Everything has a history

A friend emailed me a link to The Chive’s “Old-School Advertisements That Are Oh-So Wrong” when we were taking a course in marketing together. At the time, I thought the vintage ads were funny and mildly (sometimes wildly) politically incorrect, but I didn’t really give them much prolonged thought. The new season of Mad Men, with its references to the newly budding industry in the 1960’s, has caused me to revisit those classic ads to see just how far we’ve come. 

The invention of the TV and internet certainly changed the media vehicles of advertising, and the computer revolutionized possibilities of photography and graphic design in print media as well. The most interesting change to me, however, is the growing importance of sensitivity toward the audience shown by modern promotional media. Some of this transition can likely be linked to the creation of government agencies set up to abolish misleading advertisements, but it also stems from changes in the modern American attitude. Our culture is obsessed with political correctness in the attempt to eradicate old fashioned stereotypes, and the advertising industry is most successful when it reflects popular opinion. Although, I wouldn’t be surprised if thirty years from now we are all laughing at how provincial the ads in 2010 were.

Indeed, made like no other.

Occasionally, an ad appears on TV that captures your attention in a way that may seem counterintuitive. When most advertisements attempt to force your attention by increasing the volume, some take a different approach and peak your awareness by being simple and quiet. In some cases, quiet ads, which often communicate via text rather than spoken words, create the perfect intermission for TV viewers to get up and use their favorite brand of toilet paper. But when a subdued ad becomes beautiful and communicates more than just a product to the consumer, it can be one of the most compelling ways to connect with an audience. 

This Haagen-Dazs ad first hit TV in May 2004, and I still remember seeing it then. Not to be excessively dramatic or anything, but I may venture to say that this is my favorite mainstream TV ad ever aired. Perhaps it is a bit neurotic to remember an ad from 2004 and watch it regularly on YouTube, but I find it incredible how epic they make ice cream appear. How much does Haagen-Dazs cost per half gallon? Oh, right. They don’t even sell it by the half gallon, and a pint of their premium ice cream is more expensive than a barrel of generic ice cream at Costco. After watching this ad, though, or really any of Haagen-Dazs’s ads, you start to believe that it’s one-hundred-percent worth it. 

That is really the key to selling premium products. The campaign has to be about something more than just the product itself. If Haagen-Dazs focused on making you recognize how much you wanted a scoop of ice cream right now, you might go to the store and buy ice cream, but you probably wouldn’t buy the most expensive pint available. These ads are less about need recognition and more about philosophy. The first twenty seconds of the ad don’t even mention Haagen-Dazs by name, but they mention the brand through congruent imagery and style. The brand’s philosophy, the “school of thought,” revolves around simplicity, beauty derived from nature and symmetry, and the idea that Haagen-Dazs ice cream is really a work of art. Everything in the ad lends itself to this idea, and convinces us that it is true. Beautifully monochromatic landscapes, an elegant melody, and images of pristine natural ingredients lead up to the making of a gorgeous bowl of ice cream. No, no. A gorgeous bowl of Haagen-Dazs ice cream. The scoop, the color, the serving size, the background, and even the shadow that melt into a universally recognizable and incredibly clean logo all come together to create the perfect dessert “haiku.” Enjoy.

A lesson in sensitivity.

There are some products that, by their nature, walk a thin line in advertising between being effective in reminding people why one brand is superior to another and being simply uncomfortable to watch. These sensitive 30-second spots often revolve around the bathroom, a place where most people would rather not spend any more time than necessary. Consumers often wonder why TV ads for products like toilet paper are even needed at all, do we really need blatant reminders for such an obvious necessity? Well, no. We really don’t. But toilet paper manufacturers aren’t like the Dairy Farmers or Cotton Growers of America who sell a commodity with little brand variation. There are actually distinctions between different companies’ offerings that make each product unique. And while we all wish to get out of the toilet paper aisle as quickly as possible, every producer wants us to think of their brand as we hustle through that section of the store. 

The desire to dominate this top-of-mind consumer response and land the toilet paper sale is what drives Charmin and Angel Soft to spend millions of dollars on TV advertisements. One, in my mind, does a very effective job. The other...well...not so much. 

I may be a bit biased in this critique because, to me, there is only one viable brand when it comes to toilet paper. Angel Soft. All the way. Before their current “soft. but not too soft” campaign, I would have gone down the aisle and, subconsciously, done the same evaluation in my head. That’s really what everyone does when shopping for toilet paper-- they debate number of plys and level of softness. The Angel Soft advertisers did their research and, surprisingly, found the discriminating factor that is the brand’s core competency in the toilet paper market. The best slogans are ones that summarize what a consumer thinks while they are shopping, but was previously unable to vocalize. Bingo. “The ideal balance of softness and strength.” In their most recent ad, Angel Soft was able to translate their slogan’s concept into a very effective visual representation of the two fear extremes in toilet paper buying--the frighteningly rough and the sickeningly soft.

Then there are the brands that make watching an ad for necessity products really uncomfortable...and a little bit creepy. I really don’t know who thought having unpleasantly colored cartoon bears sell toilet paper was a good idea, but Charmin seems to be running with it. The current ads focus on the universal consumer distaste for “linty” toilet papers, a characteristic which is gross enough to think about without having to see literal lint spots all over a bear’s behind. Not to mention the disturbing idea of a kid having to pass momma bear's "inspection." Ugh, makes me shudder. Ironically, Charmin is the first brand I think of when I think of linty-ness or, as Angel Soft would put it, being “too soft.” Perhaps this perception of mine comes from experience, but it is also possible that Charmin walked right into the advertiser’s worst nightmare--when an image you created to be the unwanted situation your product solves (lint on a bear’s butt) becomes the image consumers associate with your brand. Gross.