1907 Men's Advertisment

We live in a post-TiVo era.  Every schmo with a Twitter handle tells you how the world is changing.  Social Media's rising!  Two-way dialogues!  But, advertising isn't dead.  Smart advertising, that is.  It's simply changed form, leveraging insights and best practices from Word of Mouth.

A recent Old Spice spot is a jolt to the jugular, breaking the "fourth wall" to spur direct dialogue with its Ikea-computer-chair-sitting consumer.  Currently, it is infinitely talked about and recommended on Twitter.  It has been viewed over a million times on YouTube.

It's a reminder of what great ads should be.  Unforgettable.  Fully-articulating and linking the product's functional and emotional benefits, in a way that you want to keep watching, appreciating and sharing, over and over again.  Cleverly targeted to the product purchaser (the woman in the house), it still vehemently appeals to the product user (the man).  By its very nature, it demands to be reckoned with.  The ad reminds tech-savvy, video/photo sharing, self-sufficient, 21st century consumers that a larger, more powerful, and more expert force exists [the brand], able to create an experience and deliver a tangible benefit [the product] capable of improving their lives.  The ad empowers the brand to spark and lead a dialogue with its consumers.  It is a perfect example of how advertising and word of mouth work hand in hand. 

It is reminiscent and perhaps inspired by the same consumer insights that sparked the recent (and highly talkable) Dos Equis "Most Interesting Man in the World" formula:

1. Present holier than thou immortal to couch-slumping Americans.
2. Show him leading an extraordinary, ridiculous, adventurous life in a tongue in-cheek way that incites excitement and laughter.
3. Articulate that while you, mere consumer, will never be as immortal as he, you can take a first step to becoming like him. 
4. Insert product and articulate or imply its benefits here.
5. Button up ad and reinforce recall of brand through clever tagline ("Stay Thirsty, My Friends") or non-lyrical jingle (the Old Spice whistle)
   
   

This ad, like the Dos Equis spot, effectively addresses the fact that consumers know they are being marketed to, and are resistant to it.  Rather than trying to manipulate them into coveting something they don't have, it humors them into acknowledging it.  It doesn't claim to elevate their lives to a wonderful new frontier.  It implies it.  And it tells you, directly, that it implies it.  No, but seriously, go check the Brand's YouTube page.  Transparency of intention.  Thus sparking a conversation.