Ironically (and definitely on purpose), the marketing for this shows return was sarcastic and right on brand. Promoting episode 1 of season 7, Gruen focused on making jokes about its TV sabbatical and promoting that the show is back spin free. This weeks episode focused on two main topics - pet food and the ice epidemic. One is definitely very topical and the other brings up interesting discussion on how to sell a concept or action to non-users. Do you know which one is which?
Pet food
Pet food advertising is interesting as you are trying to sell a product to a consumer that won't consume the product. This is done in many different industries where the main purchaser is not the main user (e.g. men's skincare, anti-acne products, gift cards) but pet food is not one that I had given much thought to before. Russell pointed out that pet food falls into the FMCG category, one that requires a really innovative marketing brain to sell as it isn't a sexy product but one that is required on a daily basis.
There were a number of ads shown tonight but the panel decided to focus on two:
1) Whiskas - feed your cats inquisitive nature
Wil Anderson made a good point, since when was curiosity good for a cat? Russell Howcroft was quite fond of this ad, saying that giving the animal human emotions was a great selling point, helping to make the purchase decision easier as you are feeding another "human". Todd however wasn't so convinced. Both panel guests, Dee Madigan (Madcom) and Lauren Fried (Pulse Marketing Group) made valuable points about the qualities being put onto the cat, saying that voice over showing the cats thoughts are useful in the purchasing decision.
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| Watch the commercial here |
2) Sheba Cat Food - Christina Hendricks
The Mad Men alum made an appearance in this commercial, aiming to make cat food a sexy purchase. How appealing did this make the cat food look though? According to the panel tonight, not very appealing! Russell was convinced that Hendricks was an independent woman showing that cat food can be an empowering purchase however Wil pointed out a major flaw in the commercial - who opens up cat food that well, and in such a pretty dress just before a date? Todd was taken aback by the actual meaning of the ad - seeing it originally as a take on a Mad Men inspired 60s commercial showing that if the woman behaves then she will be fed, much like if the cat behaves they will be fed better. Ultimately, the ad is quite disappointing as we all know that Hendricks is much better than an attempt at a sexy cat commercial. Imagine if a man "meowed" at the end of a commercial!2) Sheba Cat Food - Christina Hendricks
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| Watch the commercial here |
A very topical point of conversation - Gruen pointed out that drugs are not a product that should be shown on advertisements. Why? Evidence has shown that advertising helps to sell a product that people sometimes don't know they want yet. Previous advertising where drugs have been shown have been found to make people more curious about trying the drug rather than avoiding it. The current campaign advertising is a remake of the Ice ad from a number of years ago, keeping the same target market - the family and friends of the drug user - with the aim of helping to show them how to help stop the user and what signs to watch out for. The question is - why doesn't the ad give you net steps or an action that you should take following watching this? If I knew someone who was an Ice addict or I wanted more information or if I was scared for my family member - what would I do? what steps should I take? I was always taught that an advertisement should have a call to action at the end of it - either to induce purchase intent or to find out more information - so why is this campaign an exception to that?
All in all - Gruen's first episode for Season 7 was definitely worth the 2 year wait!! As a self-professed marketing nerd I am very happy to have the boys back on air each week tearing apart the commercials that make people act. Good job ABC.
