To really stand out from the crowd, sometimes you need marketing that creates an instant reaction and puts your brand or product at the front of your customer's minds. If you treat your advertising like you’re constructing a famous building, it’s far more likely to have an impact in the mind’s eye of your customer (What's the old saying, 'If you build it, they will come!').
Cadbury's Gorilla Advert
Marketing that creates this so-called WOW! factor sometimes doesn't even have to make sense, it just has to create a reaction and the best example of this is Cadbury's 2007 advert, 'Gorilla'. If you have never seen the advert (video below), it is a 90 second tracking shot of a rather intense large Gorilla, with Phil Collins' "In the Air Tonight" playing in the background. The Gorilla then performs the infamous "In the Air Tonight" drum solo at the end of the advert, to hair-raising effect. The advert was part of a move for Cadbury away from its traditional adverts, where they pushed their products, to what they called 'entertainment pieces'.
The whole advert was very visceral, it was both intriguing and had the ability to give you goosebumps. It created the WOW! factor instantly. Even though it was very abstract and random, it made the viewer connect with the Cadbury brand in an emotive way, with Phil Collins famous track playing a big part in that.
The advert instantly took up the imagination of the British public, going viral on Youtube, at a time when Youtube was still in its infancy, and spawning many parodies online and on television. There was so much buzz about it, there were even a mystery over whether the Gorilla was real? Some believed it was Phil Collins himself, in a Gorilla costume. Phil Collins didn't mind either way, as "In the Air Tonight" had re-entered the UK singles chart as downloads of the song sky-rocketed.
After the campaign, Cadbury's Dairy Milk sales had increased 9% from the same period the year before, while the public opinion of the brand improved by 20%. 'Gorilla' would go on to win a slew of awards, and was eventually named named by Marketing magazine as the nation’s all-time favourite.
Producing marketing that creates an emotional response, which creates that 'WOW!', will make customers feel good about doing business with you now and in the future. Make sure your advertising makes your business memorable for the right reasons.
Written by Frank Stannard. If you want to find out more about marketing your company, or discuss this article further, you can contact Frank at frank.stannard@sixfoursixfour.com or +44 (0) 7939605820.
