I have delayed writing this, hoping I would find some enthusiasm for this year's crop of "super ads" from the Super Bowl - but I haven't. With the one exception I wrote about here, I was not impressed. Evidently many others were not also as this article indicates.
Creativity and creative selling have taken a back seat to technology. They aren't even funny anymore.
I had a conversation recently with a potential client seeking advice on a packaging project. During the course of the conversation it occurred to me this person was approaching the problem in a manner that almost guaranteed failure. This person could be excused because he had no discernible experience in such a complicated process, but I know others with experience who are making the same mistakes.
What is the mistake you ask?
Failing to appreciate that a package isn't a bottle (or other container), some form of graphic decoration, and some form of closure. They see the problem as three (or more) problems to be solved separately and independently of each other. WRONG! This is one problem with several parts that must be solved as a whole and ideally by one design team.
I cannot stress strongly enough how important it is to have a one source design team design the whole package, and that team must be knowledgeable about container design and production, including the filling line requirements that must be considered when the bottle is designed. The designers must also understand all possible decoration processes and how they will be executed. Will an outside decorating vendor be used or labeled on the bottling line, and is the line capable of handling the labeling process the design calls for? Even the finish and sealing design decisions should be handled by that one source, and the choices must also be driven by filling line capabilities. Without a one source for design who understands the decoration and filling process in detail, it is real easy to generate a design solution that is either impossible to run on the bottling line, or is too expensive for the pricing structure of the product, or is a poorly coordinated, clunky package design, or worse - all of the above!
Find a single package design source who is knowledgeable about all aspects of design and is savvy enough to be able to ask the right questions at the right time. Yes, you will pay for that service, but what you can save in avoiding expensive mistakes will far outweigh that.
I am always intrigued by beverage/alcohol TV ads, mainly because they are so absolutely lame with few exceptions like the Smirnoff Vodka ad I posted here and this one below for Pinky Vodka.
It is clever, cute, and funny, which I like. It does a better job of selling the brand than most but does open up a possible troubling question. Are they suggesting you have to get smashed to fall in love? Probably not, but you could draw that conclusion.
First class package, too. Clean and elegant in keeping with the current trend and the target market - think cosmetic packaging.
Absolut Vodka is a brand the focus groups said was born dead in 1979 when it was introduced. The clear bottle with the fired on label (ACL - Applied Color Label) was virtually invisible on the shelf, which is often the kiss of death for a packaged goods product. But the brand overcame that weakness and turned it into a strength with a powerful advertising campaign that made branding history. The ad campaign focused on the Absolut Vodka bottle and connected the brand with iconic world art figures, just the ticket to connect with the upmarket target audience. Absolut Vodka (with a little help from the Soviet Union shooting down a passenger airliner and their own Stolichnaya Vodka brand at the same time) built the super premium vodka category.
Alas, history marches on and Absolut as a brand experienced weakening sales, as the brand faced intense competition from new and exciting super premium vodka brands entering the market.
They dumped the iconic Absolut ads and introduced a new campaign in 2007 titled "In An Absolut World" - and the brand experienced a rebirth as sales shot up 9%. You can read about that campaign here.
Much of the success can be attributed to the campaign creative, which used an emotional appeal rather than rational, which touts benefits such as taste, distillation, or origin. That was summed up by TBWA Managing Director Jamie Gallo who said the campaign attempted to steer Absolut clear of what he called the "rational benefits" being claimed by so many upstarts in the category, many of whom boast the best taste or the smoothest feel. Many of these claims contradict each other, and a few have even wound up in lawsuits. "We know people don't purchase as much on rational benefits as on emotional benefits," he said.
Yeah, that is what I have been saying. You have to touch the heart to build a brand. Absolut gets it and is an advertising winner as a result.
Package Design Magazine has a very interesting article in their January/February 2008 issue on using icons and infographics to tell a product's story. The whole article is a good read, but I was particularly struck by the third part of the article sub-titled One Inch Billboards.
The article is about Molson Beer's very interesting approach to beer labels. Many companies are deleting back labels to save money, but Molson Beer is using that space to promote the brand in a very interesting way.
The back labels feature over 200 pickup lines all done in an iconic fashion that bring solid graphic continuity to the campaign. This is a marvelous and very creative idea.
And it is working! Sales shot up an impressive 40% after the new package came out!
Get the whole story here.
