Applying Marketing Principles from Super Bowl Ads – Principle 3
Principle 3: Use storytelling to reinforce features and benefits of the product.
Super Bowl (and other) advertising is best when it tells a story. People love stories and being caught up in one. We love to be carried along to a conclusion. Like creative, however, the story should not be about the story, but about product features and benefits. I mentioned in a previous blog that Puppy/Monkey/Baby did that successfully. It featured a mixed creature as a metaphor for the three unique ingredients in Kickstart. (However, it failed in other ways.)
Example: Kia First Date
This spot features Kevin Hart tracking his Kia using the Car Finder app on his smart watch. Rather, tracking his daughter’s date… and making sure he is in close surveillance of the young suitor and his daughter throughout the evening. This spot does a great job of building the story in a way that shows the feature (Car Finder) and benefit (date cut short 🙂 of the Kia. A classically funny premise (dad and dating daughter) turned into a story told well, makes this spot memorable. Not a surprise that it rated highest of all ads on USAToday’s Super Bowl ad rater.
Example: Honda A New Truck to Love
Another car company and another clever story that shows a feature of their new Ridgeline truck. Speaking animals usually rate well on spots… so why not singing sheep? Great concept and intriguing storytelling… why are the sheep singing? Of course, because of the truck bed speakers in the new Ridgeline. Not sure you can say teaching sheep to sing is a product benefit, though!
When considering your next marketing piece, whether video, audio, digital or print, consider how your piece can tell a story that is tied to the value proposition of your product or service.
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