Image or Immediate Action: Lessons From Super Bowl Advertising

Hey Jenn~ I never really put much thought in to the Image vs. Immediate Action components of advertising.  I am in tune however with whether or not I remember the product after the commercial is over. I love the "mayhem like me" commercials and I know that's Allstate.  However, sometimes you see a commercial and a little bit later when you think of the commercial, you don't remember the product.  That's just as important.

The trick, Jen, is to project an image that warrants immediate action.  Now that's sayin' somthing.

Hi Jennifer, This was a great read and an awesome reminder for all of us. I am with you on the Budwiser ads (wanting more of the Clydesdales). Superb post!

I like what Charita had to say above, and I had so much fun studying the super bowl ads--trying to learn to think more like Honda and VW.

Congrats on the feature! You make a great point about how we are projecting our image on our ads. Thanks for sharing and have a great week.

I'm sorry, but I think the Super Bowl advertisers jut try way too hard to make extra special commercials. I just wasn't impressed. Oh, and in the FIRST Budweiser ad, they showed the clysedales!

Image and reputation are truly what sustain your business. You definitely need to stay true to the image you want to project 24/7 - people will remember the one time you stepped out of line, lost your cool, had one too many to drink...so it's important to keep that in mind as different situations present themselves. All your advertising is a projection of your image and reputation - think that so-so photo of your new listing won't get noticed if it's not up to your usual standards of excellence...think again! Set the bar high and keep exceeding it.  

I love watching the Super Bowl ads.  As always, they may not necessarily inspire me to buy the product, but a few of them are pretty darn entertaining!  And as you said, image is so important -- whether talking about advertisements or people.  Contratulations on the feature!

Jennifer, I agree with image advertising as portrayed in the Super Bowl ads. However, in real estate the emphasis was always put on the agent where that doesn't work anymore.  A branding campaign comes to mind.

My favorite was the Acura NSX Ad w/Jerry Sienfeld and Jay Leno.  They went right for the demographic for that car, and it bolsters the image for all of Acura's cars.   Plus, who can resists the Soup Nazi?

Even the car we drive bolsters our image.

love this post, you are absolutely on the mark with this. We are still taking about the ad today, 3 days later that is what the commercials wanted us to do and they did with the project image.

Exactly....and this is what we all learned in our marketing classes. You can appeal in different ways. On a separate note, I was disappointed with the commercials in general this year. I did like the Sienfeld one, but my parents didn't even get it....so that might not have been the best choice for them.

The key is live like the image you desire to project. Be true to who you are. It's harder than most are willing to admit. ☺

Jennifer:

I enjoyed some of the ads and other I thought were stupid.  I loved the Clint Eastwood ad.  I love the patriotic ad that make me feel proud of my country. 

I think that you have made an excellent point.  We all need to be presenting our best image at all times.  You never know which prospective client is taking notes.