Ads can be very weird. I’m having trouble deciding whether this one is good:
“Introducing this summer’s new Frappuccino flavor: S’mores! Now you can sip on all the flavor of a campfire, which you shouldn’t sip, because that’s dangerous.”
At least I’m talking about the ad — that’s a positive sign, right? And I’m not the only one. When I took this screenshot, four thousand people had commented on the picture.
What I find confusing is that the humorously nonsensical caption doesn’t quite relate to the picture. There’s a tenuous woodsy/camping connection, but I don’t get the story. Is the yeti grumpy because he tried to sip on a campfire? But now he’s soothed by a s’mores-flavored Frappuccino?
If you can explain this ad, hit me up on Facebook or Twitter. Or heck, just email me: sonyaellenmann@gmail.com.
I encountered this Instamotor ad on Twitter (on my phone, since I use AdBlock on the web). I think it’s a pretty good ad, even though I’m not convinced that car ownership is a better deal than Uber. Let’s evaluate Instamotor’s ad based on the principles of People-Optimized Marketing, summed up by the keywords think, feel, act, and design.
THINK: The caption reads, “You can’t Uber to Big Sur.” Your brain is immediately prompted to fill in the missing information. Why not just take Uber? Because it would be super expensive. Why go to Big Sur, anyway? Because it’s beautiful (reinforced by the photo). This has further implications…
FEEL: Thinking about Big Sur, looking at the snapshot of pretty California scenery, contemplating a weekend getaway… Feelings of pleasurable freedom, maybe even nostalgia. Now you’re going to associate those emotions with Instamotor, and the idea of driving to an idyllic camping spot.
ACT: You can tap the button and download the app, which is quite direct. This is one of the few scenarios where the viewer is able to act posthaste, which is a cool thing about mobile ads. Alternately, you can fave the tweet, retweet, and/or follow Instamotor.
DESIGN: In my opinion, the visual would work better without the iPhone screenshot imposed on the Big Sur image. Besides that, well done.
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