…And what can we do about it?
When was the last time you remembered an ad? Maybe a few old Fevicol spots come to mind. If you’re like me, it’s mostly the classics: Mentos, Happydent, or Vodafone’s Zuzu series. Those ads were fun, quirky, and full of heart.
Hyper targeting, segmentation and AI might have increased revenue, but it came at the cost of the heart. But it doesn’t have to be like this.
Why ads lost their spark.
It’s not all advertisers’ fault. Earlier ads used to get a chunk of airtime on cable. The viewer might change the channel, but chances were they would still see at least a few ads. When streaming came into light, offering skipping ads after 5 seconds or completely ad-free viewership, people jumped on the opportunity. This meant the ads now had to provide ultra-high offers and value in less than five seconds or be destined to be ignored. Add high competition with the sheer volume of ads online, and you’ll know why creativity is taking a backseat.
Most advertisers have also now started to focus on hyper-targeting their niche. Though good on paper for its high ROI in the short term, this sort of non-personal advertisement fails to make a genuine impression on its viewers. This results in no one caring about the product in the long term.
This becomes a vicious cycle. Advertisers see that people buy more products with generic fast ads, so they make more ads like that. People buy, but soon lose track of their favourite brand. Fewer sales force them to advertise more of the same, leading to a short high, but then a gradual decline. And the cycle repeats.
This is visible in almost all the online ads, save for some big brands like Apple and Fevicol. Quick value, straight concept, superfast branding. But for today’s ads to make the same impact that old ads did, they need to add something else.
Storytelling
Stories are what shape our thoughts. They guide us, entertain us, and sometimes give us something to remember. Today, those advertisers who don’t have a lot of budget or time for good stories are losing out on a lot. All it takes is one good story to set your brand’s foundation.
Case in point: Denmark’s Helmet advertisement.
On paper, this ad shouldn’t work. It has a slow buildup; its historical authenticity doesn’t immediately connect with the context, and its subject comes way too late. All in all, this entire ad falls on the idea of humans having an attention span of less than a goldfish.
Or does it?
Despite looking unconventional, it’s the story of this ad that does it for itself. The setting grabs our attention, the dialogues grab our curiosity, and the message gets clear in context as we keep watching.
This ad shows why slow, thoughtful ads still reign supreme. A clear message gets highlighted by a good story, good branding becomes better, and people leave with something to remember. With AI-fication of ads, such ads might be rarer, but when they surface, they’re bound to trend the highest.
In a world of algorithms and A/B tests, maybe what we need is just one unforgettable story.
