Cisco Revisits 'Human Network' Campaign

After a two-year run of Cisco’s brand campaign, “Welcome to the Human Network,” the company is now set to launch a follow-up with new video spots for the Web and television.

The new campaign, dubbed “The Human Network Effect,” demonstrates how Web 2.0 tools are shaping the way consumers live today. “This is kind of a continuation of [the previous campaign’s] thought,” said Marilyn Mersereau, SVP corporate marketing at Cisco.

The creative tackles seven network “effects” transforming lives using collaborative technologies. They include the “save more, travel less” effect, the “power when you need it” effect, the “save the planet” effect, and the “knowledge is power” effect.

New commercials and video units on the Web show how Cisco helps businesses communicate through teleconferencing, which the company calls telepresence, minimizing environmental impact while saving time. One spot shows a man in Italy telling family and friends he is going “to America,” by which he means he is placing a telepresence call to America.

Another spot depicts several professionals in business and office settings collectively making an airline safety announcement to demonstrate a multi-channel conference line.

The campaign will run in the U.S., Canada, Europe and parts of Asia. The European media buy includes Italy, France, Germany, and the U.K. Asian ads will run in China and India.

Cisco worked with Neo Digital to plan the media, and Cisco placed the buy. Ogilvy in Los Angeles worked on the creative.

“We start from a digital point of view, that’s where our audience exists,” said Mersereau.

She said Cisco plans to target business travelers as one segment of the intended audience; she said that segment will be reached in part with a buy on Weather.com. Other sites to carry ads include WSJ.com and CNN.com.