The Changing Face of Advertisements
How “Super Bowl ads” are replacing traditional commercials
Earlier this year the Super Bowl commercials caused more of a fuss than normal. People claimed they were too political with Budweiser’s immigration story and Coke’s “America the Beautiful” reprise. However, this isn’t a trend only seen at football games. Commercials are changing, and it’s probably for the better.
The commercials I see when I’m streaming Brooklyn Nine Nine are nothing like the commercials that played when I was watching TV as a kid. Over time they went from having catchy jingles and simple themes to cinematic masterpieces.
There was a brief time period in there where advertisers did a theater of the absurd-style (admit it, those Skittles commercials were weird). But now instead of ads like the McDonalds “I’m Lovin’ It” campaign, we have dramatic heart wrenching tales that somehow still make you want to buy a cheeseburger.
These “Super Bowl ads” are about telling a story, creating a sense of community and emotional impact, and most commonly, not obviously relating to a company’s product.
The trend in advertising has become so popular that even Saturday Night Live made a skit about it:
No matter how funny Alec Baldwin is, the sketch makes a good point.
Commercials and advertisements are no longer just about making your product stand out, advertisers have to sell the entire brand of the company in one 30 second video clip.
There seems to be a disconnect between the commercial and the brand though. How does leaving a man at the alter relate to gum, or reading a William Blake poem affect car sales? I don’t know. Really, I don’t. But just because I don’t know why doesn’t mean that it doesn’t work.
This trend has been brought on partly due to the decreased use of cable TV and the rise of streaming. You can access almost all forms of media through your smartphone, so companies have had to follow suit. However, just as commercials began transitioning ad blockers were created and companies were hard pressed to get their content out. People are much more likely to skip an ad if they are aware from the get go that it’s trying to sell them something.
The solution? Create ads that don’t feel like ads.
The new style tends to be more raw in terms of emotion and you often don’t even know what the advertisement is for until the very end. This keeps engagement up and your attention on the screen.
In fact, the style has changed so much that you are unlikely to hear anyone in PR use the term “commercial” anymore. It’s all about ads. Commercial just feels too . . . commercialized. Ads are subtle, appearing in your Facebook feed or on the sidebar of a website you visit. Ads are the way to a customer’s heart.
Besides just making ads more mobile, video advertisers are utilizing new tech to make their product more than just an ad, but an experience. As VR headsets hit the market advertisers can use.
So if you don’t use video ads (or don’t have the budget) there are still ways to incorporate this new advertising technique. Try personalizing your company, telling a story in your about page, sharing stories about your employees/interns/yourself, or even why you’re running this company.
For the work that I personally do, the changing face of advertisements makes my life easier. When you’re running social media for a small business or student organizations (like myself) it can be hard to get people interested in what you have to say. But if your social media promotes a sense of community and highlights individual achievement, it becomes a lot more attractive to people unfamiliar with your brand.
Campaigns that have been successful for me have been a “Humans of New York” style photo series that highlighted the success of members, and sharing art, research projects, or even a personal anecdote. I take full advantage of the ability to tag people in photos. The more you tag, the more people outside your existing network see your page.
Basically pick a message, tell a story (even if its just one sentence), and pull on some heartstrings. It’ll pique interest and increase customer loyalty.
Check out our Instagram @uabdigitalmedia with the #teamtalent to get an idea of personalization.
