Do You Want to be Clever or Memorable
June 25, 2009 by Becky Scott
Filed under Marketing
Coming up with a running theme in your marketing can build up your brand recognition. People will start to associate your company with the theme if it’s done well. For instance, you’ve heard the “Quote, Buy, Print” ads for car insurance, right? In the beginning of this ad series, the tagline was repeated over and over. It, along with the company name (esurance) easily went together in the consumer’s mind.
Even the running gags with geckos, cavemen, and the annoying goggle-eyed money make people think of Geico. Mostly. However, recently Geico has been moving away from their mantra of “15 minutes could save you 15% or more on car insurance.” In fact, currently running commercials don’t say anything about Geico. They just flash the company name in the commercial.
Geico’s ads have gone from clever, memorable gimmicks to a parody of themselves. You have to be careful about trying to be clever. It can work brilliantly, or it can just annoy people. And the cavemen commercials are pushing the annoying line. While the caveman airport ad was funny, the new caveman bowling is not (see below for the ads).
What does this mean for your marketing? Stick with the benefits to your customer. “Save 15% or more on your car insurance” is a good line. A few cavemen bowling… not so much. Creepy goggle-eyed stalker money… not so much either.
What companies do you think are hitting it out of the park with their concepts?
Caveman at the airport
Caveman bowling
image: sxc.hu
I rather be memorable than clever. Memorable turns into cherished classics.
I think Target seems to always get it right in their commercials. They always have the perfect song, display their products in a way that is both graceful and fun, and you can easily identify that it is a Target commercial before any visual branding. I wouldn’t say that I remember each individual commercial, but I remember the consistency and impressiveness of the commercials.
Ace, you’re right. There are so many commercials that we remember both the product and the gimmick. If you only remember the gimmick, what good is that?
AliSwi, great example. Target doesn’t make their branding obscure. You see the bull’s eye every time and the commercials are always about the products.