No More Stupid Commercials

They’re All the Same
Have you every heard anybody say, “there are no new ideas?” Or how about “yeah, yeah, it’s all been done before?”

While I hope originality and creativity will never die, there may be something to the similarities or common approaches you often see in commercials. According to super-uber-advertising-overlord-guru Donald Gunn, there are 12 “master f0rmats” into which all ads can be categorized.

Donald Gunn – The Man, The Myth, The Legend
Now Donald Gunn is an advertising god among mere mortals, having worked at world-famous advertising agency Leo Burnett in Chicago , winner of numerous awards and publisher of the Gunn Report.

He’s forgotten more about advertising than most of us will ever know.

Donald Gunn took the time to research, compare and analyze what elements were found in award winning ads. Not only did Gunn compile lists and rankings, he found that the most award-winning ads also achieved the most market success and client satisfaction. In other words, he figured out that they actually work.

Credit Seth Stevenson
In a series of presentations, award shows and lectures, Mr. Gunn  has listed what these 12 formats are. In a must-read article by Slate’s Seth Stevenson from back in 2007, in which he organized these formats and discussed each, you can begin to appreciate how incredibly well these classifications can work. Seth’s brilliant writing created a lasting buzz back then and his continued writings are an inspiration for this section.

By the Dozen
Here’s a quick list of each format, what they mean and just the tip of the examples iceberg.

1. Demo
While the world of infomercials and direct response television would never be able to show us how to operate a Flowbee or see  those Ginsu knives in action without a righteous product demo, think more in regular commercial terms like all those lawn mowers in action or super absorbency of paper towels or (ahem) feminine products or just see the Wagner Power Painter.

2. Show the Need or Problem
Again, infomercial lovers can relate to their endless portrayals of idiots that cannot perform even the simplest of tasks without that wonder product.  For the non-late night cable crowd, see the Flomax commercials for a good case of too much information and a bad case of stupid commercials.

3.Variation on Showing the Problem
Through the use of  a  “symbol, analogy, or exaggerated graphic” to represent the problem we gain a whole new insight into the product. In Seth Stevenson’s article he includes Lamisil’s Digger the dermatophyte as a great example of this format, and I wholeheartedly concur. Note the particularly harsh treatment Digger receives at the end of the spot, prompting an outcry from some fungal rights activists.

4. Comparison
Side by side, mano a mano. This where you’ll often find one product declared the winner in a side by side comparison over the “leading brand.” If it’s so good, how come it’s not the leading brand? But it doesn’t have to be visual comparisons, advertisers often reference their competition indirectly or the famous before/after. Personally, I am a trash bag stuffer from way back and have witnessed the physics of trash bag failure feature in this classic spot for Hefty trash bags.

5. Exemplary story
The best ones give you pause for thought or can even be downright inspirational. Jared Fogle’s dramatic weight loss by eating only at Subway became such a success story it launched its own diet and landed Jared a job with the company and became a cultural icon. More contemporary spots would be Valerie Bertinelli’s weight loss success with Jenny Craig.

6. Benefit Causes Story
The features of a product are not the real focus in these types of spots but rather the beneficial results they create.  Probably no story is more heartwarming than the wonderful rewards you too can reap by eating Burger King’s mini burgers.  Eat them and you too can become a chick magnet. How about keeping your kids from getting sick? That’s the benefit in this Clorox Wipes spot.

7. Tell it, Presenter, Testimonial,  or A-tells-B
The bottom line here is someone is telling or guiding the story either through narration or direct presentation. One of my all time stupid favorites is the “I’m not a doctor, but I play one on TV” concept for Vicks Formula 44 cough syrup. It was delivered by actor Peter Bergman who played Dr. Cliff Warner on the soap opera All My Children. It’s become such an often- repeated catch phrase today that it feeds Format 12 on this list. In another example from a while ago, racing legend A.J. Foyt delivers the word on Craftsman tools.

8. Ongoing characters and celebrities
This one is easy to spot. Everything from the GEICO lizard or their cavemen to Ed McMahon convincing me that I could be the next Publisher’s Clearing House millionaire. A true classic was Orson Welles pitching wines from Paul Masson, with his deep rich voice persuading you, “We will sell no wine, because we drink it all the time,” or something like that.

9. Demonstrating Benefit Using a Symbol, Analogy, or Exaggerated Graphic
A great example of this approach is what KY is doing with their new mix ‘em-and-get-a-nuclear-explosion sauces for pleasure. Cell phone companies also do some extraordinarily clever work in this regard. Note how the rollover minutes are portrayed in this great spot from AT&T (along with a whole series of spots featuring mom busting everyone’s chops about throwing out those minutes). AT&T again delivers on these spots with the “More bars in more places” idea. Can you spot all the depictions of the bars in the background? There are at least seven.

10. Associated User Imagery
The advertiser showcases the type of people it hopes you’ll associate with the product. From super moms in the kitchen to super models with super hair that will only blow in slow motion you’ll find plenty of this going on. A super classic of this type is the famous Taster’s Choice Coffee series of ads from the late 80′s helped make an instant coffee seem elegant. The chemistry between the two lead actors didn’t hurt either. They became such a hit, millions followed their growing relationship through each commercial. The male actor, Anthony Stewart Head, went on to fame in the series Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

11. Unique personality property
This refers to something that is unique to the product or service. It could be anything from where the product comes from like Florida Orange Juice to the Men’s Wearhouse’s George Zimmer guaranteeing your going to like the way you look.  Another examples of this is Budweiser’s “drinkability” campaign which I struggle to understand. The commercials are always well done, but I’m still not sure how Bud is more drinkable.

12. Parody or Borrowed Format
If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em! This is very common technique and nowadays nothing is safe from parody either. They can range from the land of blah like this borrowed game show from Nationwide to the absolutely extraordinary Mac vs. PC series doing a parody of the operating systems and while indirectly spoofing each company’s founders as well.

What Does It All Mean?
I think that while these ad formats are a guide into understanding the creative approaches to commercials, I think we’ll never fully penetrate the minds of advertisers or figure out why sometimes good ideas turn out so incredibly bad. I think that nearly every commercial is a hybrid of several formats mashed together. Some are so mashed together today that it can be difficult to keep styles from blending together.

So the next time you see a commercial, look for the signs and remain vigilant for anything stupid!