Sometimes, television ads really do work
People who develop ads for television must have a helluva job, trying to come up with ads that are "sticky" and memorable, but not in a way that makes people change the channel on them. And developing a theme around a product must be a mixed blessing: I've read in several sources that advertising executives who work with Pillsbury have been trying to kill off the little doughboy for years, just because they're so sick of him. (I notice Dairy Queen's last couple of ad series don't include the disembodied lips--maybe it wasn't working, maybe they got rid of it before it became too entrenched.)
Anyway, I'll freely admit that occasionally an ad appeals to me so much that I buy the product not because the ad convinced me it was good, but because I enjoyed the ad so much. A while back I posted about an ad for a frozen pizza with garlic in the crust--it made me laugh so hard I felt compelled to buy the pizza.
I don't go out for fast food very often, and when I do I usually just hit the first place I see on the way home from the barn. But I have to confess to a large soft sport for the A&W chain. (Wikipedia tells me that the chain, which I always thought was Canadian, originated as part of a US-based chain but is no longer affiliated with the American parent company. The Great Root Bear is, however, of Canadian origin.) (I used to have a small stuffed Root Bear, a gift from some cadets at the Gliding School many years ago.)
Anyway, all this is preamble to my main point, which is that over the past few years A&W's TV spots have featured two amiable characters, a ditzy burger-flipper named Ryan and his long-suffering boss (who does not seem to have a name, so in my family we refer to these ads as the "Ryan and the Boss" ads.)
And I've gotta tell you, after following their adventures on television, I am a lot more inclined to eat at A&W, just to encourage them to keep the ad campaign. I'm sure it'll end eventually, and I imagine the actors would prefer not to be typecast as the A&W guys for the rest of their lives, but I find the ads funny and endearing.
This one resurfaced on TV last night, for instance:
I feel dumb, laughing so hard at a TV spot, but I kind of love it. I don't think it counts as manipulation when you know it's happening and you're fine with it, right?
Anyway, I'll freely admit that occasionally an ad appeals to me so much that I buy the product not because the ad convinced me it was good, but because I enjoyed the ad so much. A while back I posted about an ad for a frozen pizza with garlic in the crust--it made me laugh so hard I felt compelled to buy the pizza.
I don't go out for fast food very often, and when I do I usually just hit the first place I see on the way home from the barn. But I have to confess to a large soft sport for the A&W chain. (Wikipedia tells me that the chain, which I always thought was Canadian, originated as part of a US-based chain but is no longer affiliated with the American parent company. The Great Root Bear is, however, of Canadian origin.) (I used to have a small stuffed Root Bear, a gift from some cadets at the Gliding School many years ago.)
Anyway, all this is preamble to my main point, which is that over the past few years A&W's TV spots have featured two amiable characters, a ditzy burger-flipper named Ryan and his long-suffering boss (who does not seem to have a name, so in my family we refer to these ads as the "Ryan and the Boss" ads.)
And I've gotta tell you, after following their adventures on television, I am a lot more inclined to eat at A&W, just to encourage them to keep the ad campaign. I'm sure it'll end eventually, and I imagine the actors would prefer not to be typecast as the A&W guys for the rest of their lives, but I find the ads funny and endearing.
This one resurfaced on TV last night, for instance:
Click to viewI feel dumb, laughing so hard at a TV spot, but I kind of love it. I don't think it counts as manipulation when you know it's happening and you're fine with it, right?