Is less more, and does it make you more money, or is that just a crock?

ARE WE A DAY LATE AND A DOLLAR SHORT? 
 
Depends on how you look at it. The faithful subscriber to the screed knows: we almost never talk about the Super Bowl commercials the week after the Super Bowl.
 
We wait a week or two, then examine the fallout.
 
Who ran a commercial that was especially useful for the small-business marketer looking for a scalable idea?
 
What commercial was such smart advertising that a marketer can say, "I could do that."
 
And here, two weeks out, we have winner.
 
No, it's not 84 Lumber and their sprawling, calculatedly heart-tugging, pro-immigrant message.
 
It's not Peter Fonda half a century after the anti-establishment, anti-materialist idealism of Easy Rider driving away from a bunch of bikers in a $100,000 car.
 
It's not Audi's debatable "Daughter" commercial or Budweiser's Horatio-Algeresque, immigrant saga "Born the Hard Way."
 
Ready?
 
 
THE WINNER IS E-COMMERCE AND CLOUD-COMPUTING EMPIRE, AMAZON
 
Were they the funniest commercials in the big game? No.
 
Were they the most entertaining or the most poignant? Hardly.
 
What they were was salient--and they used one of the single smartest tactics in the advertiser's toolbox.
 
Amazon gave an engaging demonstration of the product as a problem solver, and did so with frequency.
 
Yep. Sounds really un-sexy.
 
But again: we're not talking million-dollar stunt commercials, of which the Super Bowl offers plenty.
 
 
WE ARE TALKING ABOUT A TEMPLATE FOR THE COMMON MAN
 
We're talking sensible creative executions and strategy that make sense no matter what's in your wallet.
 
A big problem with the Super Bowl commercial paradigm as an example of good advertising is it's an aberration.
 
It's a stunt.
 
Rarely is does a big-game advertiser think, "This message will make people race into our stores."
 
Instead, the typical advertiser who spent $5 million on a single 30-second spot that cost a million bucks to produce is looking for what the Big Guys call, "Brand Lift."
 
 
UH-OH--SOUNDS LIKE JARGON
 
No matter. It is what it is and, for our purposes, is arguably as silly as a $5-million spot buy.
 
Brand Lift refers to improving how an audience perceives a brand.
 
For instance, 84 Lumber's story about a Mexican woman and her little girl trying to reach the United States and being blocked by a giant wall is not designed to make anyone think, "Look at that wall! Wow, they have good building materials!"
 
It's designed to make the viewer feel something else entirely. It is political, polarizing, and might even piss people off. So it goes.
 
It's still going to make a lot of people feel good about 84 Lumber.
 
It is not driving traffic for a specific product or service. It is not a sales message. It is an institutional message calculated to make you feel a certain way about the advertiser's behavior.
 
 
SO, WHAT ABOUT AMAZON?
 
Good question.
 
An especially good question if you know that, several years ago, Amazon pulled much its marketing budget out of advertising.
 
They took the money they were spending on production and media and put it into free shipping.
 
It also paid off huge! Huge!
 
But obviously, they're still advertising.
 
And for the big game, they were advertising a specific product: Amazon Echo.
 
 
"ALEXA, WHAT IS AMAZON ECHO?"
 
As I was writing this, I thought, "Let's ask her that question."
 
She replies, "Amazon Echo is a device designed around your voice that can provide information, music, news, weather and more."
 
Not as much as much fun as asking her, "Alexa, what do you look like?"
 
Her reply is, "I look like lots of ones and zeroes."
 
So anyway, if you don't know the product, Amazon Echo is what they call a "smart speaker." It's a cylinder about 9 inches tall. And via the internet, Echo connects to Amazon's voice-controlled intelligent personal assistant, Alexa. She's a little like Siri. Only, she sounds prettier.
 
 
AND ALEXA WAS STARRING IN THIS YEAR'S SUPER BOWL NOT JUST ONCE, BUT THREE TIMES
 
Generally speaking, one spot is not usually enough to have an impact on a prospect vis a vis getting a sale.
 
A salient, surprising and evocative message delivered frequently is how an advertiser penetrates the prospect's psyche.
 
Which is probably why, instead of seeing a single 30-second spot for Amazon Echo, you saw three 10-second spots.
 
One was called, "Buster."
 
It's a single take of a shot of a coffee table. 
The table is filled with a vast spread of game-day food. In the middle of it all is a Boston terrier, standing in the guacamole and chowing down. Off camera, a guy with a Boston accent yells, "Buster!" He sighs. "Alexa, ask Pizza Hut to place an order." Alexa says: "OK. What would you like to order?" Cut to product shot. Graphic: "Amazon Echo."
 
 
NOT GENIUS--BUT AMUSING AND MAKES A RELEVANT POINT
 
Alexa can solve your sudden dog-in-the-dip problem.
 
Another commercial was called, "My Girl."
 
It's another single take. Shot of a guy sitting on the sofa with his young daughter. They're watching a football game.
 
The girl looks frustrated and says, "They're relying on the blitz too much."
 
The guy looks at his daughter, then looks off screen. "Alexa, play 'My Girl." Alexa says, "OK." We hear the strains of "My Girl" by the Temptations. Daughter gives the barest hint of a smile. Dad nudges her with his elbow. Cut to product shot. Graphic: "Amazon Echo."
 
 
OK, THAT MIGHT TUG AT THE HEARTSTRINGS OF THE FATHER OF A DAUGHTER
 
The third commercial might be repellent.
 
It's called "Finger Lick."
 
Sound of the game on TV. A close-up shot of a mouth licking orange dust off greasy fingers.
 
Cut to shot of the guy committing this egregious act sitting next to a woman on the sofa. He finishes licking and digs his hand back into a bowl of chips.
 
The Woman looks askance and says, "Alexa, re-order Doritos from Prime Air." Alexa says, "OK."
 
Cut to shot of product sitting in a window. Alexa says: "Look for delivery soon." A drone with the Amazon logo flies into the shot. Subtitle: "Prime Air not available in some states (or any, really). Yet."
 
 
IS THAT BUZZ YOU HEAR THE SOUND OF A DRONE?
 
More likely, it's the sound of people eagerly anticipating Amazon Prime Air delivery.
 
Gross-out photography and mastication audio is usually a bad idea.
 
It's hard to ever excuse it.
 
That said, viewers paid attention.
 
There was a whole lot of online buzz about this commercial even though drone delivery seems a long way off.
 
And all three of these commercials are simple storytelling with a theme of problem solving.
 
They are frequent and consistent in their delivery of the message.
 
And this model neither began nor ended with the Super Bowl.
 
 
AMAZON HAD ALREADY CREATED MORE THAN 100 SIMILAR MESSAGES
 
Most of them have appeared as online videos.
 
Example...
 
Overhead, subjective camera shot of a guy loading up a plate with dozens of chicken wings. "Alexa, how many calories in a chicken wing?" Alexa: "A chicken wing contains 88 calories." Guy hesitates, and puts back one chicken wing. "Anyone know where the potato salad is?" Product shot of Echo. Graphic: "Amazon Echo."
 
Inexpensive to produce, clear and mildly amusing.
 
Another...
 
Close-up on frustrated man: "Alexa, ask Uber for a ride. For Todd." Cut to wide shot of a group sitting on a sofa in blue jerseys. Behind them, Todd is in a red jersey, jumping and pumping his fist. "YES!" Everyone else looks annoyed. Alexa: "There is an UberX two minutes away." A guy throws a jacket at Todd, who leaves. Product shot. Graphic: "Amazon Echo."
 
 
LONG BEFORE GAME DAY, AMAZON HAD ALREADY PENETRATED THE ZEITGEIST 
 
These messages have been out there and making themselves known.
 
They've even been part of the advertising landscape during NFL broadcasts. Their first "Alexa Moment" aired in a game last November.
 
The commercial is called, "The Break Up."
 
It's about a sappy father using Alexa to comfort his teenage daughter over a break up with a boyfriend.
 
Then (SPOILER ALERT), he uses Alexa to turn his home's sprinkler system on the offending boyfriend.
 
 
THESE ARE SIMPLE MESSAGES DELIVERED CONSISTENTLY
 
There's a good chance they will not win any major advertising awards.
 
That's not what they're for.
 
They're for creating interest in a product that people are now buying in record numbers.
 
They are simple, relevant stories told with relentless consistency.
 
If you can take away anything from any Super Bowl advertising campaign, this is the one: stories, simplicity, relevance and consistency are your friends.
 
 
EXPENSIVE STUNT ADVERTISING IS NOT
 
For the small-business marketer, it makes little sense.
 
The sprint race of blowing a huge amount of money on a one-time ad message almost never pays off.
 
A marathon does.
 
Running the marathon with simple, relevant stories told with relentless consistency in an affordable medium usually pays off for the marketer with the patience and perseverance to commit.
 
To see the Amazon "Alexa Moments" campaign, including the Super Bowl commercials, click here. Or copy and paste http://tinyurl.com/zv592yl
As always,
Blaine Parker
Your Lean, Mean Creative Director in
Park City

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