|
|
 |
Within an ad, many ways can be used to
get the attention of the target audience, including:
"Breaking
rules"
|
Breaking rules, here, means any deviation from any established
norm, standard, or custom. People notice when "the rules are broken."
Common deviations used as attention-getters in ads include deliberate misspellings
(Kathy's Kwicky Kitchen, Su-Z-Q's, Koff-E-Brake), or deliberate use of "bad
grammar" ("aint"), upside-down billboard signs, and so on.
Sometimes the presenters have bad manners, vulgar language, incorrect pronunciation,
inappropriate dress, or do things wrong.
Using controversial presenters (such as temperamental athletes and rock stars)
is highly risky for most standard products. Sometimes the public attention-getting
antics of such celebrities go too far and become distasteful or disgusting.
Some advertisers call this kind of attention-getters "oddvertising."
Some unconventional behavior (e.g. Beavis and Butthead, South Park) may be
very annoying to some segments of society. But, such ads can be humorous and
effective within some target audiences, especially the young.
Kids identify themselves as rebels, without recognizing that these ads
deliberately use the natural rebellion of youth (every generation) as way for
some advertisers to be "on their side."
Just call it oddvertising:
Those confusing TV commercials that leave you wondering what on earth they're
trying to sell
By Jimmy Greenfield | RedEye | Chicago Tribune | January 26, 2006
You may have seen the TV commercial for PlayStation Portable where two animated
squirrels are playing a game called "nut."
If so, you might have thought whoever believed that was a good way to sell more
PSPs was nuts.
"Yeah, most people look at that and wonder, 'What is that?' " said Pat
Tilley, group creative director at advertising agency DDB Chicago, which did not
create the PSP ad. "But people that are fans of that brand sort of expect
that from PlayStation. The weirder the better."
Advertising is no longer centered on a single pitchman carefully and calmly extolling
a product's virtues. Companies want to grab your attention, even if the way they're
doing it has little to do with what they're selling.
A Burger King commercial shows "The King" racing down a football field
past defenders to score a touchdown. It's footage from a real NFL game, the only
difference being "The King" has replaced San Francisco QB Steve Young.
Representatives from Burger King and PSP maker Sony were unavailable to comment
on the commercials. "Logically, it just makes no sense," said Josh Denberg,
group creative director at Chicago-based Leo Burnett, of the Burger King ad. "What
does the King have to do with football? But people talk about it, they remember
it, and that's really what you want."
It's not what every consumer wants. Some TV viewers are put off by having to think
too hard.
Timothy Esbrook, 32, feels that way about the Nextel commercial called "Dance
Party," which shows two men gyrating wildly in an office before a surprised
co-worker walks in on them, asking for information.
"I'd really appreciate them just talking about the phone instead of saying
what you can do in the meantime when you're not using your phone," said Esbrook,
who lives in Andersonville.
Being too direct with a message could make the message invisible, Denberg said.
Miller Genuine Draft beer has generated buzz by airing commercials in which customers
are refused beer because they're under 30.
The ads, which will only run for a couple more weeks, are part of a new MGD campaign
to appeal to more sophisticated beer drinkers, a Miller spokesman said. What if
a few people don't get the message? That's fine-as long as they're talking about
the beer.
"MGD hasn't really had much of a reason to have people talk about it in the
last couple years," said Miller spokesman Pete Marino. "I think there
has been a number of people who have been talking about MGD again and thinking
about the brand in ways they hadn't been."
Getting people to talk about your product using strange commercials is a good
first step, but ads that are weird for the sake of being weird ultimately don't
work, said DDB's Tilley.
"You can go into a room in a gorilla suit, and everybody will look,"
Tilley said, recalling an analogy used by one of the founders of DDB Chicago.
"But you better say something they care about or you're just an idiot in
a gorilla suit.
"So a lot of this advertising is 'gorilla suit' advertising where I got your
attention, but then once I had it, I didn't have anything to tell you, and I actually
made things worse for myself."
An example, Tilley said, was a series of Quizno's commercials a couple years ago
with rodentlike creatures. "I think in that case, they left the wrong impression,"
Tilley said.
Some recent commercials might qualify as art, but that doesn't mean they're easy
to understand.
Acclaimed music video director Spike Jonze, who also directed "Being John
Malkovich," made a 90-second commercial last year for Adidas. In the ad,
a man floats out of his bed and into a pair of Adidas sneakers before experiencing
several adventures.
"It's an absolutely beautiful spot, and I am absolutely scratching my head
at the end of it as to what the logic is," said Bryan Black, creative director
for New York-based ad agency Deutsch. "It ends and it says, 'The World's
Most Intelligent Shoe.'
"I just simply didn't get it. And I think because it's done by a great agency
and because it's Adidas and they've done a lot of great prior work, I think people
will just give it the benefit of the doubt."
Even with so many odd commercials, companies aren't backing away.
Budweiser recently unveiled the Budweiser daredevil to promote Bud Light, a campaign
Leo Burnett's Denberg says is quirky, but effective.
"That's some strange, stupid stuff, but if some people are going to love
it and some people are going to hate it, then everyone's going to have an opinion
on it," he said. "Which is, I think, what you want."
Copyright © 2006, Chicago Tribune |
Back to Home | Pitch
| Attention-Getting |
Cognitive
Attention-Getters