Assignment: Advertisements as Examples of Effective Storytelling
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Assignment: Advertisements as Examples of Effective Storytelling
According to Simone (2015), telling the right story helps “capture attention, entertain, enlighten, and persuade” (p.1). All these aspects are achieved at a go by the content writers. With storytelling, advertisers create a stronger connection between their brands and consumers. Likewise, storytelling makes the firm earn customers’ trust with ease. Moreover, effective storytelling helps improve the conversion rate. That said, Bhattacharya (2019) describes some characteristics that make storytelling marketing effective. These characteristics include the story that should be easy to understand, inspiring, believable, and contagious (easy to memorize and share). Below are some examples of effective storytelling marketing.
An ad titled ‘New Normal? The same Old Football’ run by Paddy Power, a betting firm, marked the Premier League’s resumption for the 2020/2021 season (Mediabistro, 2015). This ad targets football fans, reminding them despite the ongoing pandemic that has disrupted the football norm (no fans at the stadiums), the game remains the same. In the ad, Peter Crouch, a football legend with his wife, Abbey Clancy, portrays the new campaign’s new and unusual features. These features include fake crowd noise in his TV set and social distancing, which reminds people of the health protocols set to contain the spread of COVID-19 (SkySports, 2020).
In a print advert for Devil & Detail appears a monster with the caption “You Never look with Bad Breath” (Mediabistro, 2015). The use of Halloween commercial targets audiences after health living. The ad communicates to its viewers that no matter how one might appear beautiful or amazing, everyone sees you as an ugly monster with bad breath. Therefore, the ad convinces the targeted audience that they should always strive to live healthily and avoid bad breath using its products.
The ad is created for the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), a non-governmental organization focusing on wilderness conservation (WWF, 2018). The ad is concerned with the rate of wildlife decline, especially the endangered species; thus, it runs this ad to educate the masses on the importance of conserving wildlife. In the ad is a demonstration of how the animals are disappearing (Mediabistro, 2015). A public bus is used where some passengers alight at every stop, which demonstrates how the wildlife is disappearing.
The above examples show how effective storytelling marketing works. There are Some components within these stories that make them good stories. These components are discussed below; firstly, these stories have a hero (a relatable main character). In Paddy Power’s advert, Peter Crouch appears as the main hero. Crouch is also a relatable character in that he has been a professional footballer for a long; thus, it makes the advert easier to be remembered. Likewise, in Devil & Detail’s story, a monster character is used. This is a relatable character as the audience can relate the ugly monster with the message being communicated. Moreover, in the WWF character, a bus demonstration is used as the object to deliver the intended message, which it does effectively.
Another good story component is that the story must have goals, as evident in the examples given above. Paddy Power’s advert tries to psychologically prepare the targeted audience by communicating to them that despite the disruption of the football norm, the game remains the same. Likewise, in Devil & Detail’s story, the story communicates to the audience that they should strive to live a healthy living by avoiding bad breath by using its products, which leads to a higher conversion rate. In the WWF advert, the main goal is to create emotions for the audience through demonstration. This is likely to influence them to take action in wildlife conservation.
Authenticity (truth, digital transparency) is also another key principle of an effective story. A genuine and unique story is easier to connect the consumers with than a Fictitious one. Running a deceptive ad, deceptive advertising, can have adverse effects on the business as the consumers will start questioning the credibility of the firm (Cawley et al., 2013). This also raises the ethical and moral standards of the company. In the past, firms have faced legal liabilities due to deceptive advertising, as witnessed in the case of POM Wonderful LLC vs. the Federal Trade Commission (Slattery, 2015).
Such cases could tarnish the transparency of a given organization; therefore, firms should always away from such cases. In the examples given above, Paddy Power’s advert reflects the real-world pandemic that has affected the football fraternity globally. Likewise, WWF is referencing a statistical report on the disappearance of wildlife (68%) since the 1970s; thus, there is a need to conserve these animals before it’s too late. On Devil & Detail’s advert, to some extent, nobody would indeed like to be associated with people having a foul smell. However, one cannot prove the effectiveness of its products in helping people remain healthy.
Based on these examples, it is evident that the power of storytelling marketing can never be undermined. However, the story needs to have compelling characters, goals, and emotions to keep the audience captivated. Moreover, the authenticity of the story makes it easier to memorize and share regardless of age.
References
Bhattacharya, J. (2019). 7 Examples of Storytelling Content You Can Use in Your Marketing Campaigns. Retrieved September 22, 2020, from https://www.singlegrain.com/content-marketing-3/7-examples-of-storytelling-content-you-can-use-in-your-marketing-campaigns/
Booker, B. (2020). 12 Top Storytelling Marketing Examples: How Brands Tell Stories: Attest Blog. Retrieved September 22, 2020, from https://www.askattest.com/blog/marketing/12-top-storytelling-marketing-examples
Cawley, J., Avery, R., & Eisenberg, M. (2013, March 1). The Effect of Deceptive Advertising on Consumption of the Advertised Good and its Substitutes: The Case of Over-the-Counter Weight Loss Products. National Bureau of Economic Research. https://www.nber.org/papers/w18863#:~:text=We%20control%20for%20the%20targeting
Mediabistro. (2015). Ads of the world. Retrieved from http://adsoftheworld.com/
SkySports. (2020). Coronavirus: Premier League is concerned by delays to fans’ return. Sky Sports. https://www.skysports.com/football/news/11661/12069059/coronavirus-premier-league-concerned-by-delays-to-fans-return
Slattery, T. J. (2015). FTC tastes sweet victory in POM Wonderful deceptive advertising appeal. The National Law Review. Retrieved from http://www.natlawreview.com/article/ftc-tastes-sweet-victory-pom-wonderful-deceptive-advertising-appeal
WWF. (2018). WWF – Endangered Species Conservation | World Wildlife Fund. World Wildlife Fund. https://www.worldwildlife.org/about/