Finding True Product Transference in Branding

Another Super Bowl comes and goes. What a day of American pageantry. There was so much to comment on — fireworks, jets, pole dancing, face paint… "ohh say can you see!"  And let’s not forget the advertising…

Last Sunday, everywhere in the world, screens on walls / on desks / in hands, broadcast the admirable work of top-tier, top-paid athletes and that of top-tier, top-paid advertisers. The advertisements are a stunning reminder of what creative agencies believe entertains, titilates and captures America's attention. The Super Bowl is when we project our values to the world. We communicate those values in the form of short stories. It’s an ancient craft. These stratospherically expensive ads reflect the American spirit and way of life. They capture our common cultural values. Let me take a moment to ponder that powerful pulpit.

We Are Ads

Media impressions have infiltrated every domain of our lives. Last year, Ryan Homes of Hootsuite declared, “Back in the ‘70s, the average consumer in the U.S. saw around 500 ads per day. That number has since increased by a factor of 10 to upward of 5,000 ads per day.” Crickey - we live in the Matrix! Most are micro-impressions (a passing van or a glance at a product in a shelf). Others are longer, fully consumed impressions, like a Super Bowl spot. All of them influence the impressionable brain, even if we aren’t consciously aware.

All advertising holds some variation on this premise: “If you buy X, you will feel Y.” That’s really it. It’s a formula to create what I’m going to call "product transference”. This is my label for the power of products to influence the view of ourselves and what we hope to communicate to others. During product transference, we mistakenly believe we project the product's attributes. It’s a weird thing that only the human animal is capable of.

Now let me analyze the types of ads that I see as dominating the money spectacle that is the Super Bowl. 

Comedy Branding

The first type is the comedy genre. We all know that we connect with others over comedy and tragedy. They're great social glue. However, turn the sound off and most appear trite, irrelevant and silly. They don’t say anything of substance about the brand’s purpose. They treat the viewer as nothing more than an impressionable limbic system with legs. But we still watch. They’re amusing.

Premium Branding

Second to that first genre are the slick, sophisticated ads for premium brands such as Audi or Porshe about their well healed automobiles. Those ads — while beautiful in their creation -- are still appealing to our base urges. In this case, it’s the urge to own premium beauty, speed and animal sex appeal. These ads hit on status, power, and how we might make a fetching statement to our fellow consumers. 

Essence Branding

There is a third category of advertisement that sits apart from the other two. These are the rare ads that reveal a culturally relevant attribute of a brand in a manner that gets the broadest attraction. It appeals to all because it is simple, truthful and memorable. It doesn’t trigger a superiority response or resemble the film Idiocracy. It succinctly captures the essence of the brand and is pregnant with a larger brand story. It moves me when I see true marketing acumen on display.

A Nod to Smart Work

Leo Burnett created what I see as an absolutely brilliant campaign that fits in this special, rarely seen, category. They used their creative muscle, brains and body to tap into a minimalist message for McDonalds. It’s a rigorous process to find simplicity. As much as I take issue with our advertising reality as one of the horsemen of the consumer apocalypse — I grudgingly admire the creative abilities of a few executions. 

The McDonalds campaign (which may not have appeared as a spot during the Super Bowl) is one of these. For a moment, it reminded me of other campaigns like it, such as TBWA\Chiat Day’s iPod ads back in the day. It’s not as iconic, but has similar qualities. They both abstract a product to a simple message that when viewed, unpacks meaning in our brains. It’s a message that resonates — and resonance, from an engineering perspective, generates its own momentum. 

When good advertising happens, I go from jaded, skeptic to intrigued professional. Thanks to the team at Leo Burnett, I paid attention.

McDonald Digital Ad Campaign

2003 iPod “silhouette” ad campaign

In case you’ve forgotten why this ad stands shoulder-to-shoulder with the greats, here it is. Good, right?

Please leave a comment or send a tweet to @charleserdman. I’d love to know how you feel and what you think about marketing.