Quizno's Baby Pervert

Could somebody please explain to me what the fascination is with talking babies?  I would be so grateful if Quizno's could send Baby Bob off to wherever it is that talking babies go when they retire (baby college?) and let us all move on.   Quizno's actually sells Baby Bob t-shirts on their website now.  There's one with Bob holding a sub featuring the quote "When my molars grow in I'm all over this bad boy".   (Bit of advice for those few poor souls who bought that shirt -- don't wear it while on the prowl for hot dates.)

Don't get me wrong -- babies are cute.  But a baby that sounds a lot like a creepy pervert talking about subway sandwiches just doesn't work for me.  Yes, I said pervert.  In one ad he rides around Italy with a supermodel and in another he's hanging out by the pool with a hot chick in a bikini.  I think I'm going to start a "Save Baby Bob" campaign.  We can't let poor Bob grow up to be an adult creepy pervert.  Stop the madness!  Save Bob!!!!!

Tag: marketing

Comments

[Rohit]

Great post - I agree completely with your comments on Baby Bob! Check out my post on spokesperson campaigns for more thoughts on Baby Bob and a few other ill-advised spokesperson campaigns: http://rohitbhargava.typepad.com/weblog/2005/08/lessons_from_du.html

[Jeff Axelrod]

You're right on target about the voice. The VO guy sounds like somebody you'd find making rude comments to the dancers in a strip bar after a few drinks.

If you look back to the "mother" of the modern talking baby genre, the "Look Who's Talking" movies, they had Bruce Willis voicing the baby. His voice was fun, playful, and certainly conveyed a sense of being juvenile. That's what made it work. When you see a baby, you want it to be a baby. And when you see a "talking baby," you still want to get the feeling that it's a baby, at least in spirit.

There's nothing whimsical or youthful about the voice of Bob. It's ironic that the company brags about its warm and toasty sandwiches, because the Baby Bob character just leaves me cold.

(Oh, and by the way... the 3rd "Look Who's Talking" movie replaced Bruce Willis with the gruff-sounding Danny DeVito as the "male baby lead." The box office gross dropped by nearly 80%.)

[David Raasch]

I disagree.

Somehow, I never noticed the "creepiness" or the fact that Baby Bob is suppossedly a pervert.

My wife and I both enjoy the commercials quite a bit!

I guess when I see them, I focus on Bob focusing on the food.

I really don't notice or recall too many other details.

[Marc E. Babej]

Great point. It's being done because it's technically possible... and some creatives are too lazy to come up with something new. Reminds me of the abuse of morphing technology in the 90s, and 360 degree shots in the beginning of the decade.

Great blog, by the way!

[Richard]

Baby Bob is popular. Get over it. In "Look who is talking", the baby is in fact a baby. Baby Bob is not really a baby because he has the wisdom of a 35.

What you asked for is like asking Spiderman to fly in the next movie because you want to see him fly. He cannot fly and will never fly that is not in his character. Spiderman the character is created before the movies. Baby Bob is created character before Quizno ads.

[Michele Miller]

I love reading these comments. It's always fun to see how people react to a campaign (or anything, for that matter!) - the love and hate on both sides. The baby angle doesn't offend me, but it certainly doesn't make me want to buy a Quino's sub, either. Interesting marketing tool - wonder how it computes in real $$ numbers.