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You've probably seen the Doritos Super Bowl commercial that scored highest among viewers. What does this Doritos ad do?
Now imagine you're a writer, and you get this assignment: write a memorable safety belt ad. You've seen them. They're usually violent, ugly spots about how you'll end up terribly mangled if you don't wear a safety belt. What do you do? Do you work on outdoing other writers in the twisted metal department?
You could do that. Or, you could develop a completely different angle, one that will actually make an emotional connection with your viewers. Check out this UK ad commissioned by Sussex Safer Roads, and tell me what you think.
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What I like about this ad is that it does 3 things effectively:
1. It shows the violence of a car crash without being violent
2. It makes its core point effectively: seat belts can save your life
3. And it packs an emotional subtext: do it because your family loves you
That's a powerful combination -- logic and emotion. It's much longer than the Doritos ad, of course (Doritos is a :30, this is 1:30). They have a bigger page on which to tell a story. But it's more than 3x as effective.
It may be comparing apples to oranges a little.
An ad is supposed to communicate something, connect with people, and get them to change behavior. Which of these slice of life commercials connects? Which one is more integrated with the rest of the communications program? Which one has a crisper call to action?
© 2010 Valeria Maltoni. All rights reserved.