During last nights Superbowl I was caught offguard by the commericals that featured a talking baby who was managing his accounts online and giving us his ups and downs by way of his computer camera. This was the advertising technique used by E*Trade for their commerials during this years Superbowl. The most expensive and most watched time-slots of the entire viewing year and companines pay massive amounts of money to put their name in the lime light.
They took a chance and went with it. It certainly isn't somthing that you were expecting, a talking baby with the personality of a 20 some year old broker who has no spending limit. Two commercials, which highlighted the importance of doing business with E*Trade, were overshadowed by the complexity of the child "actor" and his bedroom "office".
I think that commericals like this that may not get your complete understanding of what the company does in a business setting are alright, because they catch your eye and they keep your attention as far as into the next week, when you are talking to someone about that commerical with the baby and the creepy clown in the background, that's when the advertisement has done its job.
They took something they new is historically funny, talking infants, and applied their business to it, making it what I believe to be was the most enjoyable and memorable advertisements I have seen in recent Superbowls. It caught the attention of the millions of viewers who watched the game and further more was most likely the talk of many lunch tables and office conversations throughout the day today.
It seems that achieveing real success in advertising is measured in how well you are remembered and as is always the case, the more talk you create the more likely you are to see intrest and profits increase.
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2 comments:
As you note, the real effect of all the ads will be determined after they do or don't increase sales (or brand). I've often thought that researchers should conduct one of the matching game surveys 2 days after the superbowl where people need to match the ad to the company. This would show if the company's brand and message were really communicated...or they just focused on a talking baby!
I agree with your thoughts... oftentimes people remember the commercial itself and not the company or service it is advertising. How many times have we heard other people say "You know that commercial with the guy and he does this funny thing..." In most cases they don't even remember what the commercial is for but they can remember the content. I think companies need to concentrate on having their brand or service remembered better.
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