Thursday, September 27, 2007

Shock Horror - Ads As Entertainment

For all the talk of ad skipping, fragemented media and a elusive, cynical audience and the radical changes required in the advetising industry to cope with this it is refreshing to see brands and agencies doing what they have always done well.

Beautiful short form content. Nike - Leave Nothing.




NFL Nike Leave Nothing
Uploaded by Masterfill

Massive production values and filmed in HD, Branded Utility can mean just being entertaining for 30 seconds too...

Interestingly this seems to be fostering a trend. Through Firebrand, NBC Universal is presentating advertising as entertainment. It will dish up ads meant to be so captivating that people will gladly watch them. Firebrand will reach out to consumers on television, online and on mobile devices. The hope is that when the ads are deemed to be entertaining, consumers will opt in to watch them rather than skip or zap through them.

XBOX 360: Believe is another great ad that really pulls you in but that said the campaign really comes alive online.



Halo 3 : Believe
Uploaded by jeremy60


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9 comments:

Anonymous said...

"The hope is that when the ads are deemed to be entertaining, consumers will opt in to watch them rather than skip or zap through them"
An interetsing article in Businessweek: what do people really stop to watch?
http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/07_36/b4048026.htm
Basically, its the informative and relavent ads, not the entertaining ads that are getting people's attention. Food for thought.

Anonymous said...

Giles, that's the idea. These amazing productions should all have a home. A destination spot for advertising as entertainment is also a place where people may want to search for the same director or agency that made the spot they just viewed. The addition of great promos on the site make it a bonus in my book as well. Cheers!

john dodds said...

I'm with john mc on this - entertainment is all fine and dandy but I'm ultimately not wanting products that entertain me - fortunately the two examples you give are products tied up with entertainment so there is a mixture of implict information within them (even if the halo spot just makes me think chapman brothers rip-off).

Giles Rhys Jones said...

horses for courses i guess.

not skipping "informative" ads is one step away from actively searching out information about a product you are looking to purchase. just as nike have a huge site dedicated to the various polymers & rubbers that make up the shoes for people in that state of mind.

i am wanting products that tell be about themselves in an interesting and entertaining way. depending on my state of mind and task that could be more informative or entertaining.

christ why did we hive off media...

john dodds said...

If you can get "entertaining" to drive action then I agree with you entirely. Inspiring drives action. Informative drives action. I'm guess I'm just not convinced that entertaining on its own does especially in a world where information is more readily available than ever before.

If something is entertaining in a way that causes people to pass it around in some form (wom, viral etc) then that's going some of the way. I think the doubt arises in people because being entertaining does not automatically lead there. Maybe that's the same as saying there's a difference between superficial entertainment and something longer lasting, between a snigger and laughter? I don't know.

Entry Level Blogger said...

I think what you say is very truthful. The Internet is really the new form of the information advertisement by way of the product's webpages. People don't need to hear about APR and leasing terms through their television anymore, partly because it's so blase and partly because there are other routes through which to find that information.

Because of the way the younger generation is, we need to be engaged by entertainment. These ads do just that. If I really want to know about the nitty-gritty of the pricing contracts and product features, then I'll go on the website and research that way. Your ad (and product) just need to be strong enough to influence that action, as john dodds said above.

The commercials get us involved emotionally through entertainment, and that's what gets customers now. The examples you posted are perfect displays of that.

Giles Rhys Jones said...

yeah also really interesting thoughts.

do brands have the right to be entertainers? and do they have that right if their product is not inherently linked with entertainment - willitblend seem to think so.

i also think we need to be careful that we don't fall into channel stereotypes - advertising can't jump or dm has no rhythm - tv is brand and entertainment and internet is utility & information. both channels can do either well in the right circumstances.

i have seen many a brief recently that has tried to cram both a brand/entertainment and product/information message inwhere actually pure branding is what is required and fits.

just because digital can do both it doesnt need to.

more to ponder thanks all for your comments...

Anonymous said...

It seems to me, that as long as we are being "assaulted" by ads from all directions, the least the advertisers can do is make the ads fun.
a while ago i was visiting family in Israel and saw a great interactive commercial for, some dairy company(i think).The ad was projected on the floor and children were running all over it,chasing the products featured in the ad and interacting with them.the kids had a ball, and the grown-ups were watching amused (and amazed).I'm sure that this ad was very effective. i Just think that as long that advertisers respect our intelligence and go that extra mile to create something that's both fun AND effective then kudos to them. at least they didn't use naked women to do it....

Anonymous said...

BTW, forgot to mention, i looked them up, they are called EyeClick, and their site is pretty informative:
www.eyeclick.com