A Cookie and An Apple
In case you haven’t seen them, Cookie has done two iPhone commercials highlighting Apple’s “Hey Siri” functionality. I think they are very funny and very well done, but I love Cookie Monster (and cookies).
What makes these ads so cool…
What makes these ads so cool is that as funny as they are and as much as Cookie is the star, you never lose sight of the fact that the commercial is about an Apple iPhone and specifically its “Hey Siri” feature. In fact, Kerry learned how to have Siri set a timer as Cookie did in the commercial. What the commercial actually does is make Siri and Cookie equal co-stars of the commercial. Cookie is of course very recognizable and almost everyone knows what both Cookie and Siri sound like when they talk.
Why is the fact that you remember that it is about an iPhone so important….well in the May 2016 issue of GKIC’s No B.S. Marketing Letter (do yourself a favor and become a GKIC member if you aren’t already), Dan Kennedy reported on some very interesting Super Bowl commercial statistics.
“This year people watched the equivalent of 1600 years’ Super Bowl ads on YouTube with 40% of that occurring before the game. (Wired).”
But it gets better…a focus group the day after the game had 50 people describe their favorite commercial to an interviewer. 25 were asked to write down the name of the advertiser and 25 were given multiple choice lists to pick the correct advertiser for the ad they describer.
Here are the results….of the first group, only 1 out of 25 got it right and out of the 2nd group, 4 out of 25 got it right. Now here is the kicker….another 25 people were given a multiple choice list of which all were wrong…that is, the correct advertiser was not listed. NO ONE BALKED….they all picked one! All 75 were asked if they had taken any action as a result of their favorite commercial….the answer the big fat goose egg…that is not a single one did!
So what were they measuring….views, not sales. The number of eyeballs that see your ad means nothing if it does not result or at least move prospects towards sales. What is the most important thing that advertising must return? ROI (Return on Investment) especially if you are a small business. But even if you are a big business you have to eventually get something back from the money you spend advertising. Who cares how many views there are on YouTube….did anyone buy because of their view?
That is what is so brilliant about the Cookie Monster/Her Siri commercials. They are very entertaining and funny (I show them to everyone). They use a celebrity (who does not know who Cookie Monster is). They make Siri the co-celebrity and indirectly make the iPhone a celebrity. So you won’t forget the commercial and more importantly you won’t forget the product.
FINAL NOTE: As good as the Cookie Monster commercials are, that type of brand marketing is not what we need as small businesses….we need to use Direct Marketing techniques.
Phew, I need a cookie!