Which is the CODE (=regional archetype) that better symbolizes “protection against infection” (the benefit of INFLUEX)?
The mask!! This ad created by the legendary Uwe Scheerer of the agency JANUS (janus-wa.de) really sells.
The effect is enhanced by the recent ubiquitous portrayal on TV of people wearing masks against bird flu, etc.
by Pepe Subirana.
There are 6 ways to create buzz with your ad: present your product or the benefit (USP) in a way that is:
Here I’m reviewing the “UNUSUAL”… for example, making of your ad a VISUAL SCANDAL…
“It also sticks handles to teapots.” This ARALDITE ad conveys the benefit (”strong glue”) while at the same time making the message UNFORGETTABLE through this very UNUSUAL visual scandal: A car glued to a billboard!
by Pepe Subirana.
The old sales closing technique goes: “Do you want it in BLUE or RED?” Give your prospect a CHOICE. If you just ask “Do you want it?” he might answer “NO.” …but if you ask “Blu or Red?” he has no way out.
BALDESSARINI and DUNHILL apply cleverly this old rule in this CO-BRANDING ad targeting “gentlemen international”. Are you rather “the player” or the “adventurer”? If you’re the player, take Baldessarini. Otherwise, Dunhill. But BUY from us!
Remember: Blue or Red? Baldessarini or Dunhill?
Give the prospect a dual CHOICE.
by Pepe Subirana.
What? An advertising model missing an eye? Unexpected! Most bewildering! He should be handsome, not crippled!… and we will read the text of the ad looking for a clue about why this man wears an eyepatch.
That’s story appeal: putting a surprising, unexpected, puzzling element in your ad, that sets the prospect in a state of cognitive dissonance: Our mind goes: “No one would ever use a crippled model for advertising a product! What’s wrong with this ad?” As a result our mind sets in a state of “enhanced awareness”
COGNITIVE DISSONANCE ACCORDING TO PEPE: when you find something that doesn’t match what’s stored in your mind about how things should be, your mind becomes slightly distressed (=dissonance) and looks to resolve the puzzle (enhanced attention).
Another example: Would you expect to find the word “happens” ending with a “z” instead of an “s” in an ad? … “What? “happenz“? It’s a typo?” …and you increase your awareness looking for an answer…
Use this fact, by adding a STORY APPEAL element to your ads.
by Pepe Subirana.
Marketers at AERION won’t tell you: “Our AERION SUPERSONIC BUSINESS JET travels at 0.68 MATCH speed.” That’s just raw data. A product feature devoid of any magic. Instead, they paint a picture with words (as Dale Carnegie termed this technique) and it goes like this:
“With your AERION, you take off from New York at 8:00 P.M. for a breakfast meeting in London. You do there some shopping afterwards… and are back in Manhattan for lunch!”
And I IMAGINE myself doing precisely that (using the product and having convenient fun with it). Convey your benefit (”supersonic speed”) by letting your prospect IMAGINE himself in a movie where he’s the star and uses your product… Paint a Picture!
by Pepe Subirana.
DOVE had a positioning problem back in the ’50s. The first 2 Brands in each product category (e.g. “SOAP”) take the lions share of the market and little is left for the also-runs. The leading brand was “IVORY“, and DOVE didn’t enjoy one of the 2 first positions in the “SOAP” short list…
ENTER David Ogilvy:
Every CHOICE is in its final stage just DUAL: You choose between 2 alternatives (A or B, “Ivory” or “Dove”)… instead of among many. How to become the Alternative to “Ivory” (brand1)?
EASY: Instead of positioning “DOVE” against the leader “IVORY,” position it AGAINST THE WHOLE “SOAP” CATEGORY: “Suddenly, DOVE makes SOAP old-fashioned.” Now the CHOICE is between DOVE and plain “SOAP” (probably “Ivory”) instead of between Ivory and the 2nd brand in the “SOAP” category. Clever! This Ogilvy. This is textbook “AGAINST positioning”
by Pepe Subirana.