Getting Schnozzled at Gunpoint

Getting Schnozzled at Gunpoint

Picture the scene. You walk into the car dealership having made your decision that today is the day you’ll buy your new car. As you walk through the showroom, past all those gleaming metal forms you stop and linger over the model you expect to buy. The visual excitement moves seamlessly into the sensory thrill of the smell of that distinctive ‘new car’ smell. Soon after that touch takes over, as your hands are drawn towards the surfaces and switches (which you happily press even though you know they won’t do anything). The salesman, not wanting to appear too eager, leaves you for a moment before his own excitement takes over and he comes over to join you. You tell him you want the car, reel off a list of options, and start trying to contain yourself so that you might haggle effectively. Unfortunately (but unconsciously), the fact you’ve spent […]

Cadburys Eyebrow Ad

Cadburys Eyebrow Ad

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=TVblWq3tDwY I suspect many people will find this ad from Cadburys hard not to watch, appealing as it does to whatever morkish sense of curiousity causes people to slow down and stare at the scenes of car accidents and, in years gone by, flock to circus freak shows. But does that make it a good ad? There’s no denying that getting your advertising noticed is increasingly difficult. Viewing is fragmented and people skip from channel to channel during ad breaks. In part this is a problem of advertising effectiveness measurement; most companies use consumer research to track measures like top of mind awareness, advertising awareness and recall of key messages. Many include a prompted measure, where respondents are shown a still from an ad and asked if they recall seeing it and, if so, what it was advertising. Unfortunately, as is the way with almost all consumer research, this is […]

Unconscious Wizardry

Unconscious Wizardry

Here’s an ad that performed the rare feat of wrestling my conscious attention away from its unconscious meanderings and then, having drawn me in, manipulated my unconscious mind to boost my perception of a brand. So what is it that makes this ad such a powerful success? And why am I convinced that it will attract customers for the company that made it? I won’t say anything further until you’ve had a chance to see it for yourself… I suspect that the ad got my attention because it aroused my curiosity. The simple black screen stating a time and place is unconsciously associated with documentaries: it triggers the idea that something noteworthy might be about to follow. Clearly something significant happened at Liverpool Street Station recently and, if I watch, I will find out. The silence, against the highly compressed auditory backdrop of competing jingles and the like is a […]

A Bad Ad in a Good Cause

A Bad Ad in a Good Cause

It can be hard to divorce the assessment of an adverts ability to connect with the mind of consumers and influence their behaviour from the subject matter of the ad. But I saw the following advertisement recently and it grabbed my attention, shook me and made me hate it. So, much as I can see how the cause is a worthy one, I have to assess it purely as a piece of communication if I’m to understand what I think it is that doesn’t work and why. The ad opens with a classic British comedy-sketch-style set up. I suspect my associations with comedy shows like The Two Ronnies and Not the Nine O’Clock News were triggered and my unconscious was primed for an entertaining, dopamine-releasing pay-off. My unconscious was in for a disappointment. Whilst, I could personally identify with this unhappy scenario, I found the characters portrayed smug and dislikeable. […]