Have you ever wondered why some commercials are so captivating? Have you occasionally watched extraordinary commercials that captivated you? Not too often, you say? But still, it happens, doesn’t it? Like David Freemantle says, a lot of the captivation of extraordinary ad design is about feelings and simple, meaningful messages.
It’s not what advertising does with the consumer. It’s what the consumer does after reading the advertisement.
Check out our thoughts on creative marketing.
Ad design … Guinness Empty Chair
This Guinness marketing campaign demonstrates that Guinness marketing has certainly noticed.
And Guinness marketing has adapted and come up with some cool new marketing ideas. This new ad from Guinness proves that beer commercials can be so much more than guys and bars.
“Empty Chair,” tells the story of a bartender who leaves a pint of Guinness at an empty table every night amongst birthday celebrations and sports team victories. No one sits at the table, and the woman shoots a dirty look at anyone she catches eyeing one of the empty chairs.
Without fail, the frosted glass is there each night. It’s a powerful image that serves as a sign of hope for the bartender. But we aren’t exactly sure who the beer is for until the very end. Everything comes together when a soldier finally returns home to claim his Guinness.
The spot finishes with the tagline “The choices we make reveal the true nature of our character.”
Guinness’s marketing story based on emotion has flipped traditional beer advertising on its head by getting rid of the template and telling a story – a real emotional story – that connects with people. The responses were overwhelmingly positive … customers and particularly the target customers are looking for meaningful stories.
The emotion in this marketing strategy certainly is addressing this end state in our opinion.
This Guinness “Empty Chair” commercial salutes the character of a community as they honor one of their own who is out of sight, but not out of mind. They remind us that a true test of character is what you do when no one’s looking.
The choices we make reveal the true nature of our character. Guinness proudly raises a glass to those who are #MadeOfMore.
Guinness has made the message as clean and simple as possible. You cannot overachieve on the simplicity of the message. A message that the reader will quickly grasp and fully appreciate. Keep in mind that pictures are far more valuable than words.
Guinness certainly gets it and tells an interesting story as it weaves the message together.
Many business leaders are uncertain about the future. What will great marketing look like in the years ahead? Guinness’ spot shows the way.
Marketing works in many ways.
First, it breaks through the clutter. It is visually arresting, surprising, and beautiful. After watching it once, I wanted to watch it again. There are no better means of influence or the power of persuasion than emotion.
Hands down the best, in our opinion. And enhanced with a great dose of curiosity.
Experiences that trigger our emotions are saved and consolidated in lasting memory because the emotions generated by the experiences signal our brains that the experiences are important to remember.
Second, it has solid branding; it is clear that this is for Guinness and the brand’s personality.
Third, it communicates a benefit. The entire spot revolves around the Guinness commitment to people. It is very clear that Guinness has something special and remarkable that they want to share.
The ad has generated an astonishing amount of buzz and attention. It is engaging, well branded, and focused.
The ad was serious and emotional. It is like they left a note that says:
… there will be a seat left open, a light left on, a favorite dinner waiting, a warm bed made…because in your home, in our hearts; you’ve been missed. You’ve been needed, you’ve been cried for, prayed for. You are the reason we push on.
It touches on deep emotions about loss and longing. And the spot worked to build the brand; it made people feel proud of Guinness and its values.
Ad design concepts … Re2pect / a Tribute to Yankee Shortstop Derek Jeter
As most of us know, 2014 was the future Baseball Hall of Famer Derek Jeter’s last season. Recently, one of Jeter’s long-time sponsors, Nike, released a commercial paying tribute to the future Hall of Famer. The ad’s name “RE2PECT” is a tip of the cap to Jeter’s jersey number – and a host of athletes and celebrities can be seen paying tribute to the Yankees captain.
The commercial features Jay-Z, Billy Crystal, and Spike Lee – and even a couple of begrudging Red Sox fans – tipping their cap to the Bronx legend. Of course, the sportswear giant’s original sponsorship King — Michael Jordan himself – also makes a cameo.
There are no better means of influence or the power of persuasion than emotion. This commercial makes the best use of emotion we can imagine.
This commercial could not have picked a better topic or timing for the launch on the eve of baseball’s All-Star game. Check out this ad here.
Ad design inspiration … Samsung Advertisement for Curved TV
Check out the Samsung commercial … it is a short 60 seconds. You will be impressed.
I’ve done marketing for my clients in small businesses for the past 9+ years, and I’ve learned a few things about making advertising look captivating and entertaining even on a tight budget. And the true measure of successful advertising design is having customers remember and talk about the message. Captivate your audience like this Samsung commercial.
Sure, you don’t have the talent or budget like Samsung, but by learning what makes this marketing campaign successful, you can apply the principles to your marketing objectives.
In marketing or advertising, you need to create information that your customers find interesting and worth talking about and remembering.
Samsung Electronics unveiled a new marketing campaign highlighting its new Curved UHD TV. The campaign “The Curve Changes Everything” combines new ideas with its smartphone campaign which we have previously written about, entitled “The Next Big Thing Is Here.”
In my favorite commercial in this campaign, Samsung collaged memorable moments from film, television, and the Internet to tell a visual story. The story depicts the emotion, wonder, and excitement that viewers experience when watching their favorite content on a Samsung Curved TV.
They use one of the oldest techniques in commercials: applying snippets of dialogue from films and TV shows out of context, so the characters appear to be surprised or impressed by something marketing.
It certainly still works, particularly when it’s done well. And this Samsung spot certainly has captured the magic of this technique.
Let’s examine some of the additional reasons this is such a remarkable commercial contributing to the success of the Samsung marketing campaign:
Grab and hold viewers’ attention
Interesting information gets and holds attention. Keep in mind that people don’t read ads … they read what interests them. When this commercial opens, you immediately see a movie snippet of a Jurassic Park actor. Immediately you are trying to remember the scene and movie. So they are different … avoiding normalcy at all costs. Stand out is the mantra. It’s OK to be controversial and to create conversation through the ‘buzz.’ The commercial beginning is the first place for attention and using curiosity in this fashion amplifies the attention.
Emotional influence and persuasion
There are no better means of influence or the power of persuasion than emotion. Hands down the best, in my opinion. But few commercials employ it. Experiences that trigger our emotions are saved and consolidated in lasting memory because the emotions generated by the experiences signal our brains that the experiences are important to remember.
Just like the movie snippets used here. Capture the emotion in all the snippets used. They work well in getting you into the emotion, don’t they?
Film segments
The commercial features iconic scenes from movies like Back to the Future, Jurassic Park, Jaws, Field of Dreams and more—with the characters appearing to marvel over the beauty of Samsung’s Curved UHD TV. What a great way to highlight several of the commercials’ advantages jointly.
Clean, simple messages
Make the message as clean and simple as possible. You cannot overachieve on the simplicity of the message. A message that the reader will quickly understand. Keep in mind that pictures are far more valuable than words. And the messages of this commercial shown visually on the Samsung curved TV stand out.
Ad design ideas … Volkswagen
Have you seen the recent Volkswagen safety commercial? Let’s examine this commercial and what contributes to its strengths and weaknesses. And its ability to influence or persuade.
In marketing or advertising, you need to create information that your customers find interesting and worth talking about and remembering. This advertisement certainly achieves this goal, don’t you think?
Let’s evaluate other keys to effective marketing strategy in this advertisement:
Be relevant to your target market … keep in mind that one message does not fit all. It starts with knowing your target market. Here the target market is families with young children and people with a high focus on car safety. Certainly relevant to this market.
Define your positioning … your frame of reference. Make comparisons to your competitors if you can. Volkswagen certainly knows who its major competitors are but chooses not to take them on in this commercial. A good move we believe.
Grab and hold viewers’ attention … with interesting information. Keep in mind that people don’t watch ads … they watch what interests them. Your ad messages must be interesting to your target communities. This message certainly grabs and holds attention based on simple emotion.
Define a value proposition … that truly discriminates you from your competition. Give your customers reasons to select you. Maybe not the most significant visible feature, it does illustrate Volkswagen as a company that puts a high priority on passenger safety, which is their clear objective.
Make your messages simple … that the reader will quickly understand. Keep in mind that pictures are far more valuable than words. Creating customer emotion does get any simpler than this, does it?
Any effective marketing campaign whether it’s a series of Web videos, direct emails, magazine display ads, banner ads, outdoor billboards, television and radio spots, or any combination thereof, will only work if it focuses on a single message.
At the heart of all advertising is the promise you commit to delivering to your clients. No matter how clever or memorable your marketing, if you fail to deliver on that promise, you will fail.
Learn a lesson from the politicians. The general publics’ opinion of politicians is about on a par with having a prostate exam.
Politicians can’t help themselves; they promise the electorate what the electorate wants to hear, and then fail to deliver on promises that can never be kept. Consequently, people become cynical and distrust everything politicians say.
Failure to deliver on your promise to be the cheapest, the best, or the guy with the most features, is like a politician promising no new taxes. Read my lips! Those kinds of promises are a prescription for a marketing disaster.
Taking the conceptual approach requires a certain degree of confidence and an understanding that you are going to have to give something up to get something in return.
If you present your identity as the Timex of widgets, inexpensive and ubiquitous, then you are giving up the audience looking for the Rolex of widgets, expensive and exclusive.
This list could go on, but I’ll end with one last powerful principle that is useful in reshaping opinions and getting people to rethink brands or categories — one of the best reasons to invest $5 million in a Super Bowl ad in the first place.
Need some help in capturing more customers from your marketing strategies? Creative ideas to help the differentiation with potential customers?
All you get is what you bring to the fight. And that fight gets better every day you learn and apply new ideas.
When things are not what you want them to be, what’s most important is your next step.
Test. Learn. Improve. Repeat.
Are you devoting enough energy to improving your marketing, branding, and advertising?
Do you have a lesson about making your marketing strategy better you can share with this community? Have any questions or comments to add in the section below?
Digital Spark Marketing will stretch your thinking and your ability to adapt to change. We also provide some fun and inspiration along the way.
More reading on advertising from Digital Spark Marketing’s Library:
Ogilvy on Advertising … Best Lessons Learned from his Secrets
Volkswagen Ad … The Secrets to Its Effectiveness?
Effective Advertising … 14 Best Examples of Ad Design
Use 8 Breathtaking Commercials That Employ Emotional Appeal
Successful Advertisement Design … 12 Best Examples to Study
Insurance Advertising War … 8 Examples to Learn From
Mike Schoultz is a digital marketing and customer service expert. With 48 years of business experience, he consults on and writes about topics to help improve the performance of small businesses. Find him on G+, Facebook, Twitter, Digital Spark Marketing, and LinkedIn.
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