I was looking at the Time’s selection for the top 10 TV ads of 2011, and realized that there is certainly a shift happening in the secular insight advertisers have worked with since the early days of advertising.
In fact, the insight is now completed with a new spin that gives it more emotional traction. What strikes me is how icons and celebs made popular through TV are becoming a new element of the messaging. 4 out of the 10 top spots by Times are in fact leveraging those TV/pop culture icons:
- 2. The Force — Volkswagen x Darth Vader
- 6. Imported from Detroit — Chrysler x Eminem
- 7. All In — Adidas x Katy Perry x Messi (…)
- 8. Best Fans Ever — NFL x Simpsons x Dallas x 90210 (…)
When looking at the other messages, we can see that they refer to “digital” experiences we all share:
- 1. Dear Sophie — Google
- 3. Reply All — Bridgestone
- 4. The 4G “Spider” — Samsung
- 9. Dog.ppt
Leveraging one or the other allows the brand to connect with people outside of the pure product functional or emotional benefit. Using pop culture or digital behaviors as a new layer to the brand story certainly adds depth to the brand messaing making it more authentic and true to people.
It says “I am also part of your world and I know you have a life outside of my product’s usage”. Well, that was about time, this sounds really inspiring for our future 
Looking at that list, the outsiders are clearly 5. Bold Choice — Jim Beam (by StrawberryFrog) and 10. Parking Garage — Citizens Bank (by Ogilvy & Mather) that are using the “same old same old” way of doing advertising…
And yes, I’m very proud of seeing the spot Montreal-based SID LEE created for adidas in that list!
