Wow... this worked. Why? (Dawn Dish Detergent Ad)

Watching TV this afternoon, I was caught by surprise by this commercial: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RFStdNtTkNI

Wow, it was so simple it worked. Dish detergent is pretty much a commodity. I buy the one that smells good (or I think will smell good) or is in a neat bottle. But otherwise I usually don't think much about it.

After watching this commercial I'm buying Dawn.

Commercials make all sorts of claims all the time, we're used to it. Unless the brand has some internal credibility, we usually slough it off or we need a third party validator. Well this ad uses a pretty powerful 3rd party validator -- I mean we've all seen those pictures of the cute animals covered in oil and wondered if they could get cleaned up... well they can with Dawn!

Maybe as much as the validation, this Dawn ad speaks to my story of the consumer I want to be. I can buy something as mundane as dish soap, and be helping the environment? That's me I love the environemnt.

Ok, so maybe the ad is trying a little too hard to tug at the heartstrings you know what? Next time I go to Target to buy my dish soap, I'm reaching for the Dawn.