When the market made a giant transition to digital photography, Kodak had some major rebranding to do. At the Aberdeen Group CMO Summit last year, Jeffrey Hayzlett, now chief marketing officer and vice president of Eastman Kodak, talked about how the company had to change its image. Consumers viewed Kodak as a traditional photo company and not, as the market demanded, a company up-to-date with the digital revolution. At the time, Kodak was second to competitor Sony in the digital-camera market. The company had to go where the market was going and on January 13, 2004, USA Today reported that “Eastman Kodak (EK)…will stop selling traditional film cameras in the USA, Canada and Western Europe.”

In an effort to amp up its digital initiative, Kodak aired what I thought was an awesome television commercial where a charismatic elderly gentleman is standing on a stage giving a very passionate speech about how Kodak is changing with the times. I’ve been searching – to no avail – for this clip ever since I saw the commercial at the Aberdeen conference last year. If anyone knows where to find it, please share!

[UPDATE, 5/19, 12.20aET: Guess what? We found the video. It's called "Winds of Change," and you can see it after the break.]

[UPDATE, 5/19, 12.20aET: Here's the Kodak video Jessica referred to, and here's a PDF of a January 2007 Advertising Age article with some added background on the genesis of the campaign. -j.]

Anyway, on my flight from New York to San Jose, I caught a commercial from camping equipment retailer Coleman Company. What the commercial plays off of is the idea that just because we’re moving toward a digital world, doesn’t mean we have to sacrifice the physical world. Coleman brings people together around a “camp site,” which, the company says, is the “original social networking site.” (click the link to watch the video) Cute, huh?

The commercials are reminiscent of 1950s family outings — sure to tug on those parental heartstrings. It’s perfect timing seeing as summer vacation’s (and summer Fridays!) approaching and parents are probably looking for things to do with their friends and family. Not to mention, with the economy the way it is, more people are also opting for “staycations.”

Similar to Kodak, Coleman, a traditional brand, needed to convey that it understands that times have changed. But unlike Kodak, Coleman didn’t have to transform itself into camping 2.0; instead, the company made itself relevant by humanizing the digital world.

That message may be catching on. In his commencement speech to the University of Pennsylvania’s Class of 2009 today, Google Chairman and CEO Eric Schmidt had very specific instructions. “Turn off your computer,” he told the graduates, as reported by USA Today. “You’re actually going to have to turn off your phone and discover all that is human around us. Nothing beats holding the hand of your grandchild as he walks his first steps.”