What is a successful ad?

I read a great book last year called "Hannibal and Me."  In a nutshell, the book talked about the writer's obsession with the great Carthaginian General Hannibal. In examining his life, he makes a larger point about success and failure. Rome never defeated Hannibal in battle. At one point he killed something like 1/5 of all Romans who were eligible to serve in the army. Was Hannibal a success or failure? Sixteen years always fighting the much larger Roman army on their home turf never defeated, and ultimately never victorious... Hannibal never took Rome, never brought Rome to its knees. He was defeated by a Roman General named Fabius. Fabius' strategy, constant retreat, he never won a battle.

How we define success and failure is often overlooked, but it is critical to remember what your ultimate goals are.

Which brings us to these ads:

I think these are both terrific ads, great copy, well filmed with compelling visuals (wait for it, here it comes....). But I have to wonder if the build up matches the payoff.

After all that does an apron really equal progressive? Is that what Progressive is about? Is it about hard work, about the people who show up everyday without a hint of glory? That's not what I think of as Progressive Insurance, they're the ones with Flo and low rates, maybe.

And the second ad, is beautiful. Its how anyone in love feels when they look at the person they love, it captures a truth, and in doing so it says we get it, we understand you. I was with the ad, in with the payoff (how long did it take for those flowers to sprout) that was a little sappy. But its selling what? Hair care products, what? How are they involved in love? I mean the woman had great hair, but what? Now maybe that brand has some affiliation with that message, but still I felt cheated at the end.

So are these good ads? Yes. Are they successful ads? I don't think so.... Which brings me back to my first question: Are these good ads? Can an ad that doesn't succeed in pushing its message, that doesn't change the image of a brand or build upon its existing image be a good ad?

I don't know for sure, but I don't think it can.

Take the bull by the horns. Spitzer's first ad

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0TYfjg0dILo] When I talk about confronting the elephant in the room, this is exactly what I mean. I when I said Weiner needed to own his mistakes, to incorporate his fall into the rationale for running again, this is what I mean. This ad grabs you right from the start, and it leads with the most important information in a direct way.

"When you dig yourself a whole you can either lie in the rest of your life or you can do something positive...." That's a great line. Spitzer appears to be talking to an interviewer, but regardless of whether it was written for him or he came up with it, it's good copy and it's well delievered. In fact, this ad reminded me of what I like about Spitzer. As I said to a friend, he may be a son of a bitch, but he's a son of a bitch who's on my side. That's really important in politics, but especially for a position like Comptroller, where,... well let's face it nobody really knows what they're supposed to do, but you know it's about making sure things run the way they're supposed to.

This ad also does a great job of telling a story. Who's side is Spitzer on? Yours. Who's he against? Wall Street, big banks, special interests. I think that works because it doesn't confuse listing issues or accomplishments with telling a story. The subtext could easily be... Once upon a time there was a guy who went after wall street and took on the powerful interests. They didn't like him very much. Then he made a mistake... Now, he's risen from the grave to right that wrong, they still don't like him very much. Good, fuck 'em.

I couldn't tell you exactly what he says in that section, but what he says is less important than the sense it conveys. (Frankly, I'm not sure what the lesson here is. Is it just a well delivered line? Is it his conviction or past story that we're familiar with?)

The spot loses me about 40 seconds in when he starts listing his accomplishments, "When I... blah... blah... blah..." Maybe it's because it seems more about him than us? Or maybe it's because it's a little on the nose, a little too much 4 instead of 2+2.  I'd be alright with ending it with "Everyone deserves a fair shot." Think the "... even me" not only should have been left unsaid, I think it weakens everything that came before it. Is it about him or us? Is he the fallen hero seeking selfless redemtion slaying demons? (They do a great job of tapping that archetype, btw) Or is he a self-absorbed egomaniac who can't stand being our of the limelight?

I should also mention the visuals, the close up of the glasses, the empire state building shot, which are really good.

All in all, I think this is a really good spot, that has flaws, but also addresses the biggest hurdle Spitzer would face his own fall from grace.

My weekend viewing

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j0HfwkArpvU] Getting off politics for a brief moment. I came across this pretty cool video this weekend.

I've mentioned Radio Lab before as something that inspires me (sort of a combination between "This American Life" and "Science Friday" on NPR).

There are some beautiful shots here, and I really appreciate that they don't slow down to explain the concept. Too often in ads, there's a feeling that the audience is too stupid to get the concept, so we over explain.  I think it's really the opposite that's true, the audience gets it, if it is gettable, when it's not understandable, it's usually the concept that's not working.

Aloha Hawaii

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uHikZmkjQ5U&feature=player_embedded] A real nice ad.  I like what Duke has to say, though not sure who he's supposed to be looking at when he's talking.  I like how the GC "Rise" stays on the screen the entire time, adding an element of curiosity to the spot. I like that they use imagery from Hawaii instead of being literal.

Great intro ad, one that uses issues & visuals to drive emotions.