Thursday 12 June 2014

Ads you actually want to watch

A number of current trend studies have indicated a movement from televised advertisement to radio and social media ads. However, there may still be a culture out there specifically gathering to watch ads on TV.

For example, large-scale, international big sporting events, such as the Olympics or the World Cup sees big firms paying millions of dollars for their 30 seconds of not just fame, but marketing brilliance. Not to mention, the American Super Bowl; now those ads are expensive!

One of the biggest up-and-coming events, being held this month in Brazil, is the 2014 FIFA World Cup which is set to showcase the world’s top soccer teams. As part of their digital campaign, Beats did an extended advertisement show casing their understanding of, and communication with, their customers. The moving ad can be seen here:


Although I do not own a pair of Beats noise-cancelling headphones, I thought that the introduction of the famous soccer stars and inspirational emotional connection was nicely intermixed with the pump- up music to get everyone in the zone for the big game. I felt as though I could relate to the story of preparing for an athletics game, performing rituals, and listening to “pep talks”. But one thing that kept crossing my mind was…. “Man, this is a seriously long commercial!”

I acknowledge that from a marketing and consumer insights perspective, it is extremely crucial to show the consumers that you understand them and their needs. However, over-emphasising that relationship focus with a lengthy ad only counteracts that aim. In this instance, less could possibly be more.

Chances are this campaign will be cut for the actual televised event, but by then, many people probably would have seen the ad online. Hopefully Beats has saved their best material for the prime time stream of viewers.

Christine Drpich
Current student in the Master of Marketing program at the University of Sydney Business School

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