While branded content might be the latest advertising trend, speaking at the National Radio Conference today, Cummins&Partners global CEO, Sean Cummins, said the notion of “disguising” advertising bothers him, and it erodes the ability to be creative.
Cummins noted that while branded content is a trend in the advertising landscape at the moment, he believes that consumers don’t mind being “sold to” rather than “told to”.
“Branded content, the whole idea kind of bothers me - since when has there been a need to disguise advertising?” he said.
“Branded content seems to be the latest style of advertising. It is in at the moment, but like most styles it will go out and if you choose to create branded content, you better make damn sure that you have a bloody good story to tell.
“Otherwise, who in the hell is going to listen to two minutes of self-important drivel?”
Instead, Cummins said the “big idea” is still important in creating long-lasting brand campaigns. But he said in a world where brands are trying to build branded content campaigns, there is less room for creativity.
“We all know that you can have all the data in the world, but it won’t motivate people unless it’s used cleverly and imaginatively,” he said.
“If branded content relies on storytelling and authenticity and transparency, to me, where is there room for hyperbole, and fantasy and puffery and theatrics and drama?”
Cummins pointed to his agency’s Jeep campaign, which has been running for close to four years. He said he thinks advertising needs to take more cues from franchises in Hollywood - like the Batman films - when it comes to building on brand platforms that work.
“As much as we become familiar with that campaign and see it and know it, we want consistency from our brands - we want certainty from it,” he said.
“Our challenge as creative people, as advertising people, is to keep the ideas fresh and that’s the secret really. It’s not to create wonderful one-offs, but to have a big idea - a platform from which you can build, because the stronger the platform the stronger the structure that you can build.”
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