advertising technology: peruse the product or wax poetic
July 7th, 2009 • posts i've written
Sure, sure, “advertising is a tax you pay for unremarkable thinking.” But with a recent surge in personal TV viewing, I’ve been mulling over how we advertise technology.
Consider this new Palm Pre ad, “Flow”
Pretty weighty stuff, eh? Your phone is your connection to the spiritual world (monks!). It reminded me of a new ad for Scientology I caught while watching CNN…
Now compare that ad to one of the traditional ads by Apple for the iPhone…
Apple’s ads are far more akin to the early days of cellphone ads…
What all of this got me thinking about is the choice between marketing the product and its features vs its place in the world and its meaning to culture at large. It seems for technology, everyone chooses one of these two roads. We either show off the product or wax poetic about the world at large. One involves presenting context and situations, the other involves lots of copy that starts with “It’s about.. it’s about.. it’s about….. the new _______.”
Which do you think is the strongest sell, or when should either be chosen?
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4 Responses (add your comment)
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Personally, I have a hard time making the touchy-feely connection between the mysticism and Palm–the emotional tack is a far more effective device for Scientology. (Which is a bit scary, eh.) And 1:00 seemed to drag.
In contrast, the Apple ad shows the interconnections in a brief, practical way that allows you to think, “Oh, I could do that.”
There’s probably room for both styles, but I’d put money on iPhone-style ads moving more phones off the shelves. Note, of course, that Apple doesn’t always use that tactic (i.e., Justin Long ads).
More than anything, I am glad that my cell phone no longer requires lugging around a car battery to power it.
I’m reminded of the book “Marketing Metaphoria” where the authors discuss 7 metaphors (balance, control, transformation, journey, etc) that act as lenses that we see our world through. Because technology-related products are creeping into more of a “necessity” role with more and similar options, consumers need to see how the product/service fits in with their lives and with these 7 metaphors. It goes beyond simply selling the product and gives the product true meaning in the life of the consumer. And isn’t that what effective marketing does?