First Mental Image (FMI):

Burger King’s creepy mascot breaking into the corporate headquarters of rival McDonald’s.

An awful first mental image. It’s never a good idea to attach your brand name to a negative mental image like corporate espionage. Especially in light of scandals such as Enron, the sub-prime housing bailout, or the disgraced money manager Bernard Madoff. In this case, viewers might be left with a vaguely unpleasant feeling and choose to avoid Burger King without being able to recall exactly why.

The Message:

The Sausage McMuffin with Egg sandwich is so good that Burger Kind has decided to steal the recipe from McDonald’s.

Burger King inadvertently does more to promote McDonald’s than itself. Why on earth would you want to direct so much positive attention to your rival?

Copying your competitor’s products or services does nothing to create a point of differentiation. Rather, it dilutes your company’s position in the marketplace.

By creating a copycat and blatantly admitting it, Burger King sent a second unintended message to consumers: McDonald’s is breakfast sandwich is the best. And since many of us will have difficulty believing a copycat is anywhere near as good as the original, why not just head to McDonald’s for a Sausage McMuffin with Egg? After watching this commercial, I imagine most people will.

Last Mental Image (LMI):

The Burger King mascot making his getaway, presumably hurrying off to create an unoriginal breakfast sandwich.

Sigh. More scenes depicting Burger King engaging in a criminal activity.

Conclusion:

Burger King worships at the altar of creativity. Entertainment drives the company’s advertising at the expense of developing a relevant position in the mind of the customer.

Sadly, this misguided approach produced an ad that wasted millions of dollars and eroded Burger King’s brand identity. It’s not surprising that Burger King sales continue to slide, while McDonald’s sales are rising.

In this post, we’ll deconstruct Verizon’s very first “there’s a map for that” ad, exploring what makes it so popular, powerful and persuasive.

First Mental Image (FMI):

A twenty-something college student effortlessly surfing the Internet and playing video games on his Verizon Wireless phone.

A perfect first mental image. What better spokesperson for an Internet and multimedia smartphone than a young college student? (Hey, he probably could teach this old fart a thing or two.)

The Message:

Verizon’s 3G coverage is widespread and dependable, while AT&T’s 3G coverage is spotty and unreliable.

The message speaks directly to the frustration and displeasure that many iPhone users experience with AT&T’s spotty coverage and dropped calls. And the ad never sways from this single, powerful point.

Throughout the ad, Verizon Wireless uses the catchphrase “there’s a map for that,” a tongue in cheek reference to Apple’s “there’s an app for that” ad campaign for the iPhone. By now, you’re probably aware that the iPhone only operates on AT&T’s network.

And just as we’ve witnessed with Southwest Airline’s “Bags Fly Free” campaign, Verizon successfully defines its position relative to the competition by leveraging The Law of Contrast. This leads to the ad’s most persuasive punch: Brightly colored coverage maps demostrating Verizon’s 3G network dominance over AT&T.

Last Mental Image (LMI):

Verizon has five times the 3G coverage of AT&T, giving you a compelling reason to switch networks.

The Last Mental Image loops back to the First Mental Image: Verizon’s has the most dependable 3G network available.

Stylistic Signature:

As with all great ads, the stylistic signature of Verizon’s ad is sleek and congruent.

The main character is youthful and confident.
The music is cheerful and lively.
The comparison maps are colorful and high-tech.

And make sure you catch this subtle, yet powerful message: Throughout the ad, the Verizon character moves confidently in a forward direction, generally left to right, across the screen, while the AT&T character travels in the opposite direction. During the ad’s crescendo, the Verizon character passes in front of the frustrated AT&T guy, pauses for a moment to look back and continues marching forward.

Conclusion:

The ad makes it easy for the viewer to imagine themselves as a Verizon customer. And rather than attacking the iPhone, arguably the best smartphone on the market, Verizon leverages its strength — and its competitor’s weakness — by pouncing on AT&T’s unreliable 3G network coverage. The bottom line: This ad is the perfect counter-strike to AT&T’s iPhone success.

First Mental Image (FMI):

Five airline baggage handlers standing on a tarmac, proclaiming that Southwest Airlines loves bags.

The ad establishes a solid theme with its first mental image. A baggage handler is a credible spokesperson for baggage.

The Message:

Simple and straightforward. Unlike most airlines, your bags fly free on Southwest.

Southwest successfully leverages the law of contrasting by attacking the competition’s nickel-and-dime strategy of charging for baggage.

Recall from an earlier post, I explained that decisions are not made in isolation. Rather, we look for the differences between our available options. And as a marketer, it’s your job to frame the buying scenario for the consumer. Which means, you must define your company’s position relative to the competition.

Southwest does exactly that. The company makes a single, powerful point and hammers it home repeatedly. Watch the ad several times, and you’ll appreciate the frequency with which Southwest makes the same point without ever losing the viewer.

Last Mental Image (LMI):

A graphic demonstrating the financial savings airline travelers can expect from flying Southwest, followed by the gung-ho statement, “Grab your bag, it’s on.”

A perfect ending to a persuasive ad.

Conclusion:

Southwest’s ad is clear, direct and persuasive. The company doesn’t complicate its message by being cute or fancy.

Rather, Southwest kicks the competition right where it hurts. And for those doubting the effectiveness of Southwest’s strategy, check out Jackie Huba’s blog post which reports that the company experienced an 8.8% increase in passenger miles for September, 2009. Comparatively, passenger miles were down for nearly all major airlines.

Finally, the ad’s message and imagery are marvelously congruent. Happy employees. Upbeat music. Confident message. Nicely done, Southwest.

First Mental Image (FMI):

Two Columbian Mammoths enjoying a mud bath.

Happy animals. A good First Mental Image, especially if you’re advertising a zoo.

The Message:

We soon discover that our two heros are soaking in a deadly tar pit. At this moment, the ad takes a disastrous turn down Flop Lane.

Here’s why: Conjuring an unpleasant mental image — especially one as strong as extinction — carries with it the danger of leaving your viewers with a vaguely negative feeling attached to your product or service. In this case, viewers might choose to avoid the Elephant Odyssey exhibit without being able to recall exactly why.

Also consider that today’s zoos are established for the preservation of wildlife. Given today’s environmental concerns, animal welfare is a HUGE deal. Extinction might serve as an appropriate mental image if you’re advertising a natural history museum, but it’s a dreadful mental image for a zoo.

Unclear and undefined, the ad also expects viewers to connect the events of the past with the creation of the Elephant Odyssey exhibit. Specifically, viewers must recognize and appreciate that Columbian Mammoths once roamed Southern California some 12,000 years ago. Today, the decedents of these animals have returned and are now living at the San Diego Zoo where they are waiting patiently for you to pay money to watch them mosey around.

But the public rarely pays such close attention to advertising to be able to connect the dots. Consider that five thousand advertising messages ambush us daily (Yankelovich, 2008), which means that you must spell out your main message for the viewer. Be short, clear and concise.

Now I’ll admit, this ad scores high in the entertainment department. It amuses viewers with humor and dazzling CGI animation. One might even mistake it for an ad promoting the movie Ice Age. (Perhaps the San Diego Zoo is intentionally trying to win your child’s heart.)

But entertainment does not equal persuasion. And the ad’s humor does not support its message.

The bottom line: The message is absent of relevancy, contrast and credibility.

Last mental image (LMI):

It took 12,000 years to bring you this exhibit.

Why did the creation of this exhibit take so long? How is this relevant to the viewer? Does the exhibit combine the elements of a natural history museum with live animals?

Again, give the viewer details. Tell us exactly what makes the Elephant Odyssey so special.

Overall, the ad conjures a weak Last Mental Image that leaves the viewer with more questions than answers.

Conclusion:

This ad would have been far more effective had it given specifics explaining or demonstrating why the Elephant Odyssey is a spectacular, must see exhibit. Instead it’s ambiguous and leaves viewers scratching their heads.

First Mental Image (FMI):

Attending a business seminar. Learning from a team of experts who are teaching you how to run your business more efficiently.

This ad opens with a solid first mental image. A business seminar is a familiar, non-threatening environment. And most small business owners have attended at least one business seminar in the past looking for advice.

The Message:

A simpler way to ship: No weighing. No measuring. No fluctuating costs based upon destination.

As USPS put it, “If it fits, it ships for a low flat rate.” The key to this message is its relevancy. It simplifies a confusing, frustrating and costly part of operating a small business.

But this advertisement could have been more effective had it displayed sharper contrast between USPS and its competition.

Yes, the advertisement showed the viewer the four different sizes of flat rate boxes. But USPS should have demonstrated the kinds of items that could fit into these boxes.

How about shocking the viewer by placing something large and heavy into at least one of the boxes?

And what about pricing? Are they hiding something? The ad never once told the viewer what the “low flat rate” was for the program.

They also needed to remind viewers that ‘Priority Mail’ means that your item will arrive to its destination within a 2 – 3 day timeframe.

Last Mental Image (LMI):

Convenience and simplicity. USPS offers a free supply of flat rate boxes, and free pickup.

The bottom line: The USPS Priority Mail flat rate program is a simpler way to ship. The ad comes full circle with the message of running your business more efficiently.

Conclusion:

This ad demonstrates that advertising is easy when you have something to say. The message was on target. And the ad opened with a solid first mental image, coming full circle with its the last mental image.

But again, the credibility and memorability of the ad would have soared had it done a better job with demonstration and pricing. Overall, a good ad with a simple message.