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Client: Fruit of the Loom

Once Fruit of the Loom put men in puffy suits and began capitalizing on the humor these "Fruit Guys" could add to the brand, they must have known they'd struck advertising gold.

Apple, Green Grape, Purple Grape and Leaf are ripe for love and ready to embrace their fan base with this new brand minisite. The site offers introductions to the previously elusive characters, as well as music videos and downloadable lyrics and MP3s. There is also a bonus features section that shows humorous uncut video clips of the Fruit Guys fighting against ninjas and dinosaurs.

Fruit of the Loom didn't skimp on the quality of the music either; the music, I hate to say, is pretty good. They even managed to incorporate a few hints at the brand into the song. The music videos are like those of Coldplay and other indie bands and are definitely something I could see featured on TRL's top ten.

Fruit of the Loom is building the characters as pop stars and extending this theme from their TV spots to their online campaign. Building these unique brand celebrities, Fruit of the Loom will have a better chance against other undergarment companies such as Hanes, which uses real celebrities (most recent spots include Michael Jordon, Kevin Bacon and Jennifer Love Hewitt). This play will inevitably make Fruit of the Loom a more visible brand in the market.
--Krisserin Canary, associate editor, iMedia Communications

FruitGuyFans.com is a good example of an entertainment-based site that delivers a focused, well-produced brand experience.

Basically a music artist site for the Fruit of the Loom guys who've now formed their own rock group, the primary feature is the music videos of their original songs, as well as downloadable MP3s. Each song is vaguely reminiscent of a pop song or group. Blue, probably the most interesting music video in the batch, is close enough to Coldplay that I thought they might have just modified the lyrics. Lyrics on these songs are all based around underwear, although the jokes are merely light word plays, nothing disgusting, of course. (I'm sure the creatives had plenty of "alternate" lyrics or takes, although those B-sides will likely never see the light of day.)

(click to view)The music videos are top-shelf production quality, as are the song arrangements. The site is also well-designed.

While there doesn't seem to be enormous viral distribution, the YouTube comments for blue were overwhelmingly positive.

What would I have done differently? Mostly my changes would have been in the surrounding site features. It was a little surprising not to see the site supporting more viral components. Video embed and email link features are ingrained in web culture today. Why not provide these features, instead of users resorting to YouTube, and then having the traffic go there as well? I'd also add an email signup for future video notifications. If you go to the trouble to produce work of this caliber, you might as well use it to launch an ongoing customer experience.

Lastly, the URL FruitGuyFans.com seems a little off mark, since this isn't a community in any form.

Overall, though, the experience is excellent, and for people who enjoy a good song parody, this site won't disappoint.
-- Doug Schumacher, president/creative director, Basement, Inc.

The Fruit Guys campaign featuring Vince Gill, Green Grape, Purple Grape, Leaf and Apple, the spiritual guru of the fruity band, was extremely entertaining and complimented the brand with humor and a nostalgic reference to the age of a brand many of us grew up with.

Throughout the Fruit Guys promotion, Vince Gill and the Fruit Guys deliver a message about Apple's fond connection to the brand based on his relationship with his father through his early years. The VH1 Unplugged-style montage of home videos of Apple and his dad is over-the-top fruity, cheesy and extremely funny. Even its title, "Daddy Was the Apple of My Eye," is clever and spawns a smile.

My guess is that the piece aims to remind those of us who may have forgotten Fruit of the Loom's place in our lives to feel good about it again and to think about it for a new generation of purchases we are making.

(click to view)My only criticism of the Fruit Guys Campaign is that there doesn't seem to be a quick way to locate a store or buy merchandise. I thought it was wonderful to include ring tones and downloads because the song is entertaining. But I actually felt like buying something. That's a powerful spot for you.
-- Lana McGilvray, VP of marketing, Datran Media