I’ve noticed a trend in commercials that has been growing over the past year or so. Commercials that try to inspire or tug at your heartstrings. Of course serious commercials are nothing new, but it seems recently that many companies are going this route, whether it be Lincoln with their befuddling commercials starring Matthew McConaughey, or Nationwide’s perplexing Super Bowl ad (so many questions! Why did it feel “cute” at the beginning? Did they really think that ad was a good idea? Why was I laughing so hard when the kid revealed he was dead?)

But here’s the thing, so many of them don’t work. Now, this could be because I’m heartless and incapable of showing or feeling emotions, but I think it was for 3 main reason.

  1. Heartfelt/Inspiring is difficult to achieve.

One thing that I noticed with quite a few of the ads that have gone the more serious route is that many of them did not connect with me. Several of these type of commercials attempt to inspire or be heartfelt by showing pretty imagery and playing a somber song. But connecting with people emotionally requires so much more than that. It’s about relating to them, to their experiences, to what it means to be human. If you don’t succeed in making that connection, then your advertisement will fall flat.

Here’s a great example of an ad that achieved a heartfelt and inspiring feeling. It speaks to friendship and loyalty, something everyone can relate to, and the advertisement of Guinness seems secondary. This brings up the other point:

  1. Heartfelt Consumerism is difficult to pull off.

The whole point of trying to inspire someone or tug at his or her heartstrings is that you want that person to take action. And if you’ve done your job correctly, they will want to take action. All that’s left is to tell them what you want them to do. Buy Pampers diapers. Huh? I was just all pumped to do something big, and you tell me to go buy something? That’s why these two usually don’t mix well. It almost feels like a betrayal. It’s not impossible to mix them, but it is very difficult.

A recent commercial I felt exemplified this was the Dodge “100 Years of Wisdom” Super Bowl commercial.

I have a love/hate feeling with this commercial. It started off great. It was inspiring and interesting to get some perspective on what’s important in life from people who’ve been around a lot longer than I have.

Then around the halfway point, it screams, “This is a commercial!” It lost all the inspiration and emotion it had, to the point that the last piece of advice (which is fantastic advice) was meaningless to me. Undoubtedly, some people liked it, but I know some people feel the same way I do. It could have been something special had they stuck with the feeling they had established in the first half of the commercial.

  1. There’s a time and place.

I think the reason this subject has been on my mind so much lately is that there was a surge of these types of commercials during the Super Bowl. And they nearly ruined the atmosphere.

The Super Bowl has become pretty much a national holiday in the United States. Many people go to Super Bowl parties to watch the game, eat great food and laugh with friends. And those who aren’t interested in football are interested in the commercials because advertisers usually go for the outrageous in order to grab people’s attention.

So when a somber commercial crashes the party, it can be jarring. And it was a couple of years ago. People were laughing and having a good time when a heartfelt commercial came on and made people feel something. It worked because of that. But when there are several commercials like that during the Super Bowl, it becomes a downer and gets old, quick. That’s what happened this year.

It was effective before because it was an ad or two out of the entire Super Bowl, but when it’s one out of every four ads, it gets tiresome. People usually watch Super Bowl ads because they’re funny or outrageous. It adds to the atmosphere of the party. But with so many serious ads this year, they became something to try to ignore. And talking to people about the commercials the next day revealed I wasn’t the only one that felt this way.

Emotional and inspiring advertising certainly has a place (for non-profits, it’s essential). But it is difficult to pull off, and should be done with the atmosphere it will be consumed in mind in order to be successful. I certainly don’t want them to go away, but I also don’t want them to be like that friend at the Super Bowl party that brings the mood down every ten minutes. I’m talking to you, Greg. Treat your problems like you treated the chips you brought. Don’t share them.

SK