Tide Creates Another Fad for Millions to Talk About
Posted Thursday February 22nd, 2018 in Creativity + Art.Expecting a Mr. Clean commercial? Nah, it’s a Tide ad. Are they really promoting the newest medication with all of those negative side effects? Nope, it’s a Tide ad. Look, a Clydesdale horse! You know what that means: It’s a Tide ad! See for yourself:
The Ingredients used to Create Tide (Commercials)
Adweek informs us that Procter & Gamble bought “4 spots (a total of 90 seconds), [which] adds up to 15 million” to air during the Super Bowl. Some might joke that this TV campaign was created to distract others from the Tide-Pod fad from earlier this year. We think it was to show how each major brand company has their own style when it comes to advertising their products. And also how all of them, in one way or another, “are Tide ads.”
Modern commercials have been a little over the top lately. From the chaos of the story and special effects going on in the commercial, viewers might not know what the commercial is for until the logo is shown at the last second. The first initial Tide ad of the game gave the impression that it was mocking the styles of commercials we see everyday. It’s almost like the commercials are selling their products for the novelty of the ad, rather than the practical use of the product.
Tide proved that it is a detergent that can do both; the ads sent both messages that not only can Tide can clean your clothes efficiently but it can also influence its own ad style in just under a four-hour time block. Tide commercials typically take place in, you know, the laundry room; but not a single laundry room was seen in these Super Bowl commercials. They put out several commercials that established themselves as ads for other products but would then reveal that it was a Tide commercial. Viewership during the Super Bowl is astronomical; viewers cover almost all of the demographics and it’s the one time that people are eager to focus on commercial breaks. With everyone watching, it’s possible for it to get stuck in people’s heads and then to have it become a trend, especially in the age of social media. Take that, Persil.
Also, having a celebrity spokesperson, even if it’s temporary, makes commercials more significant, and using David K. Harbour from “Stranger Things” was no exception. After a while, it felt like the spots could have foreshadowed the Eagles and Patriots becoming “tied” and going into overtime, but clearly, that did not happen.
Was this ad likeable?
It’s no doubt that the TV spot caught a few laughs at the beginning of the game, but for the rest of the game, some of us kept questioning whether every single ad was going to be a Tide ad. In storytelling, as well as many other situations, we loosely follow the “rule of three,” like in this Forbes.com article. When presenting an ongoing joke or a running gag, showing it less than three times might confuse the audience, while showing it more than three times may bore them.
Will this ad be remembered years from now?
For me at least, I’ll probably spend the next few months giggling to myself whenever I look at my orange detergent container when doing laundry.
Every ad resonates with an audience member a different way, so it’s up to you and the rest of world to decide if this is an ad to cherish for the rest of our lifetime. Let us know what you think!
Did Tide clean the slate for what is considered a good ad? Which scenario was your favorite? Comment and share on our social media to continue to the conversation!
Oh by the way, this is not a Tide ad.
If you’re looking for some clever creative of your own, feel free to contact us, and be on the lookout for next week’s instalment of Clever Creative!
Written by Leah Myers, during her Spring 2018 internship at GEM Advertising.
Tags
Scroll, or tap/click a list item to filter posts by that tag.
« 3 Ways to Determine Exactly What to Spend On Your Marketing Clever Creative: Mother’s Day Came Early in PyeongChang »