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.