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Kinds of Ads Just as rhetoricians have described about a dozen different modes of argument persuasion (cause/effect, comparison/contrast, narrative, etc), advertising theorists have described the various types of advertising. Heath in Made to Stick describes 6 kinds of ad templates based on a study by Goldenburg et alia, and earlier Gunn described 12 kinds. Quoted here are summaries by Heath and Stevenson. [from Made to Stick, p22 and 260, bold emphasis added] [22] In 1999, an Israeli research team assembled a group of 200 highly regarded ads—ads that were finalists and award winners in the top advertising competitions. They found that 89 percent of the award-winning could be classified into six basic categories, or templates. ...Most of the templates relate to the principle of unexpectedness. For example, the Extreme Consequences template points out unexpected consequences of a product attribute... describes the famous World War II slogan devised by the Ad Council, a nonprofit organization that creates public service campaigns for other nonprofits and government agencies: “Loose Lips Sink Ships.” ...the eggs sizzling in the 1980s commercial “This is your brain on drugs”...pops up spontaneously in naturally sticky ideas—for example, the legend that Newton discovered gravity when an apple fell on his head. [footnote on page 260] In 1999, an Israeli research team: Jacob Goldenburg, David Mazursky, and Sorin Solomon, “The Fundamental Templates of Quality Ads,” Marketing Science 18 (1999):331-51. The Pictorial Analogy template features extreme analogies rendered visually. For instance, a Nike ad is shot from the perspective of someone jumping from a tall building. A group of firemen are on the street below, preparing to cushion the jumper’s fall with an oversized Nike sneaker. The tagline reads, “Something soft between you and the pavement.” The majority of winners are composed of Pictorial Analogy and Extreme Consequences. The other templates were Extreme Situations (in which a product is shown performing under unusual circumstances or in which a product’s attribute is exaggerated to the extreme), Competition (in which a product is shown winning in competition with another product, often in an unusual usage situation), Interactive Experiments (where listeners interact with the product directly...), and Dimensionality Alteration (e.g., a time leap that shows the long-run implications of a decision). http://www.slate.com/id/2170872/?GT1=10238 downloaded 8-4-7 There Are 12 Kinds of Ads in the World: RESIST THEM ALL! By Seth Stevenson Posted Monday, July 23, 2007, at 12:19 PM ET at Slate.com In 1978, Donald Gunn was a creative director for the advertising agency Leo Burnett. Though his position implied expertise, Gunn felt he was often just throwing darts— relying on inspiration and luck (instead of proven formulas) to make great ads. So, he 478196195 1 decided to inject some analytical rigor into the process: He took a yearlong sabbatical, studied the best TV ads he could find, and looked for elemental patterns. After much research, Gunn determined that nearly all good ads fall into one of 12 categories—or "master formats," in his words. At last year's Clio Awards, I saw Gunn give a lecture about these formats (using ads mostly from the '70s and '80s as examples), and I was fascinated by his theory. I soon found myself categorizing every ad I saw on TV. It was a revelation: The curtain had been pulled back on all those sly sales tactics at the heart of persuasive advertising. This slide show presents some recent ads exemplifying each of Gunn's 12 basic categories. With a little practice, you, too, will be ticking off the master formats during commercial breaks. Gunn's first format is the "demo." This is a visual demonstration of a product's capabilities. You've seen hundreds of demo ads on late-night TV, for things like kitchen knives (watch it slice through that tin can!) and stain removers (it can't possibly erase that red wine blotch—and yet!). Some of the ads introducing Apple's iPhone are just straightup demos, pointing out the product's features as the viewer looks on. The second format is "show the need or problem." First, you make it clear that something's not up to snuff in the consumer's life. Then, you introduce the remedy— which is, of course, the product you're selling. The third format is a variation on showing the problem. This time, you employ a "symbol, analogy, or exaggerated graphic" to represent the problem. In this Theraflu ad, for example, the problem is that a man's flu symptoms make him feel like an ogre. Thus, the ad portrays him as a literal ogre. When the man takes Theraflu, he returns to human form. The fourth format is "comparison." Here, the spotlight's on the claim that your product is superior to those of your competitors. In this Charles Schwab ad, a man complains that he hates his current stockbroker's hefty commissions. At the end of the spot, Schwab promises a better deal. To me, the difference between "comparison" and "showing the problem" can get a bit fuzzy sometimes. By definition, a comparison highlights the problems with your competitor. Many ads fall somewhere along a continuum between these two formats. Others are more clearly in one camp or the other. For example, a new product treating a malady you've never even heard of before—like, say, "restless leg syndrome"—is a good candidate for a pure "show the problem" approach. (In some cases, the problem is so new that there aren't yet established competitors to compare yourself with.) The fifth format is the "exemplary story." These ads weave a narrative that helps illustrate the product's benefits. In Gunn's words, the key is to create "a situation where you'd use [the product] and be very glad for it." With only 30 seconds to spin a yarn, many story ads end up feeling hokey. (Sissy's school play is tonight, but there's a stain on her carrot 478196195 2 costume. What will mom do?) But a well-done story spot can be a gripping little episode. Consider this Volkswagen ad. It's shocking and violent, but at heart it's really just an exemplary story spot. Once upon a time, some people went for a ride in a Volkswagen, gabbed about trivial matters, got into a scary accident, and emerged unscathed—thanks to the VW's excellent safety features. The end. The sixth format is "benefit causes story." You conceive the ad back-to-front, by imagining a trail of events that might be caused by the product's benefit. In the example Gunn uses, a man on a safari screams when a lion charges him. It's then revealed, to the amusement of the man's friends (and also the viewer), that he's been looking through the powerful zoom lens of his Olympus camera. The lion is, in fact, hundreds of yards away. In this Lynx ad, we see a series of attractive women forgiving a guy's uncouth behavior. (It's OK that you're late, it's OK that you forgot my birthday, it's OK that you cheated on me, and so forth.) In the payoff, it's revealed that the guy has been using Lynx body spray. The product's benefit—beguiling women to the point of dementia—creates the story. By my informal tally, this is the least popular of the formats—perhaps because it requires a bit of deduction on the viewer's part. That extra work may be too much to ask of an audience in the era of short attention spans and widespread TiVos. The seventh format is "tell it"—also known as "presenter," "testimonial," or "A-tells-B." This can take the form of a kindly neighbor or best-friend spot ("Oh, I used to get arthritis when I gardened, too—here, try my Ouch-Be-Gone pills"). It can be a "real person" testimonial ("I've never slept so well before—thanks, Adjust-o-Foam mattress!"). Or it might be a classic talking-head ad (often the talking head will wear a white lab coat— which assures us beyond doubt that he's a trustworthy expert). This UPS spot is a presenter ad with a twist, injecting a little welcome novelty into the format. Here, the talking head spices up his presentation with a series of mesmerizing whiteboard drawings. The eighth format is "ongoing characters and celebrities." One big challenge when making an ad is to ensure that your brand "gets credit" for the spot. The viewer may remember the ad just fine and yet forget which brand it was for. The use of a recurring character, or celebrity, can help cement a brand's identity into the viewer's brain. Think Jared for Subway. Or the Energizer bunny. Or, my favorite, shown here: the Geico cavemen. The ninth format is the "symbol, analogy, or exaggerated graphic" demonstrating a benefit of the product. (Recall that earlier we saw this technique used to demonstrate a problem that the product solves.) A Starbucks spot from a few years ago used the '80s band Survivor to symbolize the invigorating effects of a double-shot espresso drink. In the spot's formulation, sipping the espresso makes you feel like the band is trailing you around all day, shouting out your name to the adrenaline-pumping chords of "Eye of the Tiger." The promised benefit of Metamucil is, of course, egestive regularity. In the rather cringe-making ad shown here, the geyser "Old Faithful" becomes a symbol of that benefit. 478196195 3 The 10th format is "associated user imagery": The advertiser showcases the type of people it hopes you'll associate with the product. Often these will be hip, funny, or good-looking people. But sometimes the associated users are goofy or geeky—it depends on the target market. This Nike spot is one of my favorite ads ever. I love its brilliant editing (watch the cuts accelerate), its ass-kicking AC/DC track (I air-drum each time I hear it), and its inspirational vibe (it makes me want to just, I don't know ... do it). It's also classic associated user imagery. Who wears Nike? Dedicated, hardworking athletes, like Tom Brady, Alex Rodriguez, that kid practicing soccer, and that gray-haired jogger lady. Those sprinkled shots of everyday people are key to the ad's genius. In some ads, we just see the star jocks on screen and are expected to make the associative leap on our own. (Hey, I'll be like Tom Brady if I buy Nike stuff.) This ad helps make the leap for us. The 11th format is "unique personality property." These spots highlight something indigenous to the product that will make it stand out. It could be the country of origin (a sports car boasting about its German engineering). It could be the product's unusual moniker ("With a name like Smucker's, it has to be good"). Or it could be the company's founder. In this ad for Dyson vacuums, founder James Dyson describes how he carefully designed his product. By putting Dyson front and center, the spot adds a memorable dimension to the brand: "Oh, that clever British chap invented it." Note that this ad (like many others on TV) might be considered a hybrid of multiple formats. Besides the unique personality property, it also throws in elements of showing the need. And it even has some associated user imagery. Yes, Dyson is the company founder. But he also comes off as a smart, vaguely hip, functionality-obsessed fellow— just the sort of person the Dyson consumer imagines himself to be. The 12th and final format is the "parody or borrowed format." This is a popular approach these days, perhaps because pop-culture references have become our common language. Recent ads have parodied movies, TV shows—and even other ads. At its worst, a parody is a lazy way to gin up some tepid humor. Done well, however, a parody can be both memorable and hilarious. My favorite parody ad (and another of my favorite ads of all time) is Geico's "Tiny House." This spot plays on the endless proliferation of reality TV shows, and the parody is so perfectly executed that it actually fooled me more than once. You might think the new advertising landscape—with viral videos and branded Webisodes—would render Donald Gunn's theory obsolete. But in fact, I find the theory still holds strong. The famous BMW films series was just associated user imagery, with some demo elements tossed in. Burger King's "Subservient Chicken"? A symbol of the product's benefit: Your chicken sandwich is made to order, however you like it. Gunn has always viewed his theory as a useful crutch for the desperate ad writer. When stuck for an idea—late at night, with the client expecting a presentation in the morning— the crazed creative can run through the 12 formats in hopes that one will strike a spark of inspiration. (What if I try this spot as a demo? Or wait—it might be perfect as a parody!) 478196195 4 To me, the 12 formats serve equally well as a weapon of defense for the consumer under assault from endless advertising messages. It's like learning how a magic trick works: Once the secret's revealed, the trick loses all its power. *** ********** Posted Thursday, July 26, 2007, at 4:46 PM ET Seth Stevenson was online at Washingtonpost.com on Thursday, July 26, to talk about Donald Gunn's theory of the 12 basic ads and the methodology of advertising. An unedited transcript of the chat follows. Munich, Germany: I wasn't able to watch the video presentation of your article, but it reads as though you're saying that if you know the strategies, then you'll be able to withstand the psychology behind the pitch. I'm wondering, though, if that would make TV watching or Internet surfing more or less pleasurable for someone who isn't an advertising professional like yourself. Seth Stevenson: Well, I'm not sure I'm an advertising professional so much as someone who watches lots of ads and then makes fun of them. But to answer your question: For those who still watch ads (as opposed to DVR'ing past them), I think knowing the tricks makes the experience MORE pleasurable. You're smarter about what's going on in those devious sales pitches, and you can sort of get inside the heads of the ads' creators and think about why they framed the ads in a certain manner. Worcester, Mass.: Is the parent company of Slate hosting an online chat a thirteenth type of ad? Seth Stevenson: Hello, Woostah! Hmmmm... I would say this is more a promotion than an advertisement. But perhaps you could think of this as Format 1: "demo" ad. I'm giving you a demonstration of the sort of hilarious and trenchant commentary you'll find at Slate.com. How much would you expect to pay for that? $50? $100? Hold onto your hat, because it's COMPLETELY FREE! Accokeek, Md.: How do you see the popularity of YouTube and other amateur-friendly video formats affecting or transforming the 12 types of ads? And do you think CNN's choice to use presidential debate questions submitted through YouTube lends that format more credibility? washingtonpost.com: What's Up?: Questions From the People, Sharp to Strange (Post, July 24) Seth Stevenson: I don't think YouTube really affects the 12 formats. It's just another way to publish ads. Those ads will still fit into the same categories. I suppose it's possible that by opening up broadcasting platforms to a much larger population, someone will eventually invent some novel sales technique. But I doubt it: Advertising has been around for a long time and seen the adoption of all kinds of new platforms, and the techniques at the heart of persuasion have remained the same. St. Louis: Seth, David Shenk just wrote an article for Slate looking back at the book he wrote ten years ago called Data Smog. He goes on to discuss in the article his theory at 478196195 5 the time that the proliferation of information would push "marketers to become increasingly outrageous in order to capture our attention." If this is true, how do you see this trend shaping the 12 different types of ads? washingtonpost.com: The E Decade: Was I Right About the Dangers of the Internet in 1997? (Slate, July 26) Seth Stevenson: I do think ads have become increasingly provocative and wacky in an effort to cut through the clutter. Look particularly at the ads made by the agency Crispin Porter + Bogusky, which handles accounts for Burger King, Ask.com, and Volkswagen. They've really tried to push the taste and normalcy envelope on occasion. Or look at candy ads for brands like Skittles and Starburst, which of late have become fonts of bizarre, absurdist humor with little connection to the product. Frederick, Md.: Seth, very interesting article—reminded me of the "subliminal seduction" theories of advertising that were floating around when I attended college (back in the 1980s). I admit I am hooked by the Sonic Drive-In ads that show huge closeups of their ice cream shakes and slushes. There's not one near here, and often when I go to a new town I find myself checking to see if they have a Sonic! 478196195 6