Inspiration: Rediscovering the Art of Storytelling in Ads

With the exception of an annual tradition - the Brit Awards at the Walker Arts Center - I am not usually a fan of television commercials. Even multi-million dollar Superbowl ads don't inspire me anymore - it just strikes me that so few are targeted at curious, thoughtful adults. Which is why I am so pleasantly surprised and amused with the smart and savvy use of storytelling I have been seeing re-infused into television commercials recently. Maybe with the end of ad watching, agencies cleaned house a new talent rose to the top to create some really great, forward thinking commercials. The commercial recession is definitely (or hopefully) over.

Sprint: A National Social Media Experiment

Have you seen these ad? First thought: are they for real? Second thought: what a brilliant idea. For so long we have seen the turn to "Joe Public" for companies to profile real people in their commercials - usually staging their employees as helpful (ie: Lowes). But in this case, Sprint is seemingly taking customers, sharing their real emails and phone numbers and crowd-sourcing the public to congratulate them on their achievements or offer them help. The dubbed campaign is "Random Acts of Togetherness"

In the first commercial, we get the pleasure of calling, texting or emailing birthday wishes to Veatrice Hendersen turning 100.



UPDATE: Over 300,000 people wished Mrs. Hendersen Happy Birthday! See the Follow-Up Ad.

In the second commercial, a struggling soccer team, the South Windsor Thunder is looking for help for a winning season. There are also a wide variety of web-specific campaigns from silly - let cats take over the internet - to more traditional: a crowd-source to rename a local band, receiving 54,174 suggestions.

Rosetta Stone: More than words, indeed.

Come on...how many times have you walked by these kiosks at the mall and thought to yourself: Avoid! We have all seen the info-commercials for the yellow box promising to teach me how to talk, er, communicate in a wide range of languages. Which means I was struck by surprise to see this new ad which seems to be a 180 degree turn on the product! They stopped hawking a yellow box at me and started sharing with me the real power behind learning a new language: access to a community and a world much bigger than the one I know. Rather than hitting me up to buy a box, they started selling an idea, a way of being which in an instant shot my perception of this transactional product into a brand with values I might enjoy partaking in or fan-ing soon. Their new tag hits it on the head: "More than Words: Understanding"




Google Chrome: The Revelation of a Story, Shared for Good

Leave it to Google to break the mold and deliver a 90 second commercial that finally, actually says something. The last three times this commercial has come on, I have stopped what I am doing to watch. What is brilliant in this commercial is how they have positioned the "product" - Google Chrome - as the delivery vehicle for the telling of the story of what individuals and communities can do through the power of the web.

The premise of the ad is the evolution of the "It gets better" campaign founded by columnist Dan Savage and his partner in reaction to the rash of suicides of young gay people. The ad opens simply enough with the news stories setting up the premise, displayed through the ads product - Google Chrome - the web browser lens through which we watch all of the action of the commercial. Next, Dan and his partner are seen in their posted video on YouTube, sharing their emotional reaction to those news stories. As the ad continues you watch this natural campaign swell as a community contributes content through the web - the count of posted video messages from individuals and celebrities alike are profiled. The story grows, as a YouTube channel, then a blog and next a website populated with videos, resulting in messages of spread hope. Then it ends, simply enough with the message: "Dan Savage: Messenger." "the web is what you make of it."



I am sure this is the first in a series of commercials and I am very much looking forward to the next chapter(s).

UPDATE: I found the next Chapter. Daniel Lee is a dad capturing through the web his daughter growing up. This one tugs at the heart, but in such an authentic way. Which is why it works. It creates and emotional connection with the viewer, and places that positive affinity onto the brand in such a great way. Bravo Chrome. You nailed another one.




As a final sidebar: If you have yet to see Morgan Spurlock's newest film, Pom Wonderful Presents, The Greatest Movie Ever Sold - it is well worth the ticket. You will be equally amused and befuddled at the needs of marketers to promote their brands and our need to massively consume those brands. Check out the Trailer.