Matching the Message to the Medium.
It’s a tactic so simple, I wonder why more clients don’t take advantage of it.
The tactic I’m speaking of is for a marketer to create/remix/mash-up a commercial message to run exclusively in a specific environment. The latest case in point is Clorox Bleach, who created this television commercial to run during the airing of the acclaimed AMC series “Mad Men.”
“Mad Men” isn’t exactly tearing up in the ratings. The show averages just over a million viewers per episode, which for an original broadcast series is a microscopic audience. So why would Clorox go to the trouble of creating a one-off spot that will only run a few times at most, reach comparatively few people, and might not even index well against its core target audience?
The answer, I believe, is impact. By tongue-in-cheekily tying its creative message to recurring themes of the series, the brand shares an inside joke with the show’s fans, while still honoring the brand promise of the product (gets whites, whiter). The production values of the spot are quite modest, so it didn’t cost a heck of a lot to produce the spot.
Another important thing to note about this spot: people are talking about it. Just Google “Clorox Mad Men Commercial” and you’ll be greeted with more than a page worth of search results, with bloggers, commenters, Facebookers and even news web sites weighing in on the spot. Something tells me that doesn’t happen when Clorox runs one of its one-size-fits-all spots in the pabulum of afternoon programming.
Small investment. Big viewer involvement. Even bigger buzz.
The bigger question is, of course, will the ad help sell more product? Or was it simply a case of clever ad guys talking to each other? Time will tell. But because the spot played up the advertiser’s key sales point, I gotta think it will reinforce that point with viewers.
Advertisers have been creating special ads to run in event programs or one-time specials (such as the Super Bowl) seemingly forever. But what makes this a winner in my book is the special combination of relevant, edgy creative and spot-on placement.
It’s the kind of success you can expect if you really get to know your market and endeavor to make a meaningful connection with them.
Posted by Mickey
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