Marketing Success: Entertain and Educate
I think that every successful marketing campaign has two things in common, they entertain and they educate their viewers about the product or brand being marketed.
There are a lot of great ads which entertain, but no one can recall the company the next day. Certain beer commercials run during the Super Bowl come to mind.
It is not difficult to create an entertaining advertisement. Anything can be funny or interesting. However, it is difficult to create an entertaining advertisement that effectively markets a product. It is a very careful balance. The entertainment factor of the advertisement should not overpower the promotion of the product, yet you don’t want to shove your message down your viewer’s throats.
I have been watching the NBA Finals and NBA Playoffs in general over the past few weeks and have seen Nike commercials featuring Leborn James and Kobe Bryant as puppets. These commercials are some of the most entertaining I have seen in a long time, so much so that even though I recorded last night’s Game 4 and fast forwarded through the advertisements, I stopped, rewinded, and watched the ad.
The ads are entertaining, that’s a given; however, they also do a great job showcasing Nike’s brand. The last scene of the advertisement shown below really showcases Nike’s logo and the trademark orange box. Take a look :
