Touching my heart doesn’t necessarily touch my wallet

Two of the best Superbowl commercials from yesterday were by Budweiser (no shock) and Jeep (a little more surprising).  Lots of tweets and FB updates mentioned “tearing up” as they watched them.  I reacted the same way.

The Budweiser spot:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o2prAccclXs[/youtube]

 

The Jeep spot:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FadwTBcvISo&list=PL3420076D4A3ECC4D&index=1[/youtube]

 

Both spots were really well done and very heart tugging.  I will admit, I got a little teary-eyed during both of them too. But neither spot had me reaching for my wallet.  I really, really do not like Bud beer.  I love their brand, their Clydesdales and their lore.  But nothing they do could get me to become a regular Bud drinker.

I don’t have those same kind of feelings about a Jeep.  I like them and I’ve even test driven them in the past.  But, I’m not in the market for a new truck, so Jeep’s spot didn’t have me changing my shopping plans either.

The spot made me appreciate that they invested that kind of money to honor our country’s troops but even if I was in the market, that wouldn’t be the tipping point.

Both spots are a good reminder that playing the emotion card alone usually isn’t enough to earn a new customer. We buy based on emotion, that is true.  But we also need something more.  Features, facts and need.

Brand building ads like Bud’s and Jeep’s earn brand respect and affinity. The spots probably had more of an effect on their current customers (who now have their buying decision reinforced) than prospects.  But for some people who might not be in the market today — these spots certainly didn’t discourage interest.

For those of us who can’t afford a Super Bowl commercial the lesson is even more important.  On a more finite budget — we need to be sure we find a balance between emotion and facts. Either alone just won’t get the job done.

Enhanced by Zemanta

6 comments on “Touching my heart doesn’t necessarily touch my wallet

  1. Drew,
    I feel the same way about both of those ads and the Paul Harvey Farmer ad. Made me feel emotions, but the emotions were not tied back to the product.

    As you said, emotions alone don’t prompt people to buy. You have to tie the emotion to the product.

    I think Audi and Doritos and Tide did a better job of tying the emotion/comedy to the actual product.

  2. Lilian says:

    I agree that emotion alone or cold hard facts alone are not the tipping point to getting someone to buy a product. I felt the same way watching the Dodge Ram truck spot from yesterday.

    Chrysler 200 two years ago turned in what has been, in my opinion, the most significant spot in years. That spot to me illustrated not just the revival of America’s auto industry, but also the resurrection of the city of Detroit and the career of Detroit’s favourite son, Eminem. It was powerful, it was impactful, but it didn’t make me want to buy a Chrysler.

    I believe that it makes more of an impact in reinforcing brand loyalty rather than converting new ones. I grew up on the wisdom of Michael Jordan’s “Failure” Nike spot for nearly two decades, but the spot didn’t convince me to buy Nike, I was already buying Nike. It touched me on a human level, so much so that I remember it nearly two decades later.

    You can remember and appreciate a campaign, without buying the products.

  3. Daronet says:

    Hey Drew,
    What about the Bar Refaeli commercial for Go Daddy, Do you think it’s good and serves the purposes? I hear different responses of different people out there regarding that commercial. I would like to hear your saying about it.

    1. The GoDaddy commercial went for “shock and ewwww”. If nothing else, it elicited a response from the viewer, whether positive of negative. Creating a buzz around the name for the next few days for sure.

  4. Jaimie says:

    You may not be influenced to buy because of this, but you are talking about their brand and sharing their ads, which means they are now getting free advertising. By creating an ad that gets people talking, more and more people will be exposed to their brand, and many of those people may be swayed to purchase.

  5. How many of you have ever made a purchasing decision because somebody else talked negatively about a brand’s commercials to you?

    The whole idea of “there is no such thing as bad publicity” is a myth.

    Creating an ad that gets people talking isn’t enough. It won’t move the needle and get people to buy.

    Here’s a better idea… Create an ad that moves the needle. Create an ad that not only touches the heart, but connects you to the business. Create an ad that gives you a compelling reason to want to shift from your brand to their brand. Create an ad that gives people new perspective on a company they only thought they knew.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *