Advertising has lost the art of showing, not telling
Dave Trott reminisces about the bygone days of advertising when copywriters vividly brought products to life – and when all ads did not look the same.
In 1863 the world’s first underground railway opened between Paddington and Farringdon. And in 1911 they began using something no one had seen before: a mechanical staircase.
It was at Earl’s Court station, all the stairs were moving non-stop. Passengers had to jump on the moving clanking apparatus and it would carry you up or down, until you got to the end and had to jump off.
When the first one appeared it was terrifying.
Totally agree… What about the classic Cornings Visions saucepan ad? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UKPpKkQPrh0
The modern take on this ‘Will it blend?” perhaps?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lAl28d6tbko
It is really nice to enjoy some classics here, so thanks for sharing. One thing many of these ads are doing is setting up an important pscyhological ‘Open Loop’ which is essential for engagement and sticking. That’s the real key here, and not so much the fact it is a demonstration format in my opinion. I think neuro-marketers might agree on that too.
We do have a lot of good ‘show me’ content out there but it is moving to online content I feel. TV commercials could do with some revamping, and they’re not translating to multiple environments so well. It isn’t the idea so much as the way the idea is produced to capture the psychological triggers we need to stay involved and remember the brand names. My 5c worth … I still loved seeing good ads.
The author forgot to say that “demonstration, not empty claims” does not automatically extend itself to all categories and brands. Feminine hygiene is but one example.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bkSNuWjLpMc
There’s another one from the same vintage which is all ‘film noir’-esque, where the female protagonist cleans-up a blood-stain from a murder-scene.