What makes a good advert? And what makes it a total failure? I won’t try to answer that question conclusively, but I’ll give you three examples of excellently executed ads, two of which were, in my opinion, a real waste of money.

 

 

In German television a few years back, there was an advert that told a complete story. The story line was a good joke: You see a car coming through a snowstorm on a mountain pass. Cut to a mountain chalet; a woman is discussing with a man if he should leave now because her husband might be home any moment. Her short answer: ‘Not in this weather.’ Cut to the car driving up in front of a mountain chalet. Follow the driver inside, where a woman asks if his wife is not expecting him home. ‘Not in this weather.’

I saw this ad over and over again, and search me if I can tell you if it was an ad for a car or tyres and even less which brand. A good advert turned catastrophic by being funny but not to the point. The only thing worth I am able to think of is no brand marketing.

In French television, also years back, there was another funny advert with a complete story. The story line again was a good joke: You see a car coming towards a red light at a crossroads where another car going in the same direction is already waiting in the lane to turn off right. Close up, you see a middle aged well dressed woman driving the car, and beside her a gorgeous looking male model. Close up on a hand pressing a button, and you see the back of the model’s seat going down and him getting out of sight behind the dashboard. Coming to a stop in the lane going straight ahead, the woman lowers the far window looking towards the already waiting car. The middle aged gentleman in that car lowers his window, and (obviously husband and wife) they discuss the time for dinner. The light goes green, both cars drive off. Cut to a hand pressing a button, and the back of the seat beside the driver comes up, showing another gorgeous male model. Cut to the full view to show the husband’s car this time.

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Again, I saw this ad time and again. This time at least I feel confident to tell you that it was for a car, but search me for the brand. It is, in that respect much better than the first example, but still a total failure.

Both ads have a common flaw in that they are well done, witty, funny, but the joke, the story, has absolutely nothing to do with the product or the brand. Maybe a bad joke would not have distracted from the brand, but you can do better.

The positive example is to be found in celebrity advert star Aleksandr Orlov. The ingenious idea behind the first ad was to make the brand part of the punch line. Neither Aleksandr nor his meerkat by-blow Sergei have anything to do with the product or the brand they advertise. By making this the central theme of the first advert, instant stardom was granted to two charming puppets. The follow-up ads don’t need to adhere to that principle anymore, as Aleksandr has become the face of the brand with the first successful ad. This is how good advertising should work.

Even while watching a documentary on meerkats you are reminded of the ad. In one fell swoop, a brand has appropriated the exclusive connection to an animal and its species, a feat that last was successfully executed by Metro-Goldwyn-Meyer decades ago.