This is a quick post, but one that will help you understand real marketing and free yourself from the many misconceptions about the discipline spread by common wisdom and by the fuffaguru of Al Ries and Direct Response.
I'm showing you two TV commercials (technically called "commercials") that are very recent and that perfectly embody the marketing that works, that delivers results, that follows to the letter the scientific rules of the discipline we practice at Deep Marketing agency and that I've been spreading for years in my work as a science communicator.
You can also check out a list of 10 historically perfect commercials in this article.
Amazon, Moving Day
The first commercial I want to highlight is "Moving Day" by Amazon, created by agency adam&eveDDB. The story is short and emotional: a boy moves with his family to a new house and loses his entire world — his friends, his hobbies. But thanks to Amazon...
Watch it.
In this commercial, we can spot several fundamental rules of marketing that works and that we should all seek in our communications:
- Deep and fundamental human emotions
- Projection of ourselves onto the protagonist
- Metaphors
- Demonstration of a brand and product use case
- The brand as a problem solver
- The brand as an agent of a better life
- Creativity
- Storytelling
- Contextualizing the brand in plausible situations
- Excellent creative, technical, and copy/graphic execution
Ten elements that we see confirmed in every market research study on communication that works and delivers results.
Notice anything missing? Obviously: there's no direct response call-to-action, there's no manipulation (other than emotional, but we enjoy that — otherwise we wouldn't watch movies), there's no mere list of product or service features but only benefits.
A masterclass. AAA+. Outstanding. Ten minutes of applause.
Volkswagen, New Tayron
Muuuch less ambitious in its goals, this TV commercial is certainly less thought-out, less complex, and less sophisticated. But it gets the job done. It comes closer to what we can all achieve with a fraction of the Amazon commercial's budget.
Watch it and then we'll talk.
Ok, what is the key point, the tipping point, of the commercial?
The surprise: we expect a car clearly designed for families — one meant to haul around a tribe of no fewer than SEVEN kids including children, toddlers, and friends — to be used for exactly that. We expect the parents to call the squad to order and load them in the car. We even see the little ones' stuffed animals, the picnic bag, and text that emphasizes the SEVEN SEATS.
But almost immediately our expectations are shattered by a creative sledgehammer.
The kids are... dogs. The car for huge picture-perfect families has become a comfortable ride for two DINKs (double income, no kids) who are enjoying a fantastic outing with a pack of four-legged friends.
Creative reframing, shattered expectations, a sense of disorientation, fun, a touch of controversy. And they even throw in "Who Let the Dogs Out!" to further confirm that these two clearly want dogs, not new humans.
This ad isn't genius and it isn't mind-blowingly fantastic, but it works. It's clever, charming... it gets the job done. You'll remember it, it made you smile, it made you think.
There's clearly a very strong reason behind why it works. The commercial leans into one of the strongest trends in Western society: the DINKs. It winks at all of them, telling them they can buy a Volkswagen without a second thought and that they shouldn't associate it only with picture-perfect families. In fact, it's a perfect car precisely for those who are alternative and have a different vision of family.
Product use case extension, new target audience, market penetration.
Bravo. Bravissimo.