The Paper and Packaging Board Creates A TV Advertisement, And It's Great!

The Paper and Packaging Board is an association I never expected to see an advertisement from, let alone get me to stop and notice it.  However, that's exactly what its "Letters to dad" advertisement recently did around the campaign theme of "how life unfold".  The advertisement was created back in 2015, although I only saw it for the first time this past weekend.  Take a look...

There is no doubt that the advertisement grabs your attention and pulls at your heart string, in this way its a great commercial. One could argue that despite the advertisement being memorable, it fails to drive strong brand recall.  But in this case the Paper and Packaging Board isn't trying to make a branding play or even convince anybody to make a specific purchase, but rather remind consumers that there is still an important role for personalize, physical communication in an increasingly digital world.

Toyota Prius "The Longest Chase" Best Super Bowl Advertisement of 2016

Toyota wins my award for best Super Bowl commercial of 2016 for its Toyota Prius "The Longest Chase" advertisement.

The award is based on the premise that strong advertisements grab your attention, communicate a clear benefit, link to the brand equity, and have strong brand recall.  Many Super Bowl ads are entertaining and grab your attention, but few do all four of these things and hence don't move the needle in terms of driving brand perception and ultimately revenue.  Indeed, many brands fall into the trap of pushing too far on the entertainment aspect and fall short on the benefit, brand equity, or recall aspects.

While the plot of the Toyota Prius advertisement is sure to stir a little controversy (e.g., potential references to OJ Simpson), the commercial was both entertaining and effective.  In short, the ad did exactly what it needed to do for the brand - re-frame it as a car that is anything but boring in a way that was compelling, on equity, and memorable.

Take a look if you missed it:

Joe Biden My Winner of Best Political Ads of 2015

No politics from me, yet. However, I did want to share my favorite campaign advertisement to date based purely on the criteria that the ads stop and pull you in. Needless to say, the campaign did not, however, accomplish its mission.

• "Published on Oct 13, 2015: This is the second television ad released by the Draft Biden 2016 Super-PAC, asking Joe Biden to run for President in 2016. Joe Biden was proud to work alongside President Obama to rebuild our economy in the wake of the Great Recession. He and President Obama understood the challenges facing American families because of the struggles their own families had faced earlier in their lives. Joe Biden: “A job is about a lot more than a pay check. It’s about your dignity. It’s about respect. It’s about your place in the community. It’s about being able to look your child in the eye and say, ‘honey, it’s going to be okay,’ and mean it and know it’s true. You never quit on America and you deserve a president who will never quit on you.”

• "Published on Oct 7, 2015: This is the first television ad released by the Draft Biden 2016 Super-PAC, asking Joe Biden to run for President in 2016. The ad highlights how Joe has overcome personal tragedies and his vision for the future in his own words: “We are on the cusp of some of the most astonishing breakthroughs in the history of mankind – scientific, technological, socially. It will be up to you in this changing world to translate those unprecedented capabilities into a greater measure of happiness and meaning, not just for yourself but for the world around you.”

Identical Twins Chewing Gum

This came out about a year ago, but is an awesome viral commercial for Beldent Chewing Gum from Argentina.  It's called "Almost Identical Twins" and is an excellent execution.

Very clever...

Radio Shack Had The Best Superbowl Ad

In a year with few great Super Bowl commercials, Radio Shack won the battle for best Super Bowl commercial in my mind. Not only was it entertaining, but it was also highly effective and had a strong brand linkage. Take a look . . .



First and foremost, the ad is fun and entertaining. They engage the audience by bringing back highly recognizable 1980's characters and playing well known music.

Second, the ad hit hard against a highly relevant consumer insights - Radio Shack has lost relevance in consumers' minds. By owning up to this insight and embracing it head on, the advertisement connects with consumers current perceptions and provides a launching point to then move the conversation beyond this basic belief by actually showing the store being striped down to the bones and rebuilt.  This commercial approach is actually highly reminiscent of what Domino's did with the re-launch of its new recipe pizza 4 or 5 years ago, when it showcased insights from its harshest critics.

Finally, unlike most Super Bowl ads, this commercial was actually about the brand (vs. a puppy and horse) and had strong brand linkage throughout, which should help make the ad more effective than most of its peers in actually moving the needle on revenue.

Overall, I thought this was an exceptional ad. Well done Radio Shack, well done.

Guinness Wheelchair Basketball Commercial

Guinness released a new TV commercial a few months ago that is outstanding on nearly every front.  It catches your attention, keeps you engages, and connects emotionally.  Like I said, outstanding on nearly all fronts.  Unfortunately, the commercial fails to link back to the brand equity for me.  Take a look.



As much as I love the ad, it just doesn't feel like a Guinness commercial to me.

Subaru Turning Into a Lifestyle Brand

Subaru gets what few other automobile manufacturers understand, the days of marketing specific product features or racing through curvy streets are over. The future is all about understanding your core consumer and marketing your brand around either their actual or aspirational lifestyle.

More and more, specific car features are becoming commodities, with slight design elements and brand image now the primary factors points of difference.  Think about it.  Volvo use to be all about safety, now all brands have state of the art breaks and airbags all over the place.  Toyota was the brand of reliability, but now America cars have joined Japanese cars at the top of the charts and the 100,000 warranty no longer even raises eye brows.

At a time of increased competition, Subaru is making waves by playing a different game.  Subaru advertisements focus on using real life scenarios to relate to their consumers vs. closed course riving stunts. The ads are all about demonstrating how Subaru safely gets you through real life.

I've included several advertisements to highlight how well they paint different slivers of people's lives.

Subaru "Stick Shift" TV Commercial

Subaru "View from the Child Seat" TV Commercial

Subaru "Best Friend" TV Commercial

Subaru "Teenager Driving Responsibility" TV Commercial

Subaru "New Car Smell" TV Commercial

Subaru "Redressing Room" TV Commercial

Subaru "The Date" TV Commercial

Subaru "Cut the Cord" TV Commercial

Subaru "Nature Painting" TV Commercial

Subaru "Let's Do That" TV Commercial

The results are not just impressive for Subaru, but record breaking.  In August, Subaru sold 41,061 cars in the US, a 45% increase versus a year ago, and more importantly its highest ever in one single month. 

Even more impressive is that Subaru saw superb sales across its entire line, including its staple models (Outback, Forester, Impreza) as well as some solid traction with the newer XV Crosstrek and BRZ models.

Soon enough other car manufacturers will hopefully realize consumers are looking for more than product attributes, their looking for a brand that enhances their desired lifestyle.

The only thing I don't like is Subaru's tag-line "Confidence in Motion", it does not connect and comes off as artificial. However, the advertisement are very strong so they more than make up for it.

Old Spice Bar Soap Commercials Spoof Competitors

Old Spice recently launched into bar soap and is driving awareness behind TV commercials that aim to capture consumers' attention by spoofing traditional bar soap advertisements.

I really like this 15 second spot. It's clever and engaging.  Wieden + Kennedy, the creative agency behind the campaign does a really great job with the details, even placing the bar of soap in the traditional product shot at the end upside down.  Take a look...



The next 30 second spot does not go as good of job capturing the magic of the campaign in is a little too far over the top...

Kmart "Ship My Pants" Commercial Connects on Omni-Channel

I have to give Kmart credit for their new "Ship My Pants" commercial, which highlights an element of their omni-channel strategy (link between the store and website) in a creative fashion that is sure to breakthrough and at least get a few laughs.  Take a look:



Two thumbs up for the creative advertisement, though I am curious are out-of-stocks really a large purchase barrier at Kmart?

More Super Bowl Commercial Thoughts...

After a day of reflecting on the best Super Bowl ads, I'd still argue that from a marketers perspective the M&M and Best Buy commercials were two of the best.

My assessment is based on a mix of how effective I think the commercial is across three dimensions:

1. Grabs you're attention and entertains - nearly all Super Bowl ads did this
2. Sells a clear product benefit that links with the brand equity
3. Strong brand recall (e.g., you actually remember what brand the ad was from)

While many other of the Super Bowl ads did a good job across one or two of these dimensions, few delivered strongly against all of them.  

Some of the best of the rest:

Mercedes-Benz's Soul super bowl commercial

Tide's Miracle Stain super bowl commercial


Samsung's The Next Big Thing super bowl commercial


The other interesting thing to note was how many advertisers chose to go with a long-format spot versus the standard 30 second ad.  There were at least 5 commercials that pushed 90 seconds as advertisers took advantage of a captive audience to tell their stories and seek to connect with consumers in new ways.

Best Buy Super Bowl Ad on target

Best Buy's 2013 Super Bowl Commercial was right on target.

How do you convince 150 million Americans that you can still be relevant in the days of Amazon and Walmart?  You remind your lapsed customers of your point of difference over and over again. The commercial leveraged Amy Poehler in a humorous manner as a technologically challenged and a little outrageous customer.

The ad is right on because Best Buy's only chance for survival is winning customers back on the basis of delivering superior customer service to customers who need a little extra hand holding.  Call it a return to their original secret sauce. Timely, especially given that founder Richard Schulze is currently trying to make a bid to retake control of the company.

Good work Best Buy.  Call it a baby step forward.

M&M's: My Favorite Super Bowl 2013 Ad

Well done M&M's for being my favorite Super Bowl 2013 TV Ad.

Officially titled M&M's "Love Ballard" commercial.  The commercial featured "Glee" star Naya Rivera and Red M&M, with a Meat Loaf classic song playing in the background. Take a look...



Not only is the Ad humorous and entertaining, but it also sold the product benefit and had strong brand linkage - two important criteria many Super Bowl commercials forget about.

Toyota Corolla 'It's a Trap' TV Commercial

An example of another great TV ad, this one surprisingly from Toyota...



I'm not sure how old this Toyota TV commercial is or in what country it aired in, but its a fantastic ad.  Not only does it capture the audience and entertain, but it sells the car's primary consumer benefit and connects deeply with the brand's equity in a clever and authentic manner. 

Nike's New Ad - Tiger Woods vs. Roy McIlroy

Nike just launched a great new tv commercial (Nike Golf: No Cup Is Safe) staring Tiger Woods vs. Roy McIlroy. Take a look. . .



Call it the new take on the old Larry Bird vs. Michael Jordan McDonald's commercials . . .



Call it a passing of the torch, call it whatever you want.  It may not be the most original advertising idea, but it's simple a great tv ad and breaths life back into Nike Golf. 

The Classic Volkswagen Beetle Reinvented for 2012

I really like the new Volkswagen Beetle TV commercial.  It does an excellent job celebrating the iconic status of the VW Beetle in American folklore and then connecting that iconic status to today's world by showing the car is just as relevant and charming as ever.  Take a look...



Great job VW, Great job

Ragu TV Ad Double Take

When a kid catches his parents in bed, Ragu can help?  What?   That's right, Ragu, the pasta sauce company, recently launched a new TV ad campaign bringing a bit of humor and shock value to break through and get noticed.  The ad is titled "A long day of Childhood calls for America's favorite pasta sauce".  Take a look...

First, the ad is hilarious and shocking, especially for an ad the made its debut during the family friendly Olympics - so it without a doubt will clearly breaks through and gets noticed.  There is also likely good brand recall, because it is is very unique, has solid branding, a catchy little jingle, and the drama at the beginning of the ad keeps you watching all the way through.  However, it doesn't exactly make me want to buy pasta sauce - if anything it makes me lose my appetite a little bit.  The big question is does the ad go too far?  Also does light and funny humor go with a thick and chunky pasta sauce? Maybe I'm over thinking this one.

New research by ad-testing firm Ace Metrix proves that while funny ads may get high marks, funniness had little correlation with effectiveness and in fact, funny ads were slightly less likely to increase desire or purchase intent than unfunny ones

Ragu's other adds this year also have a bit of spunk and humor . . . but clearly not the same level of shock value.

Now I'm clearly not the target consumer and the ad will definitely get a lot of social media buzz so it will be interesting to see how it plays out in terms of driving the business . . .in the meantime at least it gets people talking

Olympic Ads Tug the Heart, but Have No Recall

I posted earlier about how P&G's olympic ads tug at the heart, but I would expect them to have limited brand recall...here's the ad I referenced

Well, I'd conclude that many other Olympic advertisements are brilliant creative, but ultimately all have the same problems...

Here's my favorite of the Citi Olympic Ads:

Again, it's brilliant creative, no doubt, I just doubt few consumers will walk away remembering it was a Citi ad.

Likewise, the creative in this Visa Ad is great...

...and Morgan Freeman nails the voiceover, but really at the end of the day all of these ads have to be running together in consumers minds

Why is Proctor & Gamble advertising P&G?

As a former P&G marketer I'll admit that I have a lot of P&G loyalty, but every time I see one of the P&G Olympic advertisements I scratch my head.  It's not because I don't like the ads, you have to be heartless not to feel the emotion when they air the "Thank You, Mom" campaign...



...it's just I want to understand the end game for P&G.  There's no doubt the ads are emotionally moving, but the brand recall is all about P&G a large corporation that consumers have no emotional connection to, as opposed to say Pampers or Tide, which have a ton of emotional equity built up in the hearts and minds of consumers.

In short, I want to know what is the company's long-term strategy.  I say long-term because if the company was just trying to boost sales of its current business, there's no doubt it would have a higher ROI throwing this money behind an ad that builds up one of its leading billion dollar brands.

Such as these ads:





If I had to guess, the logic is that the overarching ads focused on P&G provide the backbone of the campaign and help tie all the individual brand ads together, but I'd actually suggest that the overall ad dilutes the individual brand ads because at some point they all start blending together in the consumer's mind.  Either way, its tough to try to build an emotional connection between a billion dollar conglomerate, and even if you do, then you still have the uphill battle of educating consumers on which brands are even made by the company.  Love the "Thank You, Mom" ads from a heart strings standpoint, but have a tough time believe its providing the company the biggest bang for its buck

Applebee's "it's not a science show"

Give Applebee's credit.  It seem to understand its consumer and isn't trying to convince people it's something its not...For those that haven't seen it, Applebee's recently launched a new set of tv ads creating parodies off of the latest foodie trends - namely farm to table, heirloom, etc - in an effort to connect with their core consumer who are just looking for reliably good food at a good price.


I like the first ad better than the second ad because it hits home harder on the primary benefit that the food is a "good value and taste good" - because that's really why a consumer would choose to go to Applebee's.  Nevertheless, despite the parody, the ads still help portray Applebee's as using fresh ingredients - which is a nice halo benefit.


While I love the drama of the ads and believe they truly hit on relevant consumer insights, I have two concerns with how effective the ads will be in driving traffic. First the parody drama is a bit long, so there is a risk their core consumers may tune out the ad before the core message, and second, there could be strong brand linkage at the end of the ads. 


Overall though, bravo Applebee's, bravo...

Pampers "Vertical Chair Climb"

I really liked new Pampers diapers TV commercial comparing a baby conquering his/her first chair climb to an olympic sport:

"The Vertical Chair-Climb. It's not an Olympic sport, but it takes real effort and it takes a diaper that fits their every move. Pampers Cruisers with 3-way fit adapt at the waist, legs and bottom for up to 12 hours of protection and all the freedom to play like a real champion. Pampers. Proud supporter of babies' play"

Not only does this ad immediately grab your attention, but it does a great job of letting the creative communicate the product benefit and reason to believe in a compelling manner, without beating the consumer over the head with a hard sell by packing in branding or forcing in too much of a technical product demo.


In fact the ad is far better than the following ad that's in the same "Olympic" campaign, which overdoses the viewer with very heavy branding and a few rather long technical product demo,

While the two ads communicate a similar message, the first ad does a far better job capturing a the views attention by starting with the 'drama' vs. branding and staying true to a single minded benefit and one clear reason to believe.