Infographics are getting hot these days and, riding this trend, the Economist launched a juicy advertising campaign showing us, once more, how to be effective without using stunning images and talking to a selected audience.
And if you want to know more about the possibilities of visual information beyond the classical field of diagrams, take a look at DATA FLOW, an inspiring book, published by Gestalten, concerning complexity, simplification and readability solutions in information design.
Media producer Scott Blaszak tried to imagine what the future of marketing could be, and this video, published on Slate, is the result. Are we really heading in this direction?
Milan, end of August: the summer break has ended, and everyone is returning back to work. Slowly, the city is recovering its normal busy pulse. I don’t know about you, but for me the end of vacations, much more than New Year’s Eve, represents a new start and I’m more inclined to reflect upon what I normally do during the year, and especially about my job as a copywriter. Many words were spent on advertising until the onset of the 90s: in fact, before that decade, words could easily reach the 60% of total weight of an ad.
Nowadays images rule virtuallly unchallenged. A major exception arises when we deal with “digital brand strategy”, though, since interaction is involved. It’s about creating the right environment that nurtures opportunities for interpersonal exchange. Building relations with people online means engaging with reactions, emotions and conversations. In this case, writing becomes more essential than showing. To prove the enduring power of the written word, I’d like to share with you a video which is helping me find a fresh start for this year’s business season. It’s the story of a copywriter who with few strokes of the pen manages to transform the experience of another man. The director won the Cannes 2008 Online Competition.
As Donald Gunn taught us in 1978, one of the master formats of advertising is “associated user imagery”. This kind of ad “showcases a type of people it hopes you’ll associate with the product”, in order to transfer the qualities of the people to the product you are trying to sell. In fact, I think this is the format Renault Koreos’ advertisers used to create the following TV ad I just saw last night. The only difference is that here instead of people they’ve got cars.
For the first 47 seconds, this 60-second video promotes the new French SUV in Italy using vintage footage about old Renault models, soundtracked by the irresistible “I’m free” by Rolling Stones, and then finally switches to the brand-new gas-guzzling beast rescuing the old sisters from muddy troubles, concluding with a reassuring voice saying: “4×4 outside, Renault inside”.
I’ve had three cars in my life,and two of them were Renaults. Watching the first 47 seconds I was carried away by all that technicolor galore. But when I saw the 4×4 entering the scene, I jumped on my sofa in disbelief. Even if every single second of the ad was trying to convince me, and was doing it well, then that Renault just didn’t fit it in the picture. Do you remember that classic IQ test question asking: “In this set, which object does not belong?”, that’s how that SUV popped up to my eyes.
In Italy, SUV sales have increased fourfold in a decade, but this growth is parallel to also two other things: the awareness that this type of car is not suited for the European city and that a low-gas/low-emission economy is fast becoming a stark reality.
Releasing a SUV now (emitting 230 g/km CO2 when the limit for 2015
is going to be 125) for the first time in 2008, when even GM is is closing four SUV plants, doesnt fit in the values the Renault brand has long being associated with: vision, innovation, casualness, and daring.
Investigating about the concept of this car I found this old post
describing the Koleos prototype with these words:
The new concept car also offers prompt response and driving pleasure, with a hybrid power unit that combines a two-litre 16-valve turbocharged petrol engine with an
electric motor.
So what happened to the hybrid SUV? I have yet to find an answer.
I think that never like today paying attention to your brand values and your audience (and reality) attracts more money than a good ad. And looking at this 1973 Renault 4 (190g/km) retromercial had me dwelling on another question: what in the world we need SUVs for?
Here’s the solution to yesterday quiz:
Stay tuned!
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