Commercials that entertain

These days, it's all about content, right? Not just pitching people on good old attributes and benefits, but engaging them. Getting them to spend some time with you. Getting them to talk about you.

Yeah, you've heard it before, all about the death of the :30 second spot, the rise of relationships, the era in which peers - and, as it turns out, dogs - rule.

But, how the heck do you make that all happen when your deliverable is, in fact, a :30 second spot? A couple of my favorite examples below. Ones that not only entertain, but also take on the core challenge of branding: showing who you're for and what you're about.

Pedigree "dogs rule": Connecting with dog owners over the simple joy of fetch. (TV version/Internet version):

Esurance "lucky today": Making connections over music. Does it get more "friendly" than that? (TV version/Internet version):

Comments

[erinjoan]

We loved that you noted the power of puppies (http://tinyurl.com/d68w72) and we also love that Cloud Cult is from MPLS :)

[Boris]

I have to say, these are painfully bad commercials. How is the Pedigree commercial "on brand"? You could've put any dog food logo at the end and no one would have known the difference. (Something you can't say about truly great image advertising.) As a direct response copywriter who is forced to test everything, I can assure these companies that benefits do sell, the USP is not dead, and more people just want to feel like they're making a good buying decision -- not start a "relationship" with you. As consumers become even more skeptical, advertising needs to prove that there's a unique and meaningful advantage to choosing one brand over another. Now that's what engages today's time-poor consumers. (If they want entertainment, they'll flip the channel during commercials.)

[Mary Beth @marybethonline]

What if a company can do it in a :15 second spot. I have loved what hotels.com has done with their TV campaign recently. My favorite

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M6onQLgC1Ck

[Phil Andres]

I like all these. They're fun and friendly. But the Dogs Rule stuff seems a lot more effective because it's more "on brand". The esurance one is really entertaining and sparkly, but the oil well sequence seems to go against the message of an auto insurance company. Unless they just insure green cars. I'm left wondering what industry this ad is for. Love the animation, though.

[Brian]

This is a great posting. Nowadays companies are no longer pitching us a product, but rather a brand. The show us how awesome they are and hope that we will buy their product or use their service because of how much we want to be like them. I think a decent example would be the Burger King: Whopper Virgin commercials, they really don't say anything about the burger.

I like how you think (adding your RSS feed). Check out my blog at (http://www.swichkow.com/Blog) I just got started, but I think I'm really going to enjoy voicing my thoughts, opinions and news to anyone that wants to listen.

[Condo Blues]

Another reason I think that the Pedigree "Dogs Rule" campaign works is the strong PR componet that ties into the Dogs Rule message. Pedigree sponsors a wide range of dog sports, where the focus on the canine athletes, not their humans and sells a line of Dogs Rule logo gear on their web site. It works. As a dog owner I've considered buying a Dogs Rule t-shirt even though I don't & wouldn't feed their product to my dog.

[AdWomen]

Nowadays the idea of creating community around the brand is very important to be successful.

Regards,

AdWomen.org

[Stephanie Smirnov]

I'm cheating a bit because this is a cinema spot and longer than 30 seconds but I am entertained beyond reason by the Virgin Atlantic 25th anniversary ad -- I don't know if this is UK only? Even if the Frankie Goes Hollywood soundtrack doesn't grab you, the sheer sexiness and cleverness of it will...the essence of all that makes Virgin (after all these years) a bright spot in a wretched industry! I posted it here http://ssmirnov.wordpress.com/2009/01/21/313/