Monday 23 January 2017

WHY EXACTLY WAS THAT AD SO FUCKING GOOD?

So often this question is misdiagnosed and ‘that tricky second album’ flops.


The drumming gorilla was all about joy, right? A big, abstract, pure expression of joy in that quirky Cadbury’s tone of voice, right? WRONG. It was all about a very specific type of orgasmic joy. The type that you can only experience after an outrageous build up. The release was the important bit there. Kind of like that release of sensory joy that can be experienced when you finally sink your teeth into that chocolate you’ve been craving. The build-up and release that wasn’t in any of their other ads.

Epic strut. That was all about a bloke dancing outrageously in public, right? WRONG. We have all imagined how awesome it would be to burst into a power walk like that on days when we are bossing life and Queen B comes on shuffle. No one has imaged expressing that feeling on the pole. Ok, very few of us have imagined that.

Understanding exactly what that feeling was that made that ad so fucking good is crucial, I would argue, in rolling out hit after hit.

The Underarmour ad with Misty Copeland (I will what I want) was all about that feeling when self-belief puts you on top of the world. Then came Giselle. Then Phelps. Each one a masterclass in spine tingling self-belief.




Our industry moves fast and naturally this means we obsess about the next big thing. And that’s a good thing. But we don’t stop to look back and reflect enough. By taking the time to ask - why exactly was that ad so fucking good? - we (especially strats rustling up briefs) can help crack that tricky second album.

As always if you found this interesting and can share a link I'll be ya best friend foreva X

n.b. this post also appears on BBH Labs with less 'fucking'