Oreo: the brand that brings people together

Selling your brand through an emotional concept tends to be a lot more effective than using a product oriented one and I don't just mean using the shock factor.

This ad by Oreo is simple, yet amazing. It doesn't talk about the product, but it shows the relationship between father & son and lets the ad do the talking for them. Neat. What better way to depict your brand than through the beauty of relationships?

Heaven & Hell

I saw this advertisement for Samsonite by JWT, titled 'Heaven & Hell' and I absolutely loved it!!











 (You can click to see a larger image)
The ad captures the essence of what the brand is all about, and what an effective way to do it. That's right you never know what happens to your luggage once its checked in, and its definitely not as smooth a ride as it is for you we all notice a little wear and tear ...hence building on that theme (and with a little exaggeration of course!) you have an effective ad which depicts what the brand quality is all bout. Nothing happens to a Samsonite...period!

This ad is great for the brand, but I could not help wonder, would this affect people's perceptions of airlines and their luggage handling systems? Should we be a little afraid that we actually need suitcases like Samsonite?
I guess its this uncertainty which what the ad capitalizes on and which makes it so effective, leaving you feeling that your luggage had just a smooth ride as you.

Copycat Advertising.. Does it add any value??

I recently came across a post in which a question was raised about two ads by Nissan & Renault which were shockingly similar..the question was, which one came first?

Honestly, I do not know the answer, but what I am more curious about is why are they similar in the first place?

Both adverts, were for the brands' new line of electric cars, product similarity is not justification enough.
On the same vein of thought, a couple of deodorant  advertisements in India came under fire for being "too sexy" for public viewing. I assume that these brands intended on copying the "the Axe effect" to promote their brands as well.

But is there a point to copycat advertising?
I Think Not.

It just goes to show that, the brand in question does not have its own identity, but is dependent on the success of the brand they are copying. In fact, it may even have a negative effect in the sense that the viewer may end up comparing both ads and if yours is of an inferior quality it may just drive up the sales of the original brand.  So what then is the point of spending money to advertise your brand, when all you may be doing is promoting the brand whose creative was original in the first place? None!

It is better to have your own brand identity even if it may be as popular, but at least your original.

Ads which leave you HUH?!

Have you ever seen an advertisement and been like HUH?!
This usually happens when the ad in question either:
a)  does not connect to the recipient,
b) just does not add any value to the brand
OR
c) Both of the above.

I recently saw two ads which left me wondering what exactly were they trying to convey.
The first is for Chevrolet Celta: False Alarm
After viewing it, I was left wondering what does a "false alarm" got to do with the car? was the car meant for teens/young adults? did it help avoid "accidents"...or is it the car to be used when your still learning? so many questions and no answers... either way I don't see the value.

The second ad was for the Texas Dept of State Health Services (whew), for teenage smoking.

According to the ad's copy as a fact 8 out of 10 teens don't smoke any more...so what's the purpose of the ad? is it to display its effectiveness? or as visuals a teen stopping his friend from smoking the purpose of it is to discourage smoking? mixed signals...

As a future note, it would be much appreciated by viewers like myself if an advertisement was consistent and actually meant something for the brand.