(07-25) 11:30 PDT NEW YORK, (AP) — Stocks recoiled Wednesday as signs of a tougher lending climate mounted, prompting investors to give back gains fueled by strong profits from Amazon.com Inc. and Boeing Co. Wall Street was still jittery after Tuesday’s 226-point tumble in the Dow Jones industrial average, triggered in part when mortgage lender Countrywide Financial Corp. posted a disappointing profit and forecast. Some market watchers worry that deteriorating...
Are VW Ads Sending A Dangerous Signal?
July 26th, 2007
Jeffrey Eisenbergs post on the 12-kinds of ads slideshow reminded me of the much talked-about «video.google.com», which in turn reminded me of my «www.grokdotcom.com» and modulating their intensity.
To me, this VW (Volkswagen AG) campaign gets it wrong. They do exactly the opposite of my recommendations by making the negative image as intense as possible Д even to the point of pointing the camera in a passengers-eye view in the most traumatic moments of the crash. Definitely a present tense and You perspective!
Additionally, they give the viewer only the briefest glimpse of the intact passengers after the crash. And the viewers looking at them as an audience member, in a them perspective. The brevity and perspective combine to create a final, positive image that pales in comparison to the trauma of the crash. Not good.
So naturally, I was interested in the effectiveness of the ads in driving sales. Turns out, its not perfectly clear. On one hand, it is clear that the ads generated not only publicity and buzz, but «www.usatoday.com». Also, «www.volkswagen-media-services.com», with Jetta sales leading the way.
On the other hand, the ads only played with significant frequency for a short time in April and May, and the end of 2005 was marked by release of the new model Jetta. Finally, the ads were clearly polarizing for viewers. «www.wizardofads.com» during the height of the ads, and his comments say it best:
They were inescapable yesterday during the Giants-Cowboys game on Fox. By the second one, I was flipping the channel, then flipping back after I knew it would be overThey graphically depict side-impact crashes, then show everyone walking away from the crash. However, the crashes are so unsettling that the last mental image they leave me with isnt everyone walking away, but the awful visuals and noises of the crash.
Authentic? Sure. Make me feel like buying a VW? Nope.
Of course, emotionally compelling ads will always be polarizing: you cant attract some people strongly without equally repelling others. A good copywriter should be able to bend the percentages in your favor, with more people Д or at least more of the right people Д strongly attracted and less people (mostly self-excluded people) repelled.
So, where does that leave us? With a thought experiment.
Making some rough parallels between cinematography and direction with copywriting, imagine youve been given a strategy: youre to highlight the palpable, emotional reality of car crashes (shine your light on the itch/fear), so as to present VWs safety features in an emotionally compelling light. How would you modify the commercials in order to ensure the negative image does not overwhelm the audiences associations?
Heres what I might do:
1) Keep the prelude about the same, but shorten it.
2) In the final instant before impact or just after impact, switch to a birds-eye, overhead view. Show the crash as if the audience is looking down from on top of it. Dont slow motion any of this except for maybe the instant of impact for a fraction of a second after switching views. This might help viewers re-orient better. Then jump-cut back to a passengers-eye view as the worst of the trauma is subsiding.
3) Now use every trick imaginable to make the mental image of being OK as intense as possible. Maybe even have the camera act as the drivers eyes. Show the airbag receding. Have a very audible first breath/inhale. Pan down to check the drivers hands. Open the door. Get out and look around as your friends and loved ones are getting out of the car. Make the moment of eye contact last, maybe even slow-mo it. Depending on your lactose tolerance, you might even have a passenger say, Man, Im buying a Jetta for my next car.
4) Now flash to the screenshot of the VW Jettas crash ratings.
Would that be as jarring or intense as the original? Nope.
Does that mean the ad would have been effectively neutered? I dont think so. Depending on how the thing was shot, I think that new version could be intense enough to make an impact (pun intended) without having the image of the crash overwhelm the viewer.
But at the end of the day, it doesnt matter whether you agree with me on that or whether the guidelines I posted are always right. The perspectives act as a framework in which to think about these choices so that you can examine the dynamics involved and make conscious, intelligent decisions. If you choose to risk the negative associations that come with the more intense commercial, at least youll know what you are risking and take some precautions against it.
I hope this helps.
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