People in advertising – creatives, clients, even account people – are always clamoring for “the big idea.” As if the key to effective messaging is to wow consumers with some heretofore unseen bit of blingtastic advertising that makes them stop and mutter, drool dangling from their slack-jawed noggins, “Oooh, shiny.”
Now, I admit, this approach can work. Everyone’s favorite idol/punching bag Crispin Porter + Bogusky seems to thrive on blindingly novel novelty. But it’s not the only way to go about business. If fact, something as basic, seemingly trite and, on the surface, boring as a product demonstration can still work in today’s Twitterfied world.
Don’t believe me? Check out this ad for Apple’s iPhone:
It’s not exciting. It’s not particularly eye-catching. If you’ve had a glass of wine with dinner, it may even lull you to sleep. Yet it works. Why? Well, sure, the fact that they’re advertising an iPhone doesn’t hurt, but there’s more to it than that. It’s because they do everything right. The voice over is simple without being condescending. The features and apps shown are sufficiently cool, yet presented without the over-hyperbolic adspeak one would expect from say, ShamWow Vince. And, like every iPhone ad, it ends with an incoming phone call to reinforce that, yes Beavis, it is a real phone.
And it simply oozes with Apple brand goodness.
Of course, you can’t really look at iPhone sales as proof that the campaign is working. People would buy the thing if Billy Mays dipped it in OxyClean, fixed it with Mighty Putty and hung it on his hip with a Hercules Hook. But you can look at the sales of the apps featured in these ads. They don’t just increase. They soar. By as much as 600% in some cases.
And you have to pay attention to the spots to see the apps. Which means people are paying attention to the ads.
Which, in case you forgot, is what we want.
Leave it to Apple and TBWA/Chiat/Day to make something so inherently boring so intrinsically interesting.
Later,
Fox
Now, I admit, this approach can work. Everyone’s favorite idol/punching bag Crispin Porter + Bogusky seems to thrive on blindingly novel novelty. But it’s not the only way to go about business. If fact, something as basic, seemingly trite and, on the surface, boring as a product demonstration can still work in today’s Twitterfied world.
Don’t believe me? Check out this ad for Apple’s iPhone:
It’s not exciting. It’s not particularly eye-catching. If you’ve had a glass of wine with dinner, it may even lull you to sleep. Yet it works. Why? Well, sure, the fact that they’re advertising an iPhone doesn’t hurt, but there’s more to it than that. It’s because they do everything right. The voice over is simple without being condescending. The features and apps shown are sufficiently cool, yet presented without the over-hyperbolic adspeak one would expect from say, ShamWow Vince. And, like every iPhone ad, it ends with an incoming phone call to reinforce that, yes Beavis, it is a real phone.
And it simply oozes with Apple brand goodness.
Of course, you can’t really look at iPhone sales as proof that the campaign is working. People would buy the thing if Billy Mays dipped it in OxyClean, fixed it with Mighty Putty and hung it on his hip with a Hercules Hook. But you can look at the sales of the apps featured in these ads. They don’t just increase. They soar. By as much as 600% in some cases.
And you have to pay attention to the spots to see the apps. Which means people are paying attention to the ads.
Which, in case you forgot, is what we want.
Leave it to Apple and TBWA/Chiat/Day to make something so inherently boring so intrinsically interesting.
Later,
Fox