Advertising, by its very nature, cannot be ignored if it is to be effective. And what company pays for ineffective ads? The question becomes how to appeal enough to the consumer to get them to pay attention not only to the ad itself, but its message and ultimately to the product, service or idea being promoted.
One of the most effective ways to engage a consumer is to construct a narrative. Most often, due to the constraints of time, money and creativity, only the idea of a story is presented. When we see ads, our brains will construct a scenario to determine how the situation we are presented with came to be. Our minds are wired that way.
Occasionally, however, marketers will give us our narrative – a finely crafted tale in which the product becomes a central character.
In the days before the Internet, TiVo and all the other wonderful bits of technology we have that prevent us from having event television – that is, people watching the same thing at the same time (Presidential inaugurations excepted, of course) – people would talk about what they had seen the night before on television. Sometimes they would even talk about commercials. Imagine! Of all things.
This brings me to my case study: Once upon a time, there was a series of ads featuring what was known in North America as the “Taster’s Choice Couple.” These ads were based on a very similar series (to the point that the same actors were used) from the U.K. where they advertised Nescafe Gold. There is much to be said about these ads, but others have said it. And sometimes it was said with a little less anger.
In any case, for your viewing plaseure, I present the full wonder of the Nescafe ads:
I remember seeing a couple of these adds a few months ago. Seeing them in succession was cool, and to be honest, I think they’re great ads! Plus, it’s Anthony Stewart Head! Giles!!