David Bonney over at Feel Anything has put up a link to a great new ad for the VW Golf. In the latest post on his blog, which David describes as a place to “enthuse over the deep, the sad, the melancholy and the meaningful,” he challenges us not to “feel a confusing mixture of eye-rolling hatred and humanising empathy for the main character.”
While I admit that the ad does lead me to feel some distinct emotions, I am not sure that either confusion or empathy are among them.
David’s basic proposition, which he admits he has been obsessing on recently, is that “negative emotions are unfairly discriminated against in advertising.” I agree wholeheartedly that sad-vertising can be more powerful than glad-vertising, but I would advocate against ever leaving viewers confused or ambivalent in their reactions to an ad. Instead I’d propose that effective sad-vertising needs to resolve negative emotions to leave the viewer feeling heartened, empowered or encouraged (click here to see the previous post and here to see David’s response).
So why don’t I empathize with the “Great Pretender” in the Golf ad? Possibly because my response to the main character is not confused. He is clearly a self-centered, superficial ____. (There is a British swear word that very succinctly sums him up, but I probably can’t use it here.)
He’s “lonely, but no one can tell”? Good! I’m happy to see him stunned and bewildered when his alter ego drives off in the Golf. The ad works for me, not because I feel confused or conflicted, but because I enjoy seeing the Pretender discomfited. The final payoff is the tagline, “The Power of Understatement”—a perfect dig at those people who choose to show off by driving flashy cars.
Now of course, this could be a case of cognitive dissonance. Maybe I don’t want to identify with the “Great Pretender” because he hits a little too close to home. (Yes, I have driven a sports car in the past, and maybe I won’t wear that strawberry-colored shirt after all.) However, that rationalization raises another question. Will this ad evoke the same reaction from the Golf target audience that it does from advertising and research professionals?
How many people who would buy a Golf actually spend time presenting to clients, buying expensive suits, driving flashy sports cars and visiting swanky hotels? Will a realtor (estate agent), pharmacist (chemist) or factory supervisor (foreman) react to the ad in the same way as an advertising professional? I suspect that the answer is yes - but empathy and confusion will have nothing to do with it. Just delight at seeing the _____ get taken aback.
So, over to you. Do we have to empathize with the main character, or will simpler, less confusing emotions work just as well?
Tags: Nigel Hollis, sadvertising, David Bonney, VW Golf, emotion in advertising, emotion
(35 votes, average: 3.86 out of 5)
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February 24th, 2007 at 11:59 am
Hi Nigel,
Great post - you’re response is interesting. Perhaps I have over-stated things by suggesting consumers will feel a “confusion” of emotions. They will probably not give much thought to what they feel. It may remain sub-conscious and so a conscious confusion may not be on the agenda. But I certainly contend that some (if not all) who watch the ad will feel empathy alongside a dislike for the protagonist.
This is certainly what was found at the research stage of the ad’s development… some respondents couldn’t stop talking about how sorry they felt for the pretender and how it saddened them to see people who had to pretend and “couldn’t just be honest”…
And as for the schadenfreude you felt… is that not by it’s nature a complicated experience? What truly drives the malicious enjoyment of the misfortune of another? Is it fear? Jealousy? Perhaps it is as you put it a case of cognitive-dissonance… a defence we use against owning up to occassional pretence? If we hate the pretender, it can only be because his existence (or the existence of his type) has ramifications for how we see ourselves and our position in the world.
I was never a fan of Freud… so I’m not gonna deep-dive into the human sub-conscious. Ultimately, I’m just glad you felt some emotions when watching the ad (and negative emotions whichever way you look at it).
I’ll be interested to see what you’re other readers say!
Thanks for your thoughts.
David
February 26th, 2007 at 1:17 pm
Perhaps I shouldn’t admit this, but had it not been for Nigel’s commentary, I’m afraid this ad would have gone right over my head! When I first watched it, I didn’t realize that the jerk going IN the door was looking at his “altar ego” coming out. I had no idea it was meant to be the same guy. (I guess all cute blond guys look pretty much alike to me.)
So I just thought the ad was making some existential statement about loneliness. (And I had no idea what VW had to do with that.) The good news is that I probably wouldn’t be in the target group for the ad. But I do wonder if this ad might not be a bit too subtle for some people?
February 26th, 2007 at 9:55 pm
I agree Dede, that spot takes at LEAST 2 viewings to appreciate. I was confused for the first viewing as well.
I think the ‘power of the understatement’ can be very much double-edged; leading consumers to confusion through a general lack of specificity.
Do we know they are pushing a Golf? Yes.
Do we know he’s staring his alter ego in the face? No way.
Sometimes you need more than a throaty version of a Platters tune to convey your message.
February 27th, 2007 at 11:55 am
Thanks for the comments Dede and Michael. I wonder how many other people share your confusion over what was going on? Of course, it is only my interpretation that the two guys are related in any way.
David, you mentioned research done at the concept stage, dare I ask if the ad was pre-tested in animatic or finished film form?
April 5th, 2007 at 2:57 pm
I agree it’s not immediately obvious what it means, but that makes you appreciate it more once the penny drops. I like the fact that it takes a couple of viewings to appreciate its meaning. I worked it out by discussing with someone who had no clue what it was about. Most of all, since you tend to see ads over and over again and they tend to bash you over the head a bit, I love the fact that the ad itself, like its product, is all about understatement. That’s probably why I’ve found it more memorable than any other I’ve seen recently (it’s certainly the only one I’ve randomly posted a blog comment on!).
April 6th, 2007 at 7:34 am
Em, it may well be that this is one of those well-targeted ads that is very intruiging to some and not others, hence your desire to figure it out by discussing it with someone else. I can see that would add to the appreciation of the ad and the car. I suppose that leads me to wonder how many others have the same reaction? Enough to justify producing and airing the ad?
P.S. Love the e-mail address…which of course I cannot reveal here!
May 2nd, 2007 at 11:06 am
This is a very good ad, certainly one of my favourites in a long time. Perhaps the general public won’t be able to get the message the first time, and it took me a few times as well before I got all the subtle details, but after all this was what I liked about it.
P.S. The song is very good too.
May 2nd, 2007 at 3:04 pm
Thanks for the comment Valeri. Given the fact that Em and you both like the ad maybe I am in the minority here.