Great advertising connects product to emotions

In an age of fragmented media consumption, businesses often promote their products with ads that assault our senses. Frenetic editing, use of stereotypes and lowest-common denominator humour all try to jar us into paying attention. Can a simple, beautifully-shot piece of content bring more value to a brand?

Flora by Gucci, Directed by Chris Cunningham

It’s not easy to sell something that smells by sight alone. Would you eat an oyster with only touch to persuade you of its goodness? Within this advert, the visual simile spikes the senses into understanding the smell.

The piece uses just seven different shots, carefully bunched to deliver the message, and a colour palette that oozes sex appeal. The haunting lyric is clearly heard, either asking or telling us, “It’s so good, It’s so good, it’s soooo good.” In terms of advertising, it is so good!

Careful blending of concept and content makes the audience’s senses fire up, delivering an outstanding advert for the product. Expect our video team to smell of Flora by Gucci for the whole Summer of 2015.

Volvo’s advert for their new XC90 SUV

The simplicity of the story in this advert is genius. It’s not just asking the consumer what DJ Avicii, the person, does after his shift behind the decks, it strikes on an emotional level.

Regardless if you’re driving on a picturesque Swedish lane or on the M6 to Stoke, you’ll be familiar with the serenity of the open road. Who doesn’t love a twilight-tinted sky? Or the quietness of the countryside? The rawness of the sea?

What makes this advert so refreshing is the concept, together with the careful use of shots and framing. Throughout it all, the product is used as a character. It’s our guy’s wingman. For example, one shot is an extreme wide: the product is tiny and out of focus in the background but still present.

With consideration to the two examples above, here in the video team, we believe that the three ‘cons’ of a great advert are concept, content and conscience. Just like ‘the law of the fire triangle’: fuel, heat and oxygen are all needed to create combustion. No one or two elements alone will make a flame until the third is added. In the same way combining all three of the ‘cons’ will spark the consumer’s emotion.