polaroid polaview 3000 lcd panel supplier
with a native resolution of 1024x768 . The internal 3LCD technology is an innovative 3-chip design that sets itself apart by delivering vibrant, true-to-life images with better color brightness and a wider color gamut.
with a native resolution of 1024x768 . The internal 3LCD technology is an innovative 3-chip design that sets itself apart by delivering vibrant, true-to-life images with better color brightness and a wider color gamut.
The Electronic Imaging Systems division of Cambridge, Massachusetts-based instant phortography king Polaroid Corp has come out with a new line of liquid crystal diode display panels designed for making presentations. The company claims the panels can handle high quality, true colour images and video – they support most formats, including NTSC and PAL. The Polaview 3000, Polaview 1800 and Polaview 1500 panels are all Macintosh and Windows-compatible. They connect to both the personal computer and monitor, and sit on the overhead projector to produce exceptionally clear projected images, says the company. The panels include a wireless remote control, and weigh under 5 lbs. Prices range from UKP950 for an eight-shade black-and-white panel up to UKP5,250 for the multimedia version, with an active matrix liquid crystal colour screen and built-in speakers. They are available immediately, although the company says that they may be sold under another product name here in the UK.
I cant give any specific comments on it cause I ain"t got my OHp yet, but will let you know how I get on. I always make sure, for waht I buy from now, that an item has all of its original accesories. I got my polaview 3000 for £115, about $170, but got the case, manual, remote, vga cable, mouse cable and power supply.
This section is about the company that pioneered instant film in the 20th century. For the company that currently produces Polaroid instant film and cameras, formerly known as Impossible Project, see Polaroid B.V. For other uses, see Polaroid (disambiguation).
Polaroid is an American company best known for its instant film and cameras. The company was founded in 1937 by Edwin H. Land, to exploit the use of its Polaroid polarizing polymer.
When the original Polaroid Corporation was declared bankrupt in 2001,Impossible Project, which had originally started out in 2008 by producing new instant films for Polaroid cameras.
The original Polaroid Corporation was founded in Cambridge, Massachusetts, by Edwin Land and George W. Wheelwright III in 1937.Apple of its time" with a "leader in Edwin Land, a scientist who guided the company as the founding CEO for four decades".polarized sunglasses — spawned from Land’s self-guided research in light polarization. Land, having completed his freshman year at Harvard University, left to pursue this market, resulting in Polaroid"s birth. Land later returned to Harvard to continue his research.military dogs.Kodak was a customer for some of Land"s polarizing products. Recognized by most as the father of instant photography, he included all the operations of a darkroom inside the film itself. Land was pictured on the cover of
When Kodak announced instant film cameras in 1976, Polaroid announced they were suing them, accusing Kodak of having stolen its patented instant photography process.
In 1977, Land introduced the Polaroid Instant Home Movie camera named Polavision, based on the Dufaycolor process. However, the product arrived on the market when videotape-based systems were rapidly gaining popularity. Thus it failed to sell well in retail stores and has been described as the swan song for Polaroid. After four decades as chairman, Edwin Land was coerced into resigning and leaving the corporation he had founded. He died in 1991. The Polavision debacle eventually caused the company to write off $89 million,Polachrome instant slide film system.
In the 1980s, Polaroid tried to reinvent itself without Land at its helm by shifting away from a dependence on consumer photography, a market which was in steady decline. In 1984 Polaroid announced "that it would enter the United States
Polaroid was forced to make wholesale changes that included having to fire thousands of workers and close many factories. The 1980s saw the advent of new technologies that profoundly changed the world of photography — one-hour color film processing, single-use cameras from competitors, videotape camcorders, and, in the 1990s and 2000s, digital cameras.
It also made 35 mm and multi format scanners, such as Polaroid SprintScan 4000 35 mm scannerNikon and Minolta products. The entire line was discontinued when Polaroid entered bankruptcy in 2001.
The original Polaroid Corporation filed for federal Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on October 11, 2001. The outcome was that within ten months, most of the business (including the "Polaroid" name itselfBank One"s One Equity Partners (OEP). OEP Imaging Corporation then changed its name to Polaroid Holding Company (PHC).
As part of the settlement, the original Polaroid Corporation changed its name to Primary PDC, Inc.unsecured creditorsbondholders).Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection,
Polaroid’s bankruptcy is widely attributed to the failure of senior management — unable to anticipate the impact of digital cameras on its film business.success trap.
After the bankruptcy, the Polaroid brand was licensed for use on other products with the assistance of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom. In September 2002, World Wide Licenses, a subsidiary of The Character Group plc, was granted the exclusive rights for three years to manufacture and sell digital cameras under the Polaroid brand for distribution internationally.LCDs and plasma televisions and portable DVD players had also appeared on the market.
On April 27, 2005, Petters Group Worldwide announced its acquisition of PHC. Petters has in the past bought up failed companies with well-known names for the value of those names. The same year, Flextronics purchased Polaroid"s manufacturing operations and the decision was made to send most of the manufacturing to China.Petters Group Worldwide, and the parent company founder, Tom Petters.
On April 2, 2009, Patriarch Partners won an auction for Polaroid Corporation"s assets including the company"s name, intellectual property, and photography collection. Patriarch"s $59.1 million bid beat bids from PHC Acquisitions, Hilco Consumer Capital Corp and Ritchie Capital.
The move by New York-based Patriarch, a private-equity firm, [to drop their claim], follows US District Judge James Rosenbaum"s ruling on Thursday in Minneapolis that putting the purchase on hold during appeal would threaten operations at Polaroid, which is spending its cash at a rate of $3 million a month.
On April 16, 2009, Polaroid won US Bankruptcy Court approval to be sold to a joint venture of Hilco Consumer Capital LP of Toronto and Gordon Brothers Brands LLC of Boston.
Hilco Consumer Capital and Gordon Brothers Brands announced the closing of the purchase of Polaroid Corporation on May 7, 2009, placing Polaroid Corporation in joint holding under a parent company named PLR IP Holdings, LLC. Former Executive Vice President and General Manager – Americas, Scott W. Hardy was named as the new President of Polaroid Corporation and PLR IP Holdings, LLC. The majority of employees remained in their positions at the company"s Minnetonka, Minnesota headquarters as well as office locations in Boston, New York and Toronto.
On June 19, 2009, the new holding corporation for Polaroid, PLR IP Holdings, LLC announced an exclusive 5-year agreement with Summit Global Group to produce and distribute Polaroid-branded digital still cameras, digital video cameras, digital photo frames and PoGo-branded mobile products. Summit Global Group added several former Polaroid employees to their staff. The company expects the agreement to yield $1.3 billion in retail sales over an unspecified period beginning in 2009.
In 2017, the holding corporation for Polaroid, PLR IP Holdings, LLC, was acquired by Polish investor Wiaczesław "Slava" Smołokowski.Impossible Project—a company formed to continue production of Polaroid-compatible film after Polaroid themselves left the market—having been persuaded to invest in it by his son Oskar.
The Impossible Project (already led by Oskar Smołokowski) was rebranded as Polaroid Originals, with the last factory producing Polaroid-compatible instant film cartridges in Enschede, Netherlands being rebranded under the new name later in 2017.
In March 2019, the new polaroid.com website listed instant cameras and supplies made by Polaroid Originals alongside its other products including digital cameras, sunglasses, the Cube action camera, and television units.
March 2020, Polaroid Originals rebranded as Polaroid, with the Polaroid Now being the first instant film camera in years to have the Polaroid branding.
Polaroid B.V. and other companies, including MiNT Camera (manufacturer of the reusable MiNT flash bar), refurbish and repair classic Polaroid products, with some companies modifying the hardware itself to add additional functionality.
In 1970, Caroline Hunter and her co-worker, future husband Ken Williams, discovered the involvement of their employer, Polaroid, in the South African apartheid system as the producer of the passbook photos used to identify Black individuals in South Africa. To pressure Polaroid to divest from South Africa, Hunter and Williams created the Polaroid Revolutionary Worker Movement (PRWM).South African government for use in the "passbook" in violation of Polaroid"s policy. This ended Polaroid"s relationship with its distributor and all direct sales to South Africa.
In 1985, Polaroid had its own brand of 5+1⁄4-inch floppy disks,data recovery service.The New York Times described it as a major brand.The New York Times listed it a notch lower in an almost reverse alphabetical list,
In the 1990s, Polaroid was involved in corporate sponsorship of NASCAR. For several years, Polaroid was the principal sponsor of NASCAR"s 125 mile Featherlite Modified race at Watkins Glen and it was called the "Polaroid 125". The Polaroid name was also used in sponsorship in the NASCAR Busch Series. In 1992, Polaroid was the principal sponsor of female NASCAR driver Shawna Robinson"s #25 Oldsmobile in the Busch Series. They continued as her principal sponsor when she moved to the other car numbers in 1993 and 1994.
Polaroid formerly sponsored the Target Chip GanassiNASCAR Sprint Cup Series and entries in the IRL Indy Car Series, including the car driven by Dario Franchitti.
The Polaroid name has also been associated with the NOPI drift series. Polaroid was the principal sponsor of the Nissan 350Z driven by Nick Bollea in the 2007 season.
On February 8, 2008, Polaroid (under the control of Thomas J. Petters of Petters Group Worldwide) announced that the company has decided to gradually cease production and withdraw from analog instant film products completely in 2008.Impossible Project, at the former Polaroid production plant in Enschede, Netherlands.
Austrian photographer Florian Kaps, the owner of the largest online vendor for SX-70 films and organizer of the web-based instant photo gallery Polanoid.net, had bought the approximately 500,000 film packages that were on stock. He teamed with André Bosman, a former head of film production in the large Polaroid film factory at Enschede, designed a plan to redesign the SX-70/600 film system in collaboration with Ilford Photo, and convinced the Polaroid owners to participate. Plans for a relaunch under the Impossible label were announced in January 2009.
Then Impossible had originally announced a new camera that was going to be styled after older Polaroid models to coincide with the new film. The camera was due to come out before Christmas 2010, but the deadline passed with no new information on the camera.OneStep with new features as originally planned, though the OneStep 2 uses the same type of film as the Impossible I-1 unlike the OneStep that used SX-70 Film.
On April 28, 2012, the documentary "Time Zero: The Last Year of Polaroid Film", directed by Grant Hamilton, was released in the U.S. It covers the rise, fall, and grass-roots revival of Polaroid"s instant film technology.
In summer 2008 Polaroid released the PoGo, an instant photo printer producing 2 by 3 inches (51 mm × 76 mm) prints. It uses the Zink ("zero ink") technology which is similar to dye sublimation but has the dye crystals embedded in the photo paper itself.
In 2011, the company released the Polaroid GL10 Instant Mobile Printer producing 3 by 4 inch prints.Lady Gaga, allows people to print directly from a mobile phone or digital camera.
In January 2012, Polaroid announced a new "smart camera", entitled the Polaroid SC1630 smart camera, which is powered by Google Android. The SC1630 is a combination of a camera and a portable media player, that allows users to take photos with a built-in 16 MP HD camera, download apps from Google Play, check their email, and browse the web. The built-in camera allows 3X optical zoom. Other features on the media player include Wi-Fi, touch screen, geotagging, smart albums, and 32 GB of storage via a micro SD card.
In September 2014 Polaroid introduced a $99 action camera named the "Polaroid Cube", marketed as an alternative to cameras such as the GoPro Hero (which retails for $129), specifically for casual, light users of action camcorders.GoPro released the similar GoPro HERO4 Session.
In March 2006, the specialist design and development department in Polaroid"s Vale of Leven plant in Scotland was bought out by its management team. Known as Wideblue the company specializes in helping small technology based companies develop products and manufacturing processes.
"Primary PDC Inc. (Front page)". Primary PDC Website. Archived from the original on 2008-01-18. Retrieved 2006-11-30. Substantially all of the assets of Polaroid Corporation were sold to OEP Imaging Operating Corporation (OEPI) on July 31, 2002. As part of the agreement, OEPI changed its name to Polaroid Corporation and the "former" Polaroid Corporation changed its name to Primary PDC, Inc. [which] operates under the protection of Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code and is responsible for [administration] related to the "former" Polaroid Corporation.
"Stockholders". Primary PDC Website. Archived from the original on 2008-01-18. Retrieved 2006-11-30. One Equity Partners, a division of Bank One in Chicago, purchased substantially all of the Polaroid business (including the company’s name) from the old Polaroid Corporation, which is now know [sic] as Primary PDC, Inc. [and] which continues to exist under the protection of chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code.
"Frequently Asked Questions". Primary PDC Website. Archived from the original on 2008-01-29. Retrieved 2016-06-24. On July 31, 2002, OEP Imaging Corporation (OEP) acquired substantially all the assets of Polaroid Corporation. OEP then changed its name to Polaroid Holding Company (New Polaroid) and Polaroid Corporation changed its name to Primary PDC, Inc. (Old Polaroid). [..] Old Polaroid no longer conducts commercial business and has no employees.
Deutsch, Claudia H. (2001-03-03). "G. W. Wheelwright III, 97, Dies; Co-Founder of Polaroid". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-08-13.
"Polaroid and One Equity Partners Complete Asset Acquisition" Archived May 31, 2013, at the Wayback Machine, New Polaroid Corporation. Press release dated 2002-07-31, Retrieved 2006-12-01.
O"Neill, Jerry "The New Polaroid: After Chapter 11" Archived June 11, 2016, at the Wayback Machine, "From the October 2002 Issue of Imaging Business" via imaginginfo.com. Article updated 2006-02-08, retrieved 2006-12-01.
"Industries Frantic To Find Polaroid Instant Film". Manufacturing.net. 2008-02-14. Archived from the original on October 11, 2011. Retrieved 2015-05-09.
Larson, Erik (2008-12-19). "Polaroid in Bankruptcy Again, Cites Petters Charges (Update3)". Bloomberg.com. Archived from the original on 2010-06-13. Retrieved 2015-05-09.
"Lady Gaga Named Creative Director for Polaroid Product Line". Impactpr.co.nz (Press release). ImpactPR. January 11, 2010. Archived from the original on 2010-03-01. Retrieved 2014-02-25. PLR IP Holdings, LLC, owners of the Polaroid™ brand, today announced a multi-year strategic partnership with Lady Gaga, who will serve as creative director for a specialty line of Polaroid Imaging products.
Zhang, Michael (12 May 2017). "Polaroid Acquired by The Impossible Project"s Largest Shareholder". PetaPixel. Retrieved 2018-02-18. Polaroid’s brand and [IP] has been acquired by the largest shareholder of The Impossible Project [..] Now a single family has control of both the [Polaroid and Impossible] [..] [Owner of Polaroid..] brand and IP, PLR IP Holdings, LLC, was [sold to an] ownership group led by the Smolokowski family. [..] Wiacezlaw “Slava” Smolokowski acquired a 20% stake in The Impossible Project back [in 2012]. In 2014, [son Oskar became] CEO of The Impossible Project [..] The elder Smolokowski is now Impossible’s largest shareholder.
Morgan, Eric (29 February 2008). "The World is Watching: Polaroid and South Africa". Enterprise & Society. 7 (3): 520–549. doi:10.1093/es/khl002. SSRN 1096882. Retrieved 7 February 2021.
"Notification of Polaroid Instant Film Availability". Polaroid Corporation. 2008-02-18. Archived from the original on June 7, 2009. Retrieved 2009-06-20.
"Impossible relaunches Polaroid"s instant films, ends three years of speculations". British Journal of Photography. 2010-03-22. Archived from the original on March 25, 2010. Retrieved 2010-03-23.
"What is the difference between a CZA-10011, CZA-20011 and a PoGo Printer?". PLR Ecommerce. Archived from the original on January 17, 2014. Retrieved 12 February 2014. PoGo printer is the common name for the original Polaroid Instant Mobile printer which produces 2*3 instant prints. CZA-10011 and CZA-20011 are model numbers for the PoGo Printer and differ only in their packaging.
"Polaroid Announces the Sc1630 Smart Camera Powered by Android". Polaroid (Press release). Archived from the original on March 15, 2012. Retrieved March 3, 2012.
"The Polaroid genius who re-imagined the way we take photos" (video). Instant: The Story of Polaroid, author Christopher Bonanos compares the company"s dynamic founder, Edwin Land, with Apple"s iconic inventor, Steve Jobs. BBC News Online. 2013-01-23. Retrieved 2013-01-26.
Polaroid shutting 2 Mass. facilities, laying off 150, The Boston Globe, 2008-02-08, history and future of the company after ceasing its manufacturing of instant film technology.
Polaroid Revolutionary Workers Movement at the African Activist Archive Project – Material associated with protests against Polaroid"s association with apartheid-era South Africa
Remote controls allow television viewers to control every aspect of their viewing experience from anywhere in a room. Polaroid makes specific remote controls for its own televisions and devices, and universal remotes for devices manufactured by other companies.How do you program a Polaroid TV remote control?
Typically, a universal Polaroid TV control can be used with up to four devices at a time. To sync a device with the remote, follow these steps:Turn off the TV you want the remote control to operate. Keep other synced devices turned off while programming the remote.
While pointing at the TV screen with it, press the Power button on the remote. If the device turns on, it means the code was correct and the remote has been programmed. If it does not, repeat the process using the next code on the list.How do you activate and deactivate SAP on Polaroid TV?
Secondary audio programming (SAP) is a feature that Polaroid televisions have. This feature provides a secondary audio stream that allows viewers to listen to a program in a language other than the original. By deactivating the SAP feature, you can go back to listening to the program in its original language. To accomplish this, follow these steps:Press the Power button to turn on your TV.
Select the SAP option. Note that with some television models, this option may be labeled MS. To activate SAP, use the remote control to change the setting from ON to OFF. To deactivate SAP, change the setting from OFF to ON.How do you change batteries in your Polaroid TV remote?
Once you have used up all the charge in the batteries of your Polaroid TV remote control, it is time to replace them with a fresh set. You can do this by following these steps:Open the battery compartment of the remote control by pushing the cover away from the main body of the device.
Note that the remote control will reset itself whenever its batteries are removed. As a result, you will have to enter the appropriate codes once again to program the device.Content provided for informational purposes only. eBay is not affiliated with or endorsed by Polaroid.
The camera is slim, just wide enough to contain the film cassette. It is small, with an oversized handle containing four “AA” alkaline batteries. Its shape is remarkably like the lower‐priced Fuji single‐8mm movie camera. The “viewer” is just what its name implies—it looks and performs like a small TV set with a 12‐inch screen. At this stage, there is no other way to show the Polaroid films.
Dr. land and his chief executive, William J. McCune, president of Polaroid (Dr. Land is chairman of the board and director of research), emphasized that Polaroid"s initial venture into the instant‐movie field is for the mass market. “We could have added more features in both camera and viewer,” Dr. Land said. “Our interest at this time is in the average user. Subsequent models will contain additional elements such as a faster lens for low light filming, power and sound.”
The first Polaroid instant movie is a silent camera. Its film, however, is magnetically sound striped. Dr. Land explained. “In the near future, perhaps a year or two, when the new system is over its teething problems, we will add sound in subsequent models. By tooling up initially for sound, we save the cost of retooling later.”
Dr. Land said the sound version of his instant movie camera would perhaps be somewhat larger, as will the sound‐film cassette. “In the camera, we will have to add a solid state, miniaturized sound recording unit, with provision for a microphone.” He emphasized this has not been settled as yet. “No design has been frozen in this sector. We shall remain pliable to the last moment. If we can, both cassette and camera will stay the same size.” Polaroid is also testing the possibility of longer film capacity, perhaps double the present film load. “With sound, this would be an advantage,” he said. Film size of the new Polaroid instantfilm process is Super‐8. It is wholly contained in the cassette. Both Dr. Land and McCune emphasized the reasons are twofold: (1) For uniform developing/fixing process and (2) for customer ease of operation. The cassette slips into its slot on top of the viewer and is instantly ready for viewing. It is necessary only to connect the viewer to the house current,” Dr. Land said.
Polaroid Corporation - an American company engaged in the manufacture of photographic equipment and consumer electronics (LCD-TVs, portable DVD-players, digital
photo frames). The most widely known as a developer and manufacturer of Photo Pack instant film and cameras for filming on the sets. Polaroid has been so closely associated with the concept of
The founder of Polaroid, Dr. Edwin Land, was born in 1909 in Bridgeport (Connecticut). His grandparents Solomonovich emigrated to the US from the Russian Empire in the 1880s.
He was the first who used the principles of polarization in many consumer products: table lamps, 3D-glasses, LCD screens for calculators and computers, and, finally, sunglasses. According to the
Company Polaroid was founded in 1937, and the first pair of sunglasses was sold in the late 1930s. Demand grew, and soon the products Polaroid crossed the border of Europe and
Asia. In 1948, the company produces a Polaroid camera that immediately after the shooting give the finished picture. For this company produced special machines and special tape to them. The
In October 2001, Polaroid launched its first bankruptcy. During the year, then most of the Polaroid business was sold to the company"s Imaging Corporation, owned by Bank One.
Company Polaroid December 19, 2008 filed for bankruptcy, having resorted to the 11th article, the US bankruptcy law. In the company said that the bankruptcy of a technical nature and Polaroid
In January 2009, the company showed a digital camera «Polaroid PoGo Instant Digital Camera» at CES 2009. A distinctive feature of this model is built in it a color printer. Thus, the company is
January 5, 2010 became creative director of Polaroid singer Lady Gaga, and in January 2011 was presented the first fruits of their collaboration - a new range of Polaroid Grey Label and the first
In 2012, Polaroid returned to the Russian market with new instantaneous cameras - Polaroid Z340 and Polaroid PIC300, as well as a pocket printer Polaroid GL10 mentioned above.
22 December 2014 65% of the company Polaroid were sold for only $ 70 million. Buyer greatness rests Polaroid became Pohlad American family from Minnesota, which owns Marquette
Could you please email me the User Manual for the Polaroid P24RPA1381A 24" HD READY LED TV as we have just purchased the television and are unable to ready the extremely small user manual.
Hi im trying to find the model number for my polaroid 32" smart tv so i can buy a remote control for it as my kids have lost it could u plz help me with this i had brought the polaroid tv from big w
present also in need of a replacement remote control. Polaroid does not seem to assign "part numbers" to the remotes so I have absolutely no idea what to order.
In 1926, Polaroid"s founder, Edwin H. Land, left Harvard University after his freshman year to conduct research on light polarization. In 1928, he invented the first synthetic sheet polarizer and filed for a patent in 1929. Its possible uses include photographic filters, sunglasses, and glare-reducing windows for planes.
Land forms Polaroid Corporation in 1937 and begins to develop a variety of products from the polarizer technology. Polaroid day glasses are introduced. Polaroid desk lamp is developed. The lamp includes a polarizer which reduces glare. Net sales: $141,935. Employees: 36.
Company products include a redesigned desk lamp, Polaroid glasses, ski goggles, flat lens day glasses, curved-lens fit-ons and face forms, stereoscopic motion picture viewers and a new polarizer developed to reduce headlight glare on cars. The company produces aviation, fog-free and dark-adaptor goggles for the Army and Navy. Polaroid receives a $7 million contract to develop heat-seeking missiles equipped with miniature computers. Polaroid moves its offices from Boston to Cambridge. William J. McCune, future chairman and CEO, joins Polaroid to start up a quality control operation.
On Nov. 26, 1948, Polaroid introduces the Model 95 Land Camera and Type 40 sepia-toned instant roll film at Jordan Marsh department store (now Macy"s), in Boston. The camera sells for $89.50 and features a three-element 135mm f/11 lens and shutter speeds from 1/8 to 1/60 of a second. Net sales: $2,481,372. Net loss: ($865,255).
TV advertising begins on the Dave Garroway show -- live. Model 110 Land camera, the Pathfinder, is introduced for professionals. Polaroid 3-D glasses used to view the first 3-D stereoscopic movie, Bwana Devil. First dividends issued on common stock.
Land appointed head of the Intelligence Section of President Eisenhower"s Technological Capabilities Panel. The most well-known concept from the Intelligence Section"s report is the U-2 air reconnaissance system.
Polaroid listed on the New York Stock Exchange. New cameras: Model 80A, Model 95B, Model 150, Model 800 and the Model 110A. Black and white ASA 1000 transparency films are introduced in two sizes.
New film speed: Type 47 B&W; roll film, ASA3000. First international subsidiaries -- Germany and Canada. Net sales $89.9 million. Net earnings: $10.7 million. Employees: 2,505.
Polaroid U.K. Ltd. formed. Polaroid MP-3 Land camera introduced -- a copystand camera with macro- and microphotography capabilities for use in research labs, hospitals, universities and industry.
Film production begins in the U.K. More European subsidiaries formed. Ali McGraw appears in the award-winning advertising campaign for the $19.95 Swinger camera. Polaroid sponsors new public television show, The French Chef, with Julia Child. Net sales: $204 million. Net earnings: $29 million. Employees 4,987.
The Polaroid SX-70 Land camera is introduced -- the first fully automatic, motorized, folding, single lens reflex camera which ejects self-developing, self-timing instant color prints. Sir Lawrence Olivier appears as spokesman in advertising for the SX-70. A film introducing the camera and film technology is produced by designer Charles Eames, with script by Dr. Philip Morrison, Professor of Physics and MIT and music by Elmer Bernstein. Land and the SX-70 camera are featured on the cover of Life Magazine.
Mariette Hartley and James Garner star in TV and print ads. The OneStep becomes the best-selling camera in the United States -- instant or conventional -- for more than four years. The 20x24-inch camera is introduced. Polaroid stops shipments of product to South Africa and becomes the first U.S. company to pull out of South Africa completely. Land is awarded his 500th patent.
Garner-Hartley commercials continue, this time introducing the Sun System, which automatically mixes strobe light and ambient light for best exposure. Type 600 high-speed color film is introduced for the new line of cameras. New products for professional and technical applications: an 8x10 film processor, Type 891 8x10 color film, and Type 612 film, an instant black and white film (ASA 20,000) for high-speed oscilloscope photography and photo instrumentation. Booth becomes chief operating officer. Polaroid initiates a voluntary severance program designed to reduce employment costs and improve productivity -- population decreases by about 11 percent.
New products: 35mm Autoprocess System, which produces rapid-access color or B&W; transparencies; Polaroid Palette, a desktop computer image recorder that produces color 35mm slides or Polaroid instant prints; the CR-10, a direct-screen instant CRT camera that produces B&W; photos directly from CRT displays; Sun 600 LMS and the OneStep 600 cameras for consumer use. Polaroid blank videocassettes are introduced in Europe and will launch in the U.S. in 1984. I.M. (Mac) Booth is elected president, succeeding Bill McCune, who continues as chairman and CEO.
Spectra camera introduced,a new, larger-format film. FreezeFrame Video Recorder is developed jointly by Polaroid and Toshiba. Federal appeals court upholds a 1985 decision by district court, ruling that Eastman Kodak violated Polaroid patent rights in its manufacture of instant cameras and film.
Polaroid celebrates 50th anniversary. Activities include: Project Bridge to combat a nationwide shortage of math and science teachers; Legacy of Light book and exhibit; "gift of photography" program for community and festival at Boston College football stadium featuring entertainment by Steve Allen, Mariette Hartley and the Pointer Sisters.
Product introductions: Impulse and CoolCam; Bravo! overhead projectors and Slide Maker; Miniportrait 403; ID2000: mercury-free PolaPulse battery for integral films. Polaroid begins manufacturing in Mexico and China. ESOP established; holds about 20% of company stock; funded by employee pay and benefits. First non-officer employee member, Marian J. Stanley appointed to Polaroid board of directors. Shamrock Holdings, Inc. begins attempted hostile takeover.
Billionth pack of instant film produced. Product introductions: Jewelry Pro II camera; 600 Business Edition camera; New Spectra High Definition film; Digital Palette CI-5000 film recorder; Digital Scanner CS-5000; Digital PhotoPrinter CI-700; Helios Model 810 medical imaging system. Worldwide sales reach $2 billion. BillMcCune, chairman, retires. Mac Booth named chairman. Edwin H. Land, Polaroid"s founder, dies at 81. Suit with Eastman Kodak settled; Kodak pays Polaroid $925 million.
Captiva camera unveiled at Shareholders" Meeting; introduced at Photokina as Vision. Will be marketed in the U.S. and Japan in 1993. Polaroid awarded Mexico voter ID program. Employees" Committee disbanded after 43 years.
Gary T. DiCamillo, the first "outsider" to head the company, joins Polaroid in October 1995, succeeding retiring chairman and CEO Mac Booth. Product introductions: OneStep Autofocus camera; Talking OneStep camera; PhotoPad digital scanner; Macro 5 SLR Close-up instant camera; Polaview 105 LCD projector; Dry Tech Imagesetting film, a digital color separation film; DryJet Color Proofing System.
Polaroid strategy focuses on becoming a new products company. More than 25 new products introduced, e.g., DryJet II Advanced Digital Color Proofing System; 900 series 35mm cameras; PopShots instant single-use film and camera system; Tomy Xiao Pocket Camera (in Japan); PDC 640 digital camera with PhotoMAX software, Studio Polaroid 350. Net sales: $1.8 billion. Net loss: $51 million. Employees: 9,274.
Focus is on core business, having exited or rationalized non-core businesses over the last few years. 9.7 million instant cameras sold, a company record. More than 400,000 digital cameras sold, making Polaroid the number-one digital camera seller in the U.S. mass-merchandising channel. Broad introduction of Polaroid I-Zone Instant Pocket Camera, JoyCam and PopShots in the U.S. Balance sheet strengthens, revenues up 7 percent vs. 1998. Net sales: $1.9 billion. Net earnings: $9 million. Employees: 8,784.
Polaroid Corporation files for federal bankruptcy protection on October 11, 2001, and most of the business was thereafter carried on by the Polaroid Holding Company (PHC), managed by Bank One. Significant criticism surrounded this takeover because the process left executives of the company with large bonuses, while stockholders, as well as current and retired employees, were left with nothing. Polaroid"s bankruptcy was widely believed to be the result of the failure of its senior management to see the effect of digital cameras on its film business, a fate that also befell its primary rival, Kodak. Since the bankruptcy Polaroid branded LCD and Plasma televisions and portable DVD players have appeared on the market.
On April 27, 2005, Petters Group Worldwide announced its acquisition of PHC. Petters has in the past bought up failed companies with well-known names for the value of those names. The same year, Flextronics purchased Polaroid"s manufacturing operations and the decision was made to send most of the manufacturing to China. In January 2009 Polaroid introduced the digital instant camera PoGo TWO, a variant of Polaroid"s innovative portable PoGo photo printer with built-in digicam. The very compact PoGo printers use special Zink paper for ink-free printing.
In March 2009, following bankruptcy proceedings, the Polaroid brandname was sold once more. At the time, no film was being manufactured under the famous name, but various projects are being undertaken by people wishing to revive the Polaroid format, such as the Impossible Project who currently produce SX70, Spectra, 600 and 8x10 film.
On April 2, 2009, Patriarch Partners won an auction for Polaroid Corporation"s assets including the company"s name, intellectual property, and photography collection. Patriarch"s $59.1 million bid beat bids from PHC Acquisitions, Hilco Consumer Capital Corp and Ritchie Capital.
On April 16, 2009, Polaroid won US Bankruptcy Court approval to be sold to a joint venture of Hilco Consumer Capital LP of Toronto and Gordon Brothers Brands LLC of Boston. Hilco Consumer Capital and Gordon Brothers Brands announced the closing of the purchase of Polaroid Corporation on May 7, 2009, placing Polaroid Corporation in joint holding under a parent company named PLR IP Holdings, LLC. Former Executive Vice President and General Manager – Americas, Scott W. Hardy was named as the new President of Polaroid Corporation and PLR IP Holdings, LLC. The majority of employees remained in their positions at the company"s Minnetonka, Minnesota headquarters as well as office locations in Boston, New York and Toronto.
On June 19, 2009, the new holding corporation for Polaroid, PLR IP Holdings, LLC announced an exclusive 5-year agreement with Summit Global Group to produce and distribute Polaroid-branded digital still cameras, digital video cameras, digital photo frames and PoGo-branded mobile products. Summit Global Group added several former Polaroid employees to their staff. The company expects the agreement to yield $1.3 billion in retail sales over an unspecified period beginning in 2009.
On January 5, 2010, Polaroid appointed Lady Gaga as "Creative Director" for the company. A press release stated that she would be the "new face" of Polaroid.
In May 2017, the brand and intellectual property of the Polaroid corporation, holding corporation for Polaroid, PLR IP Holdings, LLC, were acquired by the largest shareholder of the Impossible Project, the Polish investor Oskar Smołokowski, which had originally started out in 2008 by producing new instant films for Polaroid cameras.
The last factory producing Polaroid instant picture film cartridges in Enschede, Netherlands, under the trademark “Impossible” (The Impossible Project), which had already been led by Smołokowski as CEO, was rebranded to Polaroid Originals later in September 2017.
Polaroid Corporation, manufacturer of one of the premiere brands of cameras for more than 50 years, faced a crisis in the 1990s as the rise of new technologies, in particular digital cameras, negated the company"s edge in the instant delivery of prints. After putting its account in review in 2000, Polaroid selected a new advertising agency, Leo Burnett Worldwide, to help rekindle the brand"s sagging fortunes. The focus over the next three years was on taking advantage of the successful launch of the small I-Zone and JoyCam cameras and the small adhesive-backed "sticky film" they used. The company"s target was teens, in particular 15- to 17-year-old girls.
Because the marketers were playing to an audience that normally rejected typical hard-sell appeals, they attempted to be innovative and engaging while subtly urging teens in both television spots and print ads to buy the cameras and apply the "sticky pics" to whatever surface struck their fancy. For example, one television spot featured a young woman jumping up and down on her bed, slapping Polaroid pictures on the ceiling. A print effort included an insert of pictures that could be applied as a form of commentary to an accompanying fake advertisement, and teens were encouraged to "hijack" real ads with their own sticky pics.
Over the course of three years Leo Burnett succeeded in many ways. Much of the work received industry awards, and Polaroid enjoyed sales spikes. The added revenue did not, however, stave off bankruptcy for the company, which never approached spending the $150 million the account was worth when Leo Burnett took over. Instead it was estimated that Polaroid, short on cash, spent only about $70 million a year. When the account was again put up for review in 2003, Leo Burnett opted not to participate, leaving the task of rebuilding one of the great brands in American history to others.
Polaroid Corporation grew out of the polarization research conducted by Edwin Land beginning in the 1920s. After developing a polarizing material he struggled to find a commercial application, initially finding success with the sale of sunglasses. On Christmas Day 1943, in a flash of inspiration, Land conceived of a camera and self-developing film utilizing his polarizing material. With Polaroid on the verge of financial ruin by 1946, Land placed all his hopes on the development of his instant camera. It was introduced into the market a year later with a great deal of fanfare and was an immediate hit.
During the 1950s the company grew rapidly and became a marketing success story. In the camera industry Polaroid played Pepsi to Kodak"s Coca-Cola. Much of Polaroid"s success was due to its creative approach to advertising. It was quick to take advantage of the rising popularity of television, enlisting early stars of the medium, like Tonight Show hosts Steve Allen and Jack Paar, to demonstrate Polaroid cameras in live television commercials. According to Stuart Elliott, writing for the
The proliferation of one-hour photography developing shops and the increasing popularity of digital photography dramatically changed the landscape for Polaroid during the 1990s. To counteract declining revenues in its core instant film business, Polaroid cut costs while attempting to diversify into such areas as medical imaging (a major failure), flashlights and batteries, and graphic arts. By the end of the decade, however, Polaroid decided to once again turn to the consumer market, this time focusing on a younger demographic market with the I-Zone Instant Pocket Camera, a slim camera producing small instant pictures, and the JoyCam, a smaller, lower-priced version of the company"s standard instant camera. Both were introduced in the second half of 1999. Polaroid also looked to expand its business in Europe and the Pacific and as a result dropped its advertising agency, Goodbye, Silverstein & Partners, in favor of Leo Burnett, which had global reach as a part of the Publicis Groupe. After taking over the Polaroid account, at the time worth about $150 million, in the spring of 2000, Leo Burnett launched a marketing campaign to promote the I-Zone and JoyCam following their successful introduction.
While the I-Zone and JoyCam were aimed at the 18-to-25 demographic, the cameras" core users were girls aged 15 to 17, and it was this audience that the ensuing campaign targeted. But it was a tricky population to address, given the marketing savvy possessed by contemporary teens, who from the cradle had been bombarded by advertising. They knew when they were being marketed to and were especially resistant to corporate, hardsell approaches. Polaroid knew its advertising would have to be innovative, witty, and engaging if it were to reach the mark. The goal was to make the I-Zone and JoyCam must-have items for teenage girls. Moreover the marketers wanted to establish I-Zone and JoyCam as enduring brands in the market, rather than mere fads soon to be abandoned by fickle teens. On all levels it was a tall order for Polaroid"s marketers.
Historically Polaroid"s strength in the photography field was the instant delivery of photographs. That edge eroded with the emergence of new technologies, however. Conveniently located photo shops and counters in mass retailers offering one-hour development cut into Polaroid"s market share, as consumers proved willing to trade off instant development of a single shot for the quick delivery of prints plus the film"s negatives in order to make multiple copies of favorite shots. Even more devastating to Polaroid was the introduction of digital photography and its rapid acceptance with mainstream consumers. Not only did digital cameras offer instant gratification, but poor shots could be immediately discarded and favorite ones transferred to home computers, from where they could be printed on ink-jet printers or sent by E-mail to friends and family.
The players in the new digital photography field included old-guard rivals Canon, Olympus, Fuji, Minolta, and Kodak, although the latter, like Polaroid, was not as nimble as the other companies to embrace digital photography. In addition Polaroid had to contend with a new breed of entrants in the field, including corporate giants like Hewlett-Packard, Nokia, and Samsung. What they may have lacked in track record in photography, they made up in large advertising budgets. Their combined marketing heft promoted digital photography, superseding traditional photography at a pace that took the likes of Polaroid and Kodak by surprise. Kodak was much larger and better diversified than Polaroid and had at least been a pioneer in digital photography, holding a number of key patents. It could always change its focus to digital technology, a step the company took in the 2000s. But Polaroid faced a far more serious crisis: how to survive in a marketplace that seemed to have passed it by.
Polaroid Corporation was established to produce polarizing material, which it initially attempted to sell to automakers for nonglare car headlights and windshields, but Detroit showed no interest. At the 1939 New York World"s Fair, Polaroid wowed the public with a three-dimensional film that required special filtering glasses. This time it was Hollywood"s turn to pass on Polaroid"s innovative technology.
Both television spots and print ads in the campaign followed the same game plan. According to Shoot magazine"s Fred Cisterna, "the high-energy ads show hip young adults having fun with the new cameras and with the Sticky Film." For example, the television spot titled "Ceiling" opened with the tease of a young woman jumping up and down out of the frame. Next the audience saw that she was jumping on her bed and with each leap was sticking a small Polaroid picture on her bedroom ceiling. In another ad, "Pasties," featuring a teen boy, the audience first saw two photos moving back and forth in time to a techno track of drums and bass. The payoff, as revealed in a widening shot, was that the pictures were stuck to the chest of a young man watching himself in a mirror and moving to the music.
Polaroid attempted to build on the campaign in 2001. The JoyCam was positioned as a social lubricant to consumers in their 20s in an adverting effort themed "It Only Comes Out at Night." Unlike the typical ads selling cameras or film that showed only appealing pictures, this series featured unflattering candid shots of partying young people. Again the marketers hoped to nudge the target audience not only to buy Polaroid"s small cameras but to take more pictures, thereby generating increased revenues. In 2001 Polaroid also launched an advertising campaign to promote its core product, introducing a new tagline, "Click, Instantly," which suggested that Polaroid pictures had the ability to bring people together in such a way that they clicked, helping to transform a boring party or mend fences between feuding couples. The company"s attempt on the one hand to forge a relationship with teens and on the other to remind an older demographic audience that it still had emotional relevance could not overcome the financial hole Polaroid had slipped into, however. In October 2001 Polaroid filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The company had no choice but to continue to spend money to promote its products or risk becoming virtually irrelevant in the marketplace, but because of its debts Polaroid would only be able to budget a fraction of the $150 million global account Leo Burnett thought it had won in 2000.
The campaign to pitch the I-Zone and JoyCam to the teen market continued in 2002. The most innovative work during the year came in the second half when Leo Burnett developed the concept of "hijacking." The inspiration came from copywriter Eric Routenberg, who one day spotted a Polaroid photo stuck on a bumper of a parked car. He told Aaron Baar of Adweek, "That car stopped being a car, and it was an ad for an I-Zone." Out of that experience grew a somewhat subversive, interactive print campaign that the agency hoped would appeal to teens. In several teen magazines Polaroid placed an insert of 32 sticky pics, of a scuba diver, a monkey face, and a man"s hairy chest, among others. On the next page was a fake print ad, which the users could comment on by affixing some of the stickers. The goal of these ads was to reengage the core market, to reacquaint people with the I-Zone product and urge them to use their own imagination in finding ways to make a statement using sticky pics—to in essence hijack ads and other images for their own purposes. A more practical objective for Polaroid was to simply increase much-needed sales in the fourth quarter of the year.
When Polaroid Corporation introduced the first instant-developing camera in 1947, it was priced at $89.75. The sepia-toned film cost $1.75 for eight exposures.
The work Leo Burnett did for Polaroid promoting the I-Zone, the JoyCam, and sticky film was successful in a number of ways. When the campaign broke in 2000 Polaroid experienced an immediate jump in sales, and research indicated that the target market liked the products a great deal, suggesting that they would not fade away like many fads. Leo Burnett also received industry recognition for some of the work it did over the course of two years. It received a 2001 Effie Award from the New York American Marketing Association. In 2002 the agency was a finalist for a Magazine Publishers of America Kelly Award and, among other distinctions, received the Best of Show and Award of Excellence in the Chicago Windy Awards, the Art Director"s Club of New York 2002 Merit, and Gold and Silver ADDY Awards, given out by the American Advertising Federation. Leo Burnett"s hijacking work in 2003 was also an MPA Kelly finalist.
Despite the success of the marketers, Polaroid continued to struggle. In July 2002 the company was bought out of bankruptcy and taken private. Polaroid simply did not have the cash it had once budgeted for advertising. According to press accounts the company was now spending about $70 million a year, less than half of the $150 million the account was estimated to be worth in 2000. When the account was put up for review in 2003, Leo Burnett opted not to participate. Euro RSCG Worldwide then took over the task of reviving the fortunes of one of the truly great brands of the second half of the twentieth century.
Elliott, Stuart. "Polaroid Hopes the Flash of a New Campaign Wins Back Its Image of Being on the Cutting Edge." New York Times, October 6, 2003, p. C5.
By 1995 Polaroid Corporation was perceived as a brand and a company whose time had passed. Disposable and 35mm cameras were less expensive than instant ones, their film was much cheaper and could be developed in an hour, and they produced better-quality photos. Polaroid sales had been declining steadily over the years, and the brand had largely faded from view. Although the company had no new products to tout, it began attempting to rebuild its brand in the United States through marketing. Polaroid tapped the San Francisco advertising agency Goodby, Silverstein & Partners to craft a campaign that would create positive buzz around the brand while reminding consumers of the unique characteristics of instant photography.
"See What Develops" ran from 1996 through 1998. The campaign leveraged an estimated annual budget of between $30 million and $35 million and included TV as well as print components. The campaign"s first series of executions specifically touted the advantages of instant photography, whereas the second installment, unveiled in 1998, focused on human behavior peculiar to the instant-photography experience. For instance, an early TV spot showed a businessman who opened his briefcase to find a surprise photo placed there by his wife as an incitement to come home for lunch, and a later TV spot gently pointed out the absurdity of consumers" insistence on shaking or blowing on Polaroid photos as though to help them develop.
The campaign was well received within the advertising industry, and it initially drove substantial sales increases in Polaroid cameras and film. Polaroid"s long-term outlook for recovering its spot atop the U.S. camera industry remained bleak, however, and 1998 saw the company post a 16 percent sales decline versus 1997.
On February 21, 1947, Edwin H. Land announced his invention of one-step photography at a meeting of the Optical Society of America. Since that time the Polaroid Corporation, Land"s company, had been synonymous with instant photography. There was an explosion of popularity in the 1970s, when instant cameras became simple to use and the shooter did not have to wait weeks for 110 or 35mm film to be developed. By the 1990s, however, instant photography was perceived as a relic of the past, and so was Polaroid.
There was a broad target audience for the "See What Develops" campaign. Polaroid wanted to reach out to current users, lapsed owners, and those who had never owned an instant camera. According to a Goodbye report, this included "men, women, parents, single adults, African Americans, Latinos and Caucasians, people in their 20s and people in their 40s." They also knew that groups such as realtors, contractors, and insurance agents used the cameras in business. Goodbye wanted to influence those users while they were away from their jobs—watching TV at home—to reinforce the need for instant pictures and Polaroid.
Increased competition from disposable and easy "point-and-shoot" 35mm cameras, along with one-hour film-processing centers, had made Polaroid"s instant photography increasingly irrelevant, and the company had lost its positioning in the market over the years. There was no perceived need to take a Polaroid picture when 35mm photography produced images that were cheaper, could be developed quickly, and had better quality.
Since 1990 the company"s retail sales had decreased approximately 3 percent a year. The public was not using Polaroids anymore. The cameras were in the backs of closets in many households. Owners used the past tense if they talked about the brand at all. According to Goodby research, people felt like ""it was state-of-the-art twenty years ago … my dad had one … we used to use it all the time for parties … it was so clunky …" And the only advertising they seemed to recall clearly for this "cultural relic" was the old James Garner and Mariette Hartley campaign from the 1970s."
In addition to the brand"s image problem, Polaroid"s chief rival, Kodak, planned to buy $108.8 million in advertising time in 1996. Polaroid"s ad budget of $33.7 million for the same period was less than a third of Kodak"s.
In 1995 Polaroid did not have a new product to release. Goodby, Silverstein & Partners and its client decided that "the advertising would have to bear the responsibility for changing perceptions and attitudes about the Polaroid brand," according to one agency report. They had three objectives—to get people thinking and talking about Polaroid, to make instant photography relevant again and reestablish the uniqueness of Polaroid, and to increase sales of Polaroid cameras and film.
Goodby consumer research indicated high negatives when Polaroid was compared to 35mm cameras and when it was perceived as an ordinary camera for taking pictures for photo albums. Those questioned repeatedly mentioned the poor quality of Polaroid pictures compared to 35mm and that the film was expensive. The ad agency knew it needed to avoid direct comparisons with other cameras. Focus-group participants were given Polaroid cameras and film, and they were asked to bring the pictures they shot to the next meeting. Goodbye wanted to discover how instant cameras could become attractive again to camera buyers. As expected, most of the returned photos were of friends, pets, and family—typical photo album pictures. But the agency discovered in the focus groups that the shots that made the price of a camera and film worth it were the shots that would not be put in albums. For example, one man reported that he had taken a picture to send to his insurance agent of his car"s damage from an accident. A woman had used the camera when she was trying on sunglasses to show her husband at home how the glasses looked on her.
The research that drove the creative team was the concept that taking a Polaroid picture was only the first step. Goodbye determined that the photo should be used as "an instant solution to a problem, an instant tool to make something happen. There should always be a purpose, the picture should always set off a chain reaction … something should always happen next." From that concept the "See What Develops" campaign was born.
The agency produced a series of print ads for magazines as diverse as People, Rolling Stone, and Time. Most of the print ads it designed were very simple, consisting of a Polaroid photo, a comment, the Polaroid logo, and the tagline "See What Develops." For instance, one ad featured a photo of the front of a business with a neon sign above it saying MOM. A letter was next to the photo on WOW Productions letterhead, addressed to the Hung-Rite Sign Company. The text simply read "You moron." The picture, the letterhead, and the logo and tagline made the point succinctly. Another print ad featured four shots of a toilet with the seat up. Below each picture was handwritten the day of the week and the time. The text read, "Honey, you always do that. No, I don"t. Yes you do. No, I don"t. Wanna bet?" followed by the logo and tagline.
Goodby did not plan an extensive integration effort in the "See What Develops" campaign. There were few direct-mail and in-store promotions. There was, however, a successful seasonal camera promotion that was publicized during the holidays in late 1996 and spring 1997 to encourage buyers of the basic One Step camera to mail in a $10 rebate form. This promotion was tied in with 15- and 30-second TV spots that ran during that time. The "See What Develops" campaign themes also were used by Polaroid"s public relations department on the company website and on a promotional van tour.
The media plan included television spots on shows such as NYPD Blue, Seinfeld, Melrose Place, and ER, which were characterized by Goodbye as "hip, high "talk-value" programming." The aim was to get people talking about Polaroid, to create some "buzz." Because Polaroid had less money to spend than Kodak, the creative team decided to employ a—that is, focus placement entirely in the 6:00 to 9:30 p.m. time slots and run the commercials for a shorter number of weeks than usual to have more impact. The strategy resulted in an average of 133 gross rating points each week for 14 weeks, according to the Competitive Media Report.
Almost $3 million in additional media time was obtained by working with the major TV networks to link upcoming shows with Polaroid and "See What Develops." For instance, a typical program teaser was "See What Develops next week on Melrose Place." Mediaweek honored Polaroid for the best media plan for a campaign spending more than $25 million.
The new television spots, while complicated visually, still conveyed the simple message that sometimes a Polaroid photo was the only thing that would work. "The Architect" was a 30-second spot that featured a group of people in a meeting, heatedly discussing solutions to a crisis. The phone rang, and a man with architectural drawings on his desk indicated to his wife on the line that he was too busy to go home for lunch. She asked him to check his briefcase. The man took out a Polaroid picture and with a delighted and surprised intake of breath, involuntarily said, "Ooohh." He then said he would be home in 10 minutes. A shot of the logo and tagline ended the commercial. The image he saw was left to the viewer"s imagination. In "Dog and Cat," another 30-second spot, there were quick shots of a spilled kitchen trash can, a woman scolding a dog as a cat looked on, the dog later watching as the cat approached the trash container, the dog thinking back to the scolding, then picturing his options—a rolling pin, a cleaver, a Polaroid camera. Cut to the logo and tagline. The dog, with a picture in its mouth of the cat in the trash, then greeted the owner at the door, who said, "Oh, dear."
As the campaign matured, Polaroid and Goodby focused on documenting humorous Polaroid-influenced human behavior rather than on explicitly pointing out situations in which instant cameras might be necessary. For instance, in 1998 one documentary-style spot focused on three different adults at a party, each of whom detailed the trademark poses that he or she relied on when instant photos were taken at such events. Another spot poked fun at the unnecessary rituals, such as blowing and shaking the photo, that Polaroid users frequently engaged in as a way of "helping" the image emerge. The season"s third TV spot focused on the embarrassment that an otherwise dignified bank manager felt about a Polaroid taken of him at a party.
Campaign objectives were initially met and exceeded. Three months after the release of "See What Develops," a tracking study showed that there was a "buzz" about Polaroid. Goodbye cited tracking study data when it explained, "unaided brand awareness among ou[r] 18-49-year-old target increased from 31 to 39 percent. Unaided ad awareness rose from 11 percent to 22 percent."
The campaign also got attention from publications besides the advertising press—"something Polaroid"s advertising hasn"t gotten since the days of the well-liked Garner-Hartley campaign," one Goodbye report stated. The report cited articles in Newsweek, USA Today, Time, and the Los Angeles Times Magazine and added that one of the print ads had been talked about by Tom Snyder on the Late Late Show.
The objective of redefining the relevancy and uniqueness of Polaroid instant photography was also exceeded in the early stages of the campaign. Prelaunch Goodby and Polaroid qualitative research in 1995 and 1996 had found that focus-group members who had negative attitudes about Polaroid before the meeting would leave the session feeling enthusiastic after having viewed the campaign. Goodbye reported that the group members said that "they now wanted to buy a Polaroid camera, how they saw all these new ways of using it, how it could still do things no other camera could do." According to the ad agency, copy tests had revealed that 60 percent of Polaroid owners said that they would buy film after seeing the spots, versus 30 percent for the control group.
The qualitative research done before the campaign began was proven correct. The tracking study determined that consumer intent to purchase a Polaroid camera rose from 9 percent before the campaign to 13 percent three months later. Goodbye explained, "we had given consumers a new way of looking at "old Polaroid," and it made them reconsider buying Polaroid cameras and film."