Ads that Work

Are those that sell. Borrowing from science, we could say that -

You may recall a few years ago, Nissan had a fun TV ad campaign with vignettes ranging from the happy farmer chasing at high speed around his animals, to the guy stopping cold in front of a glass window displaying one of their cars. The ads were greatly entertaining. But they did not sell.

Nissan has come a long way since then, shifting from hard sale to heart-sell and switching their tagline from "driven" to, well "shift". The series of ads that featured important events in life and history -- a clip of a home video showing a child's first step; immigrants landing at Ellis Island; etc. -- may very well have been borrowed.

Toyota has been doing just that for many years, especially in Europe, with the help of idea company Saatchi & Saatchi. In 2001, Kevin Roberts presented some very moving commercials at Fast Company RealTime conference in Philadelphia. View some of those TV ads and Saatchi & Saatchi top TV commercials here (note, the site is undergoing a makeover). I guarantee the Toyota Celica "Dog" will give you a roaring laugh; look for it under mystery.

When it comes to advertising, we may feel we're all experts. After all, we are showered with 3,500 to 5,000 messages per day (Source: Yankelovich). I'm with Kevin Roberts: when the story involves mystery, sensuality and intimacy, it connects with my imagination. I also wrote elsewhere that standing out might be easier than ever: make us want to invite you into our lives. Listen, follow through, keep your promises.

What ads work for you? Why?

Comments

[Chris Baskind]

> What ads work for you? Why?

Well, it's tough to say which ads "work" for me. I can tell you the ones I remember -- which ads I found funny or touching or annoying.

But whether an ad works is another question altogether. It's rather like a problem which concerned me when I was doing radio research: what listeners tell you and how they behave are can be different things.

I do think this is a dilemma marketers will need to confront as the landscape becomes even more complex. We can't rely on what people say or believe they like. We can only rely on how they act.