Weller has produced a product video so obnoxious that I couldn’t help but share it.
I suppose it’s effective – it was so repulsing that I’m paying attention to a Weller soldering station (WE1010) that I otherwise would glance over.
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As for the soldering station itself, it looks to be a strong competitor for the very popular Hakko FX-888D, which I posted about several years ago.
The Weller We1010 is said to be more powerful than the models it replaced, and features a 70W iron with heat-resistant silicone cable. It has a temperature range of 200°F to 850°F (100°C to 450°C).
Price: $108
Buy Now via Amazon
Compare: Hakko FX888D via Amazon
Here’s that video, but I must warn you that it might give you a little motion sickness. Are you sitting down?
Am I wrong here? It’s like a “here’s everything we can do” visual effects demo reel, with everything constantly moving in some way. If you’ve watched it, am I overreacting?!
Jared says
Yeah, thumbs down. Having to read a sentence one or two words at a time is also extremely annoying.
The tone, pace and motion of that video seem like it was intended to advertise extreme sports.
Jaycob P. says
I think that video is triggering a panic attack. That is really awful.
Jim Felt says
Better stay away from TikTok for sure. ;-)~
Rob says
I do not believe you are the target audience. This appears to be aimed at students at a tech school or college program. This is lagging behind current trends, but is an attempt to get the kids’ attention. Now I feel old for calling them kids.
Me How says
All those transitions and not a single Star Wipe… stupid Flanders.
JR says
You must not see a lot of ads as this is far from the most obnoxious advertisement video I have seen. Sure this is bad, but nowhere near taking the crown.
Stuart says
You have seen worse tool ads?
Jim Felt says
I’m waiting to hear about those too! Maybe something produced in a former Soviet Block country?
John Blair says
What’s funny is I watched it on a computer without sound and I was grateful. It was panic inducing. I stopped watching about half way through. What I got as the key message was, “Soldering is not as hard as you think, buy this thing.” Of course they presented in the most annoying way possible because no one can focus for more than 30 seconds unless something is moving on the screen at all times. I would have watched the whole thing if it was more pleasant and went through the key features.
Brando says
That beat rips!!!
Kizzle says
Must be directed by Michael Bay.
Chris S says
Boardroom CEO’s: How do we market this new soldering iron with all these interesting features without seeming like any other boring iron?…
College Freshman Intern: I’ve got this!
Patrick says
This feels like it was designed by the same people doing Air Force recruiting videos 5-10 years ago.
Jerry says
I have a pretty strong case of ADD and while I didn’t think it rose to the level of obnoxious to me, it looks like the sort of ad I would have done at the age of 19 after drinking way too much coffee.
MFC says
Haha, yeah, it’s just hype. Businesses seem to be doing this type of ad more often. Think Milwaukee, DeWalt, Bosch freak, etc. This one seems like a low cost ad made by someone who doesn’t know how to communicate very well. The videography looked good, just not the way it was arranged.
James C says
I made it to 34 seconds.
Michael says
You beat me. 15 seconds was all I could take.
Steve says
I think Rob is right, that we aren’t the target audience. My 16 yo would think she was in school watching this stuff. If it isn’t moving and shaking every 3 seconds it is “Yawn”. She has the attention span of a gnat so it has to get with it and it has to be video, preferably with an obnoxious sound track, because she isn’t interested in actually reading anything. It seems all wonky to me but she is probably smarter than I am and that is how “it” is taught now days.
Hilton says
Yep that video was put together by a GenZ fresh out of uni with no clue about anything other than online video games.
Chris says
Meh. Certainly not a commercial I would have released for the company. It was a bit jumpy with all the transitions and relaying sentences one word at a time. Yeah that was annoying but I was expecting much worse.
Late Night says
The video is fine, how else can something so boring be made a little exciting, y’all sounding old!
Plunker says
Agreed!
Matt I. says
I have no idea from that video if it’s actually a good product or not, but I do know that they wanted to keep the video short and not waste any of the footage they captured, while also really wanting to show off that new video software they purchased…
Plunker says
I agree here too. I did have to break out the Dramamine around :35 as over a minute of that I could have passed astronaut testing. I like the fast pace but a bit too long for a 50 yr old videographer/photographer.
Jon says
I just posted this on Youtube where it’s hosted:
OMG…what an awful video and wasted opportunity to communicate with prospective customers. The pace is horrible, focus doesn’t remain on a subject for more than 1 to 2 seconds, the non-stop transitions are an abuse of the technique, and the sound track just accentuates the mess. Also – at 23 and 33 seconds in, the video shows somebody holding either a bare, or very lightly insulated wire in his fingertips about 1.5″ from the tip that’s being tinned — dangerous technique. This is dreadful. I suggest this be pulled, reshot and edited, and replaced. This does NOT represent Weller Tools very well at all.