Ian M. over at Brand Seeks Idea recently put up this post Long-term memory – time to reflect.
Drawing on another post from the blog Presentation Zen, Ian ponders the need for a “moment of reflection” in storytelling, and reminds us of the importance of moving memories from short- to long-term memory. He asks some questions which deserve some serious thought. But lurking behind those questions, I also think there’s a misconception or two.
To be honest, I only read Ian’s post because of Google. He had used the “P” word – that’s Pre-testing in case you’re wondering - and Google sent it straight to my Gmail inbox. Ian referred to a post by Garr Reynolds which features videos of Ira Glass (of This American Life fame) sharing his thoughts on the art of storytelling. (The videos are well worth viewing, even though Garr’s post does summarize them nicely.)
Ian picked up on an idea mentioned by Glass, of the “moment of reflection,” which Ian described as “that point when we take a breather from the story, action or drama, and have a chance to make sense of what we are being told. Being interesting is not enough unless we can also make sense of it and understand why it is important.”
Ian suggests that without the opportunity to reflect and make sense of things we see and hear (including advertising), our memories will be washed away. “I guess it may be the same reason it is hard to remember movies on planes,” he continued. “There is no opportunity to reflect and consider - the movie is often followed straight away by other entertainment, food or sleep.”
Mmm…I think that Ian has been led astray by the phrase “moment of reflection” as used by Ira Glass. Ian seems to be taking this phrase literally when he comments on the fact that he finds it hard to remember movies on planes because “the movie is often followed straight away by other entertainment, food or sleep…” Sorry, Ian, but that applies to life in general. We rarely get a chance to reflect on anything these days, and when we do, it is usually after the fact.
Let’s think about watching a commercial break on TV. If you do not talk to someone else, leave the room or check IM/e-mail, then you probably watch the ads, one after another. No break. No time to think. No pause for reflection. If something does not make sense, you forget it. You don’t try to work it out, because the next ad has already got your attention.
But in spite of this sequential nature of TV ads, people still remember some of them. And if the agency has done its job right, some of the memories and impressions conveyed will be stored in long-term memory, so that the next time the viewer thinks about the brand, a positive impression comes to mind.
When Ira Glass used the phrase “moment of reflection,” he was describing the building blocks of effective storytelling through radio or TV. The moment of reflection was one building block; anecdote was the other. According to Glass, the “moment of reflection” is the point (or points) at which the storyteller breaks away from an action narrative (an anecdote) to illuminate, either obliquely or explicitly, the significance of the action being described.
But taken out of context, the phrase may be misleading. It could be taken to suggest that a viewer needs a literal break or pause to actively try to make sense of what is happening. But there is no such break when people watch TV. So I would like to propose some alternatives to the phrase “moment of reflection” to describe the turning point in a story, when the ideas “click” and make sense, such as “culminate,” “fall into place,” or “resolve.” However we choose to describe this mechanism, the best and most compelling ads are constructed in a way that inextricably leads the viewer to the desired conclusion.
To my mind, great storytelling does not require the reader to work out what is happening. Rather, the story should carry the viewer or reader like a raft on a river. The raft goes where the river takes it. I believe comprehension needs to be built into successful storytelling, particularly when embedded into sequential content like a commercial break.
Now ideally, the ad structure ensures that the viewer reaches the right conclusion, but let’s face it, not every ad is great, and the story alone is not always enough to ensure effective communication. That’s why we have the voiceover. Just in case the viewer does not get it on their own, we tell them. And Ira Glass would suggest that’s OK. It is the storyteller’s job to make sure the audience understands the implications. In most cases they are not going to work it out for themselves.
What do you think about the moment of reflection? Is it a valid concept in advertising? Let us know, please.
Tags: Millward Brown, Nigel Hollis, Ira Glass, storytelling, moment of reflection, TV advertising
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