Old Spice – Pomade Radio
At first, looking at the time, I thought the commercial was way too long. Especially for a commercial for Old Spice. By the end of the commercial I was singing along and I knew that if I needed to tell anyone where to find it that they should go to CVS pharmacy.
Old Spice has a way of creating memorable commercials that get stuck in your head. In this case they are using the classic jingle approach to remind you over and over that their product is the product that you want in your daily hair routine.
The humor in this ad is that “radio callers” are requesting the jingle like it is a song. This is a really great use of the campaign because with radio, you don’t have the luxury of using images to drive your marketing home.
Listen to Ad: https://aef.com/ad-campaigns/old-spice-pomade-radio/
Objective: Encourage people to buy Old Spice Pomade
Target Market: Men & Girlfriend that want their men to have great hair.
Call to Action: Buy Pomade from CVS Pharmacy
Value Proposition: Humor. “You put it in your hair, not your arm pit hair, but your head of hair.” They even give you directions on how to use it, just in case it wasn’t clear.
McDonald’s – I Am the Middle Bun
The radio commercial is being narrated in “spanglish”. The narrators bounces back and forth between English and Spanish as he describes the Big Mac as a poem called “Un Big Mac Life”.
He personifies the Big Mac as himself. The two all beef patties are the two sides of his life – the things that make him Spanish American (patty one – his family, patty two – American staples that he loves).
“Messier with each bite. Like life, if it’s not, then you aren’t doing it right”.
Listen to Ad: https://aef.com/ad-campaigns/middle-bun-english/
Objective: Sell Big Macs
Target Market: All people across every culture
Call to Action: Be a Big Mac (diverse)
Value Proposition: Cultural Awareness. With McDonald’s being world wide, but orginating in America, there are an aray of people that would relate to this ad. Tied to their heritage, but living their reality.
Netflix – Grandma/Goth
“Have you seen *insert movie or tv show*, it’s on Netflix”.
Daily Facebook Post that I scroll Past: “Looking for Netflix suggestions”
Netflix gets so much free advertisement from their consumers – making recommendations of things to watch – that it’s hard to believe that they would pay for advertisement. It’s smart though because hearing or seeing an ad keeps the product/service on your mind.
This commercial is a conversation between a young man and an older woman. We later find out that they know each other. The older woman is the young (Goth) man’s grandmother. Even with their core and generational differences they can enjoy the same movie, on Netflix.
Watch the ad: https://aef.com/ad-campaigns/grandmagoth/
Objective: Promote Netflix
Target Market: Everyone! All ages, all interests.
Call to Action: Find something to watch on Netflix
Value Proposition: Connection. Movies are enjoyed alone, but they can also be used to bring people together. People have their first dates with movies, they share quality time over movies, and more. This commercial is sparking a desire to build those connections by watching Netflix.
Mini USA – Colonoscopy
I was not expecting that commercial! It didn’t click to me that Mini USA was the company that owns the Mini Cooper Car. So, to see the title of this ad be named Colonoscopy was interesting. Good thing it’s a radio ad because I would have never seen the name of the ad!
This ad highlights a man running into someone he knows and catching up on life. He lists all these terrible things that have happened to him – colonoscopy (oh, now I get it), cheating wife, sick dog, etc. Even with all that, he says his life is good because he has a Mini Cooper.
I new car will make you feel better, but not really long term.
Listen to Ad: https://aef.com/ad-campaigns/colonoscopy/
Objective: Promote the Mini Cooper Car
Target Market: Middle Aged Men (Midlife Crisis?)
Call to Action: Buy a Mini Cooper
Value Proposition: Humor. The humor was “ironic” but it does make you laugh.
Ad Council – Learned
The kids in this ad list all of the things that they learned in school. None of them were related to academics and all of the things that they learned were things that they learned while being bullied.
The message is loud and clear – bullying leaves a bigger impression on your than anything else in your day.
“The only thing I didn’t learn *dramatic pause* is why no-one ever helps”. This ad is bringing awareness not just to direct bullying, but also indirect bullying. If you ( or your child) doesn’t speak up for bullying, you may be worse than the problem.
One of my favorite quotes from Martin Luther King Jr. is “Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about the things that matter.”
Don’t be silent.
Listent to Ad: https://aef.com/ad-campaigns/learned/
Objective: Bring Awareness to Bullying in School
Target Market: School aged kids, parents, family friends, schools
Call to Action: Don’t be silent. Speak up against bullying
Value Proposition: Empathy
Elaina,
I love all of the Old Spice ads. I analyzed several of them as well. This one is effective, because by the end, you know exactly what the song is about, and you know exactly where to find that product.
Tripp
Tripp,
Old Spice has a great way of using humor to connect people with their products. I have no use for Old Spice and I would still talk about their commercials because they entertained me.
Thanks for your comment.
Elaina
I enjoyed your analysis of these radio ads. The Netflix ad was interesting. You wouldn’t think that a television based service would translate well to radio, but they make it work. I liked the idea of making connections with other viewers. It is nice to be reminded that even though we have differences, we have many more similarities.
Colby,
I had to listen to the Netflix ad a few times to really get the message. I guess that can work to the company’s advantage, but it can also create challenges. It honestly was a surprise to even see an add for Netflix at all because of how great their word of mouth marketing is.
Thanks for engaging conversation!
Elaina
Elaina,
Another good selection of ads for this post. All of your analyses were well thought out and easy to follow along with for your readers. I loved the Old Spice ad, Old Spice always does a great job with their ads. I almost always go back for a second watch on youtube when I get a good Old Spice ad. They know how to engage their market!
Jake,
Thank you for the feedback! I appreciate knowing that the way I presented and organized my submission was user friendly. Old Spice certainly knows how to draw consumers in! I love their commercials.
Elaina