The Proven Ingredients of a Memorable Ad

What drives attention, David and Victoria Beckham, and The Anvils

Author

Pedro Porto Alegre
January 31, 2024

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Column: The Proven Ingredients of a Memorable Ad

The “Big Game” is just around the corner and marketers all around to world will tune in to see what justifies a $7M 0:30s media buy on national television.

But I’m not here to judge whether or not that’s a good investment (as usual, the answer is “it depends”); instead I want to take a look back at how Super Bowl ads have managed to deliver the goods.

And by “goods” I don’t mean sales (as some firepit companies might expect — sorry I couldn’t help it), instead I am curious about the share-of-mind uptick such a mass reach event on Taylor Swift steroids might provide.

Don’t get me wrong, measuring such a thing is incredibly difficult to do. So, I won’t try to scavenge the internet for brand equity reporting on said campaigns. What I’m looking for are the advertising features that have been proven to drive mental availability.

Right versus Left Brain

We can all remember being categorized into “right-brained” or “left-brained” in high school, as if the entire world was on either side of that line. But in the real world, people use both sides for different reasons.

A Glimpse of “Look Out” by Orlando Wood.

Enter broad-beam versus narrow-beam modes of attention. On one side, your brain is always alert to things that might seem out of place. This right-brained capability has been critical for our survival.

Have you ever entered a room and something felt off? Well, that’s your right brain telling you that something isn’t going according to expectations. This state of “unconscious” vigilance enables us to not be always “on”, and in turn saving our mental resources to our daily tasks that require more of our focus.

Focused attention is what it’s called being on your “narrow beam” mode. This is what enables us to pick up a book and make sense of the word salad that’s on the page. Without such capabilities all hell would break lose — math problems wouldn’t get solved, bridges would collapse, and learning anything new would be incredibility difficult to do.

The Law of Diminishing Returns

Now, from an advertising standpoint how effective an initiative is highly depends on its level of originality. Authentic work is only authentic when it’s first launched.

And because original work doesn’t look like all the rest, it has a way of sticking out amongst the crowd. This key element of advertising — catching people’s attention without being clickbait-y — aims to tap into our broad-beam mode and say “hey! look at me, I deserve your attention”.

However, when something original is conceived, the more we see it the less original it becomes, and with time it begins to blend into the background. That’s why managing frequency rates of your ad delivery is imperative to minimize ad fatigue if you are to maximize your ROAS. But when an ad is authentic, you only need to see it once (cue Apple’s “1984” Super Bowl ad, which aired only once during the game and never again).

Therefore, effective advertising MUST be clever. And I use the word clever very intentionally here. Not all ads need to be funny to catch people’s attention, not all ads need to be obnoxious or have a contagious beat.

Great advertising takes shape when it taps into elements of our daily lives that go unnoticed by our right-brain and adds an interesting twist to it — an unexpected entrance/ending, a weird character, or quite simply is communicated through an unconventional way.

This sort of clever attention-grabbing trait in effective ads has been studied by marketing scientists and measured in units of attention and emotion indicators. The most effective features that drive a brand’s mental availability in consumers’ minds are: animals, characters with vitality/agency, dialogue, implicit and unspoken communication, spontaneous change in facial expression, distinctive accents, people touching, music with a discernible melody, something out of the ordinary, one scene unfolding with progression, and a clear sense of place.

A Glimpse of “Look Out” by Orlando Wood.

The greater the emotion invoked in an ad, typically the greater the attention it grabs. This is not a linear correlation, but it’s pretty damn close.

Take for example the usage of dogs in commercials. It’s a well-known fact in advertising that if there’s a way — ANY way — to add a pet to the storyline, the effectiveness of the message will go through the roof.

The same goes for mascots, hands, and celebrities.

The Super Bowlnanza

When advertisers are paying $7M for a 30 second spot during the big game, you can bet the farm that they will bring their A game.

Which is why standing out amongst the great display of Super Bowl ads is incredibility difficult without tapping into some of the knowledge about broad-beam attention I mentioned above.

People often complain that Super Bowl ads are just brands having a celebrity bonanza. While that’s not false, it is proven to catch people’s attention. And when used effectively (i.e.: inserting the actor into the storyline in a way that makes sense without coming across as disingenuous), it does drive brand recall.

Take for example one of the most effective ads in Super Bowl history: the 2021 Cheetos Pop Mix “It Wasn’t Me” spot.

Why it worked:

  • Cheetos came to terms with its brand truth that when you eat it, the Cheetos dust (aka “Cheetle”) that gets stuck on your fingers is an inevitable part of the experience.

  • Cheetos was also battling a brand image problem that it was seen as a snack for kids only. So, it needed to find a way to connect with an older audience.

  • By getting Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis, who had played an integral part in Millennials’ sitcom upbringing (“That 70s Show”) and pairing them with an iconic early-2000s tune that played into Cheetos’ mischievous side, the brand was able to craft a story that captured seemingly “unmemorable” moments (such as brushing your teeth) and insert its product into it in clever and funny ways.

Since then, Cheetos went on the build on this “Cheetle” platform further, even building a massive statue that brought this brand truth to life in an unexpected way.

Cheetle Hand Statue in Cheadle, AB.

Know What Works

As you watch the Super Bowl this year, pay attention to how many of these broad-beam features show up throughout the ads.

It’s a proven fact that ads that use 2 or more of these features establish greater mental availability, brand trust, and lasting business effects. The fact that so many of these go unused throughout the year outside of Super Bowl is still puzzling to me.

I’m not saying that brands should put a dog in every commercial (although the world would be a better place for it). But if a brand’s goal is to earn share-of-mind (which in mass reach channels should always be optimized for), then by understanding what drives creative effectiveness and finding clever ways to bring them to life in unforced ways is a sure shot path to standing out amongst the crowd.

Inspiration: Uber Eats’ “David And Victoria Beckham Forget” Teaser

If you're looking for any indication of what the Super Bowl ads will look like this year... a meme turned into an ad...

Less social commentary...

Less crypto...

...More comedy

...More AI

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