Long, lavish event ads target jaded, resistant consumers
Entertainment, but where's the pitch?
By David Hiltbrand Inquirer Staff Writer
We have seen the future of advertising, and it is devilishly clever.
On television, in movie theaters, and on the Internet, a new breed of commercial is emerging. These stealth spots tend to be longer - up to five minutes - and lavishly produced, and often disguised as legitimate entertainment:
Golf great Tiger Woods gamely re-creates the demented groundskeeper played by Bill Murray in Caddyshack for American Express.
In "The Squeeze," a poignant and funny short film sponsored by Miller Brewing Co. and shown on ESPN in 90-second increments, a Boston family tries to accommodate both the funeral of a loved one and a decisive Red Sox playoff game on the same afternoon.
Biking legend Lance Armstrong pedals through sublimely beautiful American vistas in a picture postcard from Nike.
In a series of mini-sitcoms soft-selling credit-card services, Jerry Seinfeld pals around with an all-too-human Superman.
You may not even be aware you're seeing a pitch during these seductive event ads. That's the point. They are designed to sneak under the radar of today's increasingly jaded and resistant consumers.
"In an environment of commercial clutter and technological advancements that can eliminate commercials altogether, such as TiVo, the imperative will be to extend commercial messages beyond the traditional 30-second ad," says John Rash, senior vice president at the advertising agency Campbell Mithun, which has headquarters in Minneapolis. "It can be done in many forms, but [it usually] involves a key celebrity or an innovative storytelling technique. This trend will be accelerating not just in television but in movie theaters, the Internet, and other media venues."
A curious component of these commercials is that the product placement tends to be remarkably understated. In one installment of "The Squeeze," for instance, the beer is seen only briefly, and then through a bag. Viewers remember the ads, but they often can't recall what was being sold.
"The less commercial the message becomes, the more viewers are likely to watch and not hit the mute or channel-switch button," Rash says. "It's more important for advertisers to be noticed with a subtle message than to be ignored with an obtrusive message."
In effect, the new breed of ad succeeds by camouflaging its purpose, a deception that doesn't sit well with everyone.
"To some people, it may seem manipulative and downright dishonest," says Åsk Wäppling, an international ad critic. "Of course, those consumers wouldn't [be swayed by] the ad in any case."
For better or worse, the commercial form is mutating so quickly and elaborately that ads are now being hyped as bonus programming on TV.
If you tuned in last week to any of the sanitized reruns of Sex and the City on TBS, you saw teasers for "Jerry Seinfeld in something very funny."
What the teaser didn't say is that his appearance was in an extended ad for American Express.
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