outside of the name? You can argue that there are certain characteristics each "flagged" park shares (like being known for coasters) that makes them a national brand, but in the end the parks are still just a collection of regional parks with a few characteristics of a "brand."

 

One example I can think of off the top of my head is SFFT: I've never been, but you always see them getting accolades for their shows over anything else. Stuff like that gets lost in the shuffle of a national brand, so the park isn't necessarily maximizing it's marketing potential. Another one I can think of is Magic Mountains opening of Thomas Town: for a company so focused on becoming family friendly, there was not a single ad dedicated to their brand new kids attraction! All LA got was the national ads with "bring a coke can and save" tacked on at the end.

 

 

That's what I was really getting at.

[packfanlv]

^I think it matters when they are advertising new rides. For example in one of the commercials for last year for SFFT they had shots of the drop tower complex, Texas shaped wave pool and the new (for the park) coaster Goliath. For a regional park it is important to drive attendance by getting as much mileage as possible from new rides and attractions. In this way they are advertising like you said, as the local Six Flags amusement park, not as part of a nation wide chain.

 

For this reason I think each park needs to have its own commercials, but the Mr. Six segments can be the same in all of them. He doesn't need to take up the entire commercial like in the past, in fact I think short bursts of him will be fine, because he is really in fact a one trick pony.

 

I hadn't seen many of the "More Flags More Fun" commercials until yesterday when I went to Youtube. I think they are more effective than the old Mr. Six commercials in selling each individual park. That is why I think they will use this same style in the new commercials with Mr. Six replacing the "More Flags More Fun" guy.

 

Here is an example of the SFFT commercial which mixes generic footage, park specific footage, the More Flags More Fun guy and voiceover to creat a nationally branded local commercial that highlights the park in general.

 

[Hercules]

^^^ Some excellent points there. When the incident with the tower at Kentucky Kingdom occured, there were people on the radio saying "Did you hear about that thing that happened on that ride at the Great Adventure in Kentucky?" And yes, we nerds tend to be much more critical of certain specifics that would not be picked up by the "untrained" eye. Thus, kind of making my point that there is really no point in spending additional money trying to incorporate local park faire into national advertisements.

 

^^ Also some good points made Joey. Maybe Six Flags is going wrong by trying to make themselves known as a national brand. I'm definitely not disagreeing with you there. I am just saying that is what they are trying to do. Is it a good move? I don't really know. I just see where they are coming from.

[Electerik]

^ It was worse than that. Several people (who know my terrible secret) came to me right after the incident and said, "Did you hear what happened at Six Flags?" Only to be quite surprised when I told them that it had happened in Kentucky. I suspect that that incident was the worst kind of national branding for the chain.

 

In any case, I personally think the focus of any commercials Six Flags does now should be that they're different/better than they used to be.

[Hercules]

Once again, I tip my hat. If an incident occurs at Knotts, it won't effect attendance or public perception at World of Fun. But if something happens at Six Flags ______, Six Flags _______ somewhere else will be effected. Oh so very true. This is a great case of a company with no true identity, and a faulty direction.

[packfanlv]

^That is a great point. I definitely see what you guys are saying. Perhaps it would be better if each park advertised completely independent of the national company.

[kamikazewatermelon]

Yeah, here in Chicago no one says "Six Flags Great America". They just say "Six Flags" or "Great America". And when there's an accident at a Six Flags park, everyone assumes it happened here.

[CD]

Yeah, here in Chicago no one says "Six Flags Great America". They just say "Six Flags" or "Great America". And when there's an accident at a Six Flags park, everyone assumes it happened here.

 

 

That is so true. When I was at SFOT the summer the Kentucky Kingdom accident occurred my family was warning me "don't go on the Superman Tower because it cut some girls legs off!"

 

That's pretty sad, especially considering that I heard comments throughout the day about the "Superman Tower." I mean they're made by completely different manufacturers and don't look similar to us, but to the GP a freefall tower is a freefall tower.

 

All over the country Six Flags' parks are known as either Six Flags or "_____" (ie: Discovery Kingdom or Great Adventure). This has a positive side though, which is that it is a nationally recognized brand and when the GP hears Six Flags they think coasters, thrill rides, and a fun day.

[packfanlv]

^^I also agree this is true. Growing up in L.A. most everyone referred to Magic Mountain as just Six Flags. My wife having also grown up in the area still calls it Six Flags despite the fact that she has been to almost all of their parks. With that said, most people are aware that it is part of the national company. I always took it to mean the local Six Flags, kind of like when people say I'm going to Disney, without mentioning which park.

[coasterdude5]

I think that's common for someone of the general public (especially if they've been around for a while) to refer to a Six Flags park by its orginal name. In Chicago's case, Great America. Heck, I even heard one older man to refer to it as "Marriott's". The younger crowd, or at least my age group, calls all of them Six Flags. No big surprise.

 

Back on the Mr. Six topic, I'm glad to see he's coming back. If he scares away some of those loud crying kids that are running all over the place, that's fine with me.

[CHILLERLC1]

I love that Mr. Six will return.

[Crazy_Behemoth_Lady_Jess]

Good ol' Mr Six alright!

 

My aunt in Texas even remembers Mr Six from along time ago. When I was on the phone with her few days ago, I asked her if she remembers old skool style Six Flags (before rides started making her sick) and she started talking about this "funny guy who used to advertise Six Flags on TV" or something like that.

 

Nice to see he's returnin'

[packfanlv]

^You're making me feel old. Mr. Six was from only a few years ago.

[Anfronee]

Mr. Six is just an extremely recognizable and memorable character to have. Even before I was on TPR and payed any attention to parks, if you showed a video of Mr. Six dancing I could have identified it was an ad for six flags. I am glad he is coming back.