The Ad Man Answers #50

Thursday + Gregory Huffstutter = The Ad Man Answers

Free iPod Shuffle

 

Just for commenting??

 

That’s how The Ad Man celebrates his 50^th column. 

 

For your chance to win, submit the following in the comments below:

1)      Your name

2)      Your email address

3)      Your favorite advertising campaign

4)      A brief summary of why you think that campaign was so effective.  This could be any product and any media form – TV, outdoor billboards, magazines…whatever.  If you’re able to include a link to the creative, all the better.

 

Here’s my submission:

 

Snickers “Hungry, Why Wait?” campaign

 

Why I think it was particularly effective

 

This campaign slyly used humor to re-position Snickers from “candy” to a “meal replacement.”  In less than 15-seconds, this TV spot helped shift the product from a “want” (yummy chocolate and peanuts) to a “need” (I’m low-blood sugar and need something to tide me over).  Plus, no matter how many times I saw the punch line, it made me giggle.

 

I’m not the only one who thought this campaign (created by BBDO advertising) sparkled.  In ’98, “Hungry, Why Wait?” won the Grand EFFIE for best in show, an award presented by the New York American Marketing Association for excellence in advertising.

 

Now tell us what you consider great advertising.  I’ll pick the submission I agree with most, and the winner will receive a free iPod Shuffle. 

 

The winner will be announced in my first column of the New Year on 1/9/09.

 

Gregory Huffstutter has been punching Ad Agency timecards for the past decade, working on accounts like McDonald's, KIA Motors, and the San Diego Padres. He recently finished his first mystery, KATZ CRADLE and is currently on submission. The first 100 pages of his novel are linked here. For general advertising questions, leave a comment or send e-mail to katz @ gregoryhuffstutter dot com with 'Ask The Ad Man' in the subject line.

Comments

[Stephen D. Rogers]

I always liked Coke's "I'd like to teach the world to sing" television commercial. It wasn't about the product, per se, but about the warm-and-fuzzy concepts the soda supposedly facilitated.

[Katharine Weber]

The utter bizarreness of those "I dreamed I went dancing in my Maidenform bra" advertisements has haunted me since my childhood. Each print ad was like a cross between a Douglas Sirk and an Alfred Hitchcock movie. They acknowledged the influence of psychoanalysis on the culture just as they offered a nightmare scenario with which women could identify with anxiety while men could be covert voyeurs not just of a woman in a bra but of her potential exposure and shame. Memorable.

[gregory huffstutter]

If I had a nickel for everytime I had nightmares about dancing in a Maidenform bra... I'd still need a full-time advertising gig.

Good suggestions -- keep 'em coming, peeps!

[Angela Henry]

Angela Henry
angelar.henry@gmail.com

Favorite Advertising Campaign: Apple's Commercial's with Mac & PC

I love these commercials. They do a lot with very little. They are filmed in front a blank white space. Instead of showing a bunch of people using Macs and singing their praises, they have two actors who represent the characteristics of each platform, which really bring the products to life. They are funny and effective without being over-the-top.

http://www.apple.com

[MJ]

You know I'm responsible for bringing back the Maidenform ads in the 1980s.

[Katharine Weber]

I knew that, I think, so I may have had a dim association to that, since this is your blog!

[Jessa Slade]

I checked out the Doghouse campaign as suggested earlier on this blog:
http://mjroseblog.typepad.com/buzz_balls_hype/2008/12/the-holy-viral.html
I watched the video, poked around on the page, followed the links to read the analysis, thought "Eh, cute enough." Then went to my MySpace and Facebook pages where four different people had made note of it.

So I went back and watched it AGAIN (because I do realize you're trying to teach us something) and here's what made it work for me:

1. Good story (cliche but fun)
2. Great production values (I get quickly annoyed with jittery handheld & crappy sound)
3. Very soft sell (just a tiny bit at the end)
4. The opportunity to take part in dumping on my male friends (okay, not my personal preference since I'm into alpha not beta males, but obviously the ad designers think dumping on men is good times, so I guess I'm supposed to think that too, at least for the purposes of this exercise)

I did agree that at 4+ minutes, it was a little long. I prefer to be left wanting more. In my ads, at least :)

Congrats on the big 5-0, Ad Man!

P.S. I've been incorporating the changes you suggested on my website makeover. Even have a video camera now so I can -- when I get closer to publication -- release something that'll hopefully go viral.

[Ray Rhamey]

The Budweiser TasteBuds, which appeared exclusively on Saturday night live and in college newspapers in the late 60's. It's my favorite not only because I created it but because of what it did.

Bud was perceived by college drinkers as their dad's beer. It had been declining in the college market for five years, losing share to Miller Lite.

After just 6 months of exposure, primarily on SNL, Budweiser was number one on campus for the first time in years.

Besides all that, it was a helluva lot of fun. Here are YouTube links to my two favorites:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w5ovFb-S1p8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HJHqgDMATeM

[Lisa Hendrix]

Yucca-Dew shampoo. I still remember that woman's hair, and I remember wanting hair like that. At the time, it struck me as a gentle, classy commercial. Simple. Effective. Memorable.

And oh, btw, Greg -- if you google "paranormal historical romance" today, you get a link to an article with my name (and a link to my site) in the #1 spot. ;-)

[Karen Syed]

Karen Syed - admin@echelonpress.com

I think the one that has had the most impact on me personally is the Maxwell House Christmas campaign - Peter's Home.

This has become a classic ad that has replayed for so many years, I actually saw it this year.

Maxwell House has been using the same type of ad for years. They offer the viewer a glimpse at real life, what makes you happy, what makes you smile, and they associate that with the warmth of their product. Coffee.

Buy putting their product into the average person's home, it offers the connection of you and the product. Their is a benefit to the consumer, not just flavor, but warmth.

It's brilliant.

By the way, since you do so much for your readers I thought I would try and bring a smile to your face. Some say awards mean little, but when they come from the heart, hopefully they mean more. I was recently accepted a Premio Dardos Award from Jayne Kennedy. I would like to offer this award to you.

You can find out more on my blog at http://karensyed.blogspot.com

Happy new year.

[Dave Keane]

Dave Keane - dave@mrdavekeane.com

Before iTunes and the iPod, Apple got the world to collectively turn its head and take notice with its "Think different" campaign. That grammatically challenged campaign re-invented the age-old notion of "borrowed interest" by using those people whose contributions were not just spectacular, but changed the world. No info about RAM, screen size, or easy-to-use software. Instead, it was a clarion call to those who changed things and "pushed the human race forward." And a lot of the people depicted never even used a dang computer! Deceptively simple. Surprisingly powerful. Wholly original. It gets my vote as the best ad/campaign ever. It still shakes me up when I watch it; see if you feel the same way: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4oAB83Z1ydE