I'm not crying, you're crying!
As with all great marketing, drawing an emotional response from the viewer is paramount to achieving whatever your measure of success is; recall, affinity, sales and/or advocacy. To shift people’s perception or behaviours you need to exercise their emotions at the wider limits of the spectrum.
For this blog we’re looking at our favourite examples of ‘sadvertising’. Yep, those campaigns that turn your face into a red, wrinkly, ugly, snot-bubble-blowing, dribbling mess that people stare at from the concerned corners of their eyes, all while giving you the warm and fuzzies at the same time. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to find out who’s chopping onions in the office kitchen.
Dove: Real Beauty
The disparity between what people see in themselves and what the rest of the world actually sees is incredibly interesting. Dove has nailed this point with its “Real Beauty” campaigns. Here’s one iteration where a sketch artist draws portraits based on what they describe vs what somebody describes them as. Smart, simply beautiful.
P&G: Thank You, Mom
P&G used its sponsorship of the Winter Olympics in 2014 to tackle the theme of constant love, belief and support that mothers show their kids, using the sports as the vehicle here. A constant safety net and motivation, the brand used its moment in the sponsorship spotlight to relay a simple but brilliant “Thank you, Mom!” message. Go text your mother.
If you liked that we also suggest you check out P&G’s “Best Job” campaign too.
Google Chrome: Dear Sophie
Not to be outdone by the mums, the dads were the focus for this little beaut Google. Telling a girl’s life story through the collective and saved memories and messages from her Dad. You’d need to be made of stone to not feel something for this. The “Giggles.mov” and “This was Mom’s idea” scenes are worth it alone.
Chevy: Maddie
Dogs have a sense of vulnerability that is hard to match outside of babies and toddlers. Chevy created this ‘Marley & Me’ style ad that shows the best friends relationship between a woman and her pet golden retriever and bleurghurgarlarlurpermeraunlfjaldnfaefva…. Oh FFS, I’m off again. Tissue please!
Edeka: #Heimkommen
When it comes to emotional stability, the topic of ‘elderly men being alone’ is the collective Kryptonite. Many brands have drawn on this, Cadbury being the most recent. But this ad from German supermarket chain Edeka sticks in the memory. Yes, it’s too early for a Christmas post. Yes, I’m annoyed with myself for doing this. Yes, I’m still going to have to put the link below this paragraph. Yes, I’m very sorry.
John Lewis: Christmas
Sure look, while we’re on the topic; the team in John Lewis has made an art form out of happy-cry Christmas feels and their now annual ad campaigns are becoming a festive staple in the marketing calendar. Which JL ad is the best is down to a matter of opinion, one thing is for sure, they know how to pull at the heartstrings.
While it’s obvious what the creatives behind each of the campaigns here are doing, toying with our emotions to ultimately sell you a product or service, we’re quite happy to let them do it. Quality content and creative will always drive a strong emotional connection with the viewer. Sadness is just as strong as happiness for recall, in the examples above the creative takes you on an emotional journey that travels from one end of the spectrum to the other. I’m not crying, you’re crying!
- GC