Ad Breakdown: Absolut’s “X-ray”
Direct response advertising has its place, sure. But it isn’t the only form of advertising. Today’s ad breaks lots of the famous “direct response rules”: it has no urgency, no CTA, no ‘reason to buy now’. Yet this ad – and the rest of the campaign – became one of the most successful in modern […]
Ad Breakdown: Rolls-Royce’s “Electric Clock” (David Ogilvy)
David Ogilvy. The “Father of Advertising”. The man loved by both advertisers and direct-response copywriters. Gary Halbert referred to him as a “legend” and “one of the very few advertising men alive today who commands my total respect.” Today, we’re looking at Ogilvy’s most famous ad. The one for Rolls-Royce. In popularity, it sits just […]
Ad Breakdown: Jaffa’s “Read the Grapefruit”
I’m not really a grapefruit kinda guy. I don’t often buy them. So I don’t really eat them. But I don’t mind the taste, so I occasionally dabble in foods and beers that have them in. Their sharpness can be nice with other things – just not alone. It might come as no surprise then […]
Ad Breakdown: Volvo’s 480 Turbo and Ferrari F40
A lot of advertising, especially the advertising I look at here, isn’t direct response. It’s ‘brandvertising’, which plants seeds for future decision-making. And to work, it has to almost re-rank brands in your mind. So, for example, when you enter the market for a car, “I want a car” becomes “I want a Volvo”. Today’s […]
Ad Breakdown: Stella Artois’ “Guitar” (Reassuringly Expensive #2)
Recently, I’ve been drawn to taglines. And, to be honest, most suck. Brands want them but don’t put in the time or thinking they deserve to make them the persuasive, brand-building tool they can be. Instead, most taglines are like placeholder text or a tickbox exercise. Or, in other words, evidence that a tagline’s potential […]
Ad Breakdown: Purina’s “Postmen”
You only have a few seconds to get your message across and make it stick. It’s a competitive world out there. With stimuli everywhere. And if you try to communicate multiple messages at once, you’ll only dilute your main message, so nothing does. One message, repeated, makes it easier for your reader to remember what […]
Ad Breakdown: Levington’s “Tested”
In longer pieces of copy, it’s normal to see claims grow in size as we progress through. They often start with something easily believable, like common knowledge and gradually push the boundary. You see, once we’ve made a ‘psychological commitment’, we tend to stay consistent with it and act accordingly. It’s how we’re wired. But […]
Ad Breakdown: Comfort’s “Cacti”
Then vs now. With vs without. Dream vs reality. Comparison ads are the quick and lazy option for advertisers. They’re so simple it’s almost comical. But just because they’re simple doesn’t make them bad or ineffective – far from it. In fact, because they’re so often the ‘go-to’, they reveal insights into how we think […]
Ad Breakdown: Heinz’s “Four People”
Baked beans. The quintessential food in every British household. And rightly so, they’re frickin’ delicious. Most of us are familiar with Heinz’s or Maurice Drake’s infamous beer-and-sandwich-infused tagline, “Beanz Meanz Heinz” from 1967. But we’re less familiar with other baked bean advertising. So today we’re going to look at one that caught my eye from […]
Ad Breakdown: Land Rover’s “Steve”
Some ads catch your eye. Some ads hold your eye. And some ads work their magic before your eye(s). This ad did all three to me. You see, when I’m looking for ads to analyse, I usually know pretty quickly whether it has ‘breakdown potential’. And I did with this ad too. Because as I […]