This article first appeared in AdNews print issue. Subscribe now before the next issue.
Can ads make you cry? It's difficult, but occasionally it happens and a little more often they can get you close. But, it's a good brief: make the viewer cry. And why not go straight for the heart? Why not use your valuable screen time to illicit a powerful response?
Humans are emotional beings. We sometimes like to think we are rational, but neuroscientists estimate at least 90% of our decisions are based on emotions.
Dr Robert Heath from the University of Bath's School of Management found ads with high levels of emotional content enhanced how people felt about brands, even when there was no real message. However, ads low on emotional content had no effect on people favouring brands, even if the ad was high in news/information.
“In advertising, it appears to be the case that it's not what you say, but the way that you say it that gets results,” Heath said.
It's a response we were seeking a few years ago in a commercial for Medibank. I remember asking the creative team responsible if, when viewing the spot for the first time, I would cry.
They thought I would, and I very nearly did. They had produced an incredible commercial that represented advertising at its best. It had power, simplicity, great production values and a story.
And it left consumers with a brand memory that would last forever. Not a bad result in just 60 seconds.
P&G are having a go at it again with their Olympics related ‘Celebrate Mums’ commercial. Like its predecessors, it contains a powerful storyline that uses all its advertising muscle to produce a mini–film which goes precisely to plan. The only thing is, the P&G logo is used as a watermark throughout the spot. Why do advertisers do this? It can only have a diminishing effect on the ad’s power.
The new Helga’s bread TVC is lovely. A mum makes a sandwich for an old gentleman neighbour who lives alone. It is a 30-second ad for bread that creates a powerful, tear-inducing reaction.
In such a short amount of time, the advertiser has established generosity, community spirit, the power of a sliced loaf to feed many.
Imagine if Helga’s had branded the commercial throughout with a watermark. It would have then been just another ad attempting to flog some product, with yet another mum in a kitchen.
Telling brand stories was a big theme at Cannes this year, but there is nothing new in this idea. I suspect it's the collective conscience of the advertising business wanting to get clients back on track with their advertising. The ad world knows emotion has always been the key success factor in brand creation and the ad industry knows it needs to create brand ads for this to happen. If we have to call them brand stories to give the public better advertising to consume, then so be it.
By Russel Howcroft is executive general manager at Network Ten