Thursday, January 5, 2012

The Force Was With the Best Ad of 2011.

Amid stories that the cost for a :30 spot in the sold out 2012 Super Bowl is $3.5 million, comes concern that the size and diversity of the audience, which was 111 million last year, necessitates lousy advertising.  (Baskin, 2012)

I share that opinion.  When you try to talk to everyone, you inevitably end up speaking to no one. 

But there are exceptions to every rule, and last year Deutsch/LA proved that it was possible to create a car ad that even a Manhattanite could love.  My choice for ad of the year is VW’s “The Force.”  This charming effort which makes excellent use of storytelling techniques and hinges on a key consumer insight – parental love knows no bounds – not only succeeded in dominating the post-game discussion, it actually sold cars!  In fact, Volkswagen says that the new VW Passat had more sales in its first two months in the market than the last Passat model sold in all of 2010.  Wow! (Vranica, 2011)

Not coincidentally it was also the most viewed ad on YouTube with 45 million views.  In case you forgot how effective it was, you can take another look.  And here’s to hoping that this year’s game brings some equally pleasant surprises.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OrDU8K63hbo


Baskin, J. (2012, January 3).  The Industry’s Super Bowl Stumble.  adage.com.  Retrieved January 4, 2012, from
http://adage.com/article/cmo-strategy/advertising-industry-s-super-bowl-stumble/231874/


Vranica, S. (2011, December 27). Thumbs Up for Mini Vader: Best and Worst Ads of 2011.  wsj.com.  Retrieved January 4, 2012, from
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204058404577108861568521248.html?KEYWORDS=the+best+and+worst+ads

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