A simple phrase, “Less is more” is a videographer’s cardinal rule.
Scene: You go into an ice cream parlor. You sample a few of the ice creams or frozen yogurts. There are so many choices. You have to narrow it down. Why do they let you try samples? They’re all so delicious! You get just a taste of how good it is without giving away the whole product. The anticipation builds….
That first taste was so memorable the brand sticks in your head.
That same premise works with TV commercials. As a videographer, you don’t want to make your audience an expert, you want to give them a small taste of what they could get. At the same time, you have to engage your audience.
Leave it to Clever
In the realm of video, engaging your audience is key. Passive ads, such as billboards, have to be clever and catch your eye for a few seconds so you can read them, but then you’re on with life. A clever video, whether it’s a webisode, commercial or an educational video, should create interaction with your audience. It’s about using your audiences’ intelligence to your benefit. My point is that you have to raise questions in the viewers’ mind.
Show and Tell
If you look at some of the most successful ads, they are Super Bowl ads. Not only because they reach so many people, but also because they start with a story. Let’s take the Darth Vader kid ad for example:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R55e-uHQna0
Scene: Darth Vader kid zooms around the house trying to use the Force to move items. Then, he goes outside and tries it on the car, and it honks!
Now, the entire ad wasn’t focused on the Volkswagen. The car was only featured in the last few seconds. The story engaged the audience. It made you think, “Okay, what is this commercial about?”
Whether you’re a kid or a parent, you know kids like to dress up and pretend they have super powers. So now your relating to the audience and BAM! they hit you with Volkswagen.
Attention!
Any successful TV ad engages the audience. The 30-second infomercial proves this point and demonstrates its ineffectiveness. The spokesperson spouts off various facts and benefits of the product and their script drones on and on: “It’s only three easy payments of $19.95.”
Scene: Your watching your favorite TV show and it goes to commercial. You do one of two things: Pick up your cell and check your text messages, or put in another load of laundry.
Now, if the kid Vader ad comes on, you’ll most likely sit there and watch it, because it grabs you and pulls you in, wanting to know more. The ad made you perk up and question it. You’re most likely going to retain that the Vader kid commercial is for Volkswagen and remember it. Mission accomplished.
Making Memories
Relationships are another way to pull your audience into a commercial. The relationship between seeing a happy family baking cookies is one that everybody can relate to. I know I’m instantly transported to my grandma’s house and watching her making a big batch of cookies. I now have the desire to go get a roll of those darn cookies! We draw parallels like this throughout our daily lives, and to capture that can truly make a good ad great.
Cut to the Chase
Ads that hit home and keep the product or service in mind are ones that make you stop, think and remember. It’s about showing your product and implying the benefits. Successful TV commercials -whether it’s a 30-second spot or a 60-second spot – have one thing in common, they pull the audience in and make them remember the product. This is done with an element that may not have anything to do with the product or service itself.
It’s human nature to want to connect to the stories we see presented on the screen, and a successful TV ad does just that.