His main point is that the ad wasn’t necessarily about Google Search, but more of a proof of concept for their advertising (which includes search ppc, television, etc.).
Google has been trying for years to help advertisers think about the relationship between Superbowl [or any TV spots] and search and online video, [...]
and that the proof of any new platform requires big brand case studies and support, and that having your own is always useful when talking to agencies….
And in fact they have already said they are running Chrome spots across their TV AD network as a LIVE CASE STUDY OF HOW THESE THINGS WORK TOGETHER…because you can use insight from online deployment to better plan the TV, as I’ve been saying for years, because the internet gives you real data, not nonsense from pre-testing focus groups
I think a big thing to think about here is that Google is looking at all these venues of advertising as an ecosystem, not “TV viewers interact with ads this way” and “Web users interact with ads that way”. Also, taking insights across platforms could become extremely valuable in the near future.
More great stuff from Sir Alan Wolk today (knighthood mine) in the form of these two really good charts.
Take a quick look, and then we’ll talk.
I think the biggest thing here is the move from passive to active. With ads (typically) we are passive recipients of a neatly packaged “moment” designed to elicit some sort of emotional response or purchase intent. With websites, and most digital instances, we’re being given the opportunity to experience something, and how we do so is entirely of our own choosing.
You’ve probably heard that the medium is the message. I think that’s only half right.
Not only is this a cool commercial from Bacardi (plays very well off the “timeless” vibe), but it has a great song. In fact, the song is what stuck with me even after the ad was over. It was that “Wow, I’m going to go look that up right now” type feeling that I’m sure you’ve experienced before. The same thing happened to me with The Ting Tings song from this Apple ad.
I’m not sure that this is something the ad companies are intending, but it sure is a value-add for me. Does it make me love/want to buy Bacardi or Apple more because their agency has good musical taste? Probably not, but I dig the song and won’t change the channel if it comes on TV.
We used to look the DJs to let us know what the next, new, cool stuff would be. Now, by the time something hits the Top 40 stations it’s already either played out, sold out, or old news. It seems that ads are helping the general public “discover” new artists more and more. It’s an interesting dynamic, and I’m looking forward to see how it evolves in the in the future.
Today, Alan Wolk had a great post on creativity, and whether it still matters because good products sell themselves. He makes a lot of good points (as usual), but I think a big takeaway is something he just glances over.
He talks about how if you dig strawberries and Cherrios, then you’ll probably like Strawberry Cherrios regardless of the advertising. He also mentions the reverse is true. And I think that’s where the big point is.
For example: I really don’t like Budweiser. I just don’t. And honestly, no matter how awesome, witty, or iconic their advertising is, I’m not going to run out and buy Budweiser. Ever. So for me, as soon as the Budweiser ads come on, I’m tuning out the “ad” part and just looking at it for entertainments sake.
And Budweiser makes some really entertaining ads. The problem, however, is that they’re completely useless when it comes to making me actually by the product.
Which leads us to this little paradox: Entertainment (product placement, etc.) has become effective advertising and advertising has become effective entertainment. Weird!
And so are you. And pretty much everyone else you know.
And despite what some people (get a job, hippies!) might say, it’s not really a bad thing.
If not for the advertising, I wouldn’t have remembered what day Grand Theft Auto IV was coming out. I’m almost positive I would have never discovered The Ting Tings without the newest iPod commercial (see below). It’s this element that usually goes unnoticed, but it’s actually the most important part.
I know that the point of advertising is to sell, but I think we’ve come to a point where it needs to be more that that. It needs to be useful. We’re here because people don’t want to see/read/hear ads. Think I’m lying? Check out the numbers of DVR and satellite radio owners. Ask the average person how they feel. It sure ain’t pretty.
So where does that leave us?
Well, a very tricky place, it seems. How do we pitch our product and provide value at the same time? Perhaps a change of priorities is in order. What would be really interesting is if we focused first on providing value to people, and also manage to get our product/service/company into the picture.
But hey, if that doesn’t work, we could always bombard people with as many ads as humanly possible and try to keep shouting until they can’t possibly ignore us anymore. That’s gonna work too right?
My name is Matt J McDonald and I'm a New Marketing Strategist based in Charleston, SC.
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