Practice Unprotected Advertising!

In 1949, George Orwell published his futuristic vision of a 1984 world.

During the Super Bowl in the “real” 1984, Apple unleashed it’s futuristic vision on the world:

Not just a futuristic vision of technology, but a futuristic vision for advertising. A million dollar ad where the product is NOT the focus. Where the production and entertainment value sucks you in and then you’re hit with an ad message in the last few seconds.

In ’84, this was news – this ad is part of advertising folk-lore and has a sacred spot in the Advertising Hall of Fame. Today, however, putting entertainment first is necessary.

If you are targeting anyone under the age of 35, they are too savvy for your basic, “We have FREE checking,” message … even if you put “free” in all caps! You may have a product that will change their lives, but they’ll never hear it or believe it unless you somehow stand out in the crowd of TV, radio, text, web banners, billboards, postcards, and online videos that they will see today.

Here are 2 AWESOME examples to help inspire your next creative campaign:

In the first 3 days that this was posted, it received more than 5 MILLION views!

A 3 minutes ad where the product is mentioned for only 10 seconds and you get a differentiation against the “dehydrated brown nibblette,” that the cat clearly is not fond of.

With 3.5 million views and counting, this may be the scariest and funniest ad you’ll see … all at the same time. 90 seconds worth of ad and we have no idea what the product is (or that it’s even a commercial) until the last 15 seconds.

Millennials and most Gen X do not want to be sold. They do not want your advertising … BUT, they love to be entertained … to be part of the brand experience.

In 1984’s, pre-internet and heart of the AIDS scare world, “going viral” was terrifying. Today, it’s the goal. You don’t need to hire Steven Spielberg to make your next ad – but you should hone your ads down to a single message and find a different way to tell it.

Be risky, take a chance, have some fun and practice “unprotected” advertising to go viral. I promise you’ll still respect yourself in the morning.

If this article was helpful to you, please share it with your professional network and colleagues. Lets get VIRAL!

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