How to create a brand identity...

 Funny thing about this ad is that it wasn't made by Tesla. You should read the story here, but basically it was a bunch of college grads looking to break into advertising. They spend a grand total of $1500.

What I love about this ad, is that it totally gets the emotion right. It tells a story of wonder, of excitement, of innocence. There are a lot of reasons to buy a Tesla, but basically, they're saying you buy it because its just plain cool. (Not because you want to be cool, but because its coolness excites you.) They tell you that in a story, no, that's not right, they don't tell you, they show it.

What's more, I think they capture the truth about what makes Tesla cool. I've reviewed a bunch of ads recently that tell great brand stories, but when the company is revealed, it feels like a let down because what they're saying doesn't match the identity that brand holds in my mind. Maybe because these guys are outsider or beginners (there's a whole zen concept of beginner's mind) or really smart and talented or just really in tune with Tesla (probably some combination of all those things), they seem to hit the nail on the head.

I love the moment with the dad where he dons the cardboard helmet. This spot is what it means to be on-emotion & on-message.

They could have chosen to sell a product, all electric, zero to sixty, cutting edge, blah, blah, blah, instead they created a brand identity. That's a much harder lift, but it works here because its authentic to the product, and these days, that might be more important than creativity. 

Storytelling is a two way street

A quick thought about storytelling... Thought this ad was a nice example of storytelling and nifty animation to boot.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XqWig2WARb0

Here's a pretty cool look at how they made the ad:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WKfFhUdXA5M

Along these lines, I saw this interesting article in the Wall Street Journal  about how "Carrying a bottle of Vegetable Juice Has Become a Status Symbol." The point the article makes which I hope circles back to this advert (see how I used the British term for a British ad) is that people buy things it sends a signal to the world about who they are, what they believe, what their values are. A $10 bottle of juice is crazy unless it "...convey[s] the impression of superior health and discipline."

See storytelling works both ways. A product a candidate has to tell a story to get folks to pay attention, but where things get interesting is when the audience adopts the brand because it tells their story too.