Clever Creative: Real-Life Ghostbusters
Posted Thursday October 13th, 2016 by Caitlin Artigliere in Creativity + Art.Halloween was originally a Celtic holiday to honor the dead. We now know it as a time for candy, costumes, and all things horror. Today’s perfectly-timed Clever Creative embodies the Halloween spirit, literally. This new ADT ad takes an actual recorded customer service call and uses it to show that they’re #AlwaysThere.
In this true-life scenario, Katie Carubba’s son, Benjamin, had developed a fear of ghosts and was scared they were haunting his house. So, to put his fears to rest, she called an ADT representative and asked him to tell her son about the special “ghost monitoring” system they have. Check out this new ad that proves that ADT is always there to make you feel safe, and that they are like real-life Ghostbusters:
Why our GEMites liked this clever creative:
The most obvious reason as to why we like this ad is that it is cute. There was at least one point in time during our childhoods when we’ve been afraid of ghosts, and this ad reminds you of that youthful fear. It also makes you wish your parents had an ADT representative that could have reassured you that the ghost monitoring systems would keep you safe. Besides the cuteness factor, we love the relevance of the ad. As we mentioned before, Halloween is right around the corner and this ad was created to play to that fact.
Finally, we love this ad because of its authenticity. Some companies will use real stories from their service center employee’s’ experiences, but they’ll use actors or dramatize it. This ad takes the actual recording of the service call. It then goes a step further at the end to show you the pictures of the actual people who had this exchange; they didn’t just use some sort of voice affect to make it sound like a phone call, or make up the ghost story because it’s Halloween time. This ad is real and genuine, and so are the people who were involved, which is why we love it.
Why our fellow creatives should like this:
Advertising a service can be a lot more difficult than advertising an actual product. You can’t fall back on highlighting the features and physical attributes, which is why service ads often have to be more creative and interesting. One promotional tactic that these service companies use is telling actual accounts of customer experiences. Now even though there are a number of company ads that do this, not many are as successful as ADT’s. As we mentioned previously, their use of the actual call made the ad more genuine and believable. It showed that their service reps are willing to go above and beyond their job descriptions, which really showcases how ADT’s service is superior. Proving that: The more transparent and authentic your ads and company can be, the more successful they will both be.
Another reason our fellow creatives should love this ad is because they used an underrated medium: animation. Again, the company could have used the story and created an actor portrayal of it, but they decided to use a more creative art form that would allow them to use the actual recording. This use of a different format shows how you can set your ads apart and make them more interesting. In a world full of ads with real people and actors in them, an animated ad stands out. We love the creative choices and the authenticity of the ad and you should too. This new commercial is a testament to the fact that if there’s something strange in your neighborhood, you should call ADT, the real-life Ghostbusters.
Let us know what you think, and look out for next week’s installment of Clever Creatives!
If you’re looking for some clever creative of your own, feel free to contact us.
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