Tiny Dancers and Insurance: Why the Heck Not?!

I just ADORE this ad for John Lewis Home Insurance created by London agency adam&eveDDB. Why? Well, let me count the ways.

Photo credit: John Lewis/YouTube

1. Music selection. SO powerful. Tiny Dancer is one of those songs you can't help but get all warm and nostalgic about. It's especially a great choice for the age of the people they are targeting. The right song choice can be everything. Make or break. It should be selected to enhance the commercial and they nailed it.

2. Beautiful simplicity. I'm not talking about all the careful, detailed, incredible work that went into this ad and calling it simple. Not at all. It took really smart, thoughtful people to put this thing together. But the outcome is just so beautiful and easy to watch. You are swept away with her earnest, yet accident-prone dancing. You smirk a little with the bits of subtle humor throughout. And then you realize it's for an insurance company and you're like, "what the what?!". NICE! The commercial ends on, "If it matters to you, it matters to us." Perfect. Well done. I'm totally on board. When I'm a parent, it'd be nice to let my daughter do her thing without worrying about my new vase shattering on the floor. 

I got the message loud and clear, yet there was only one written message in the whole ad. That end line, "If it matters to you, it matters to us." The whole ad was created to tell one story. One selling point. One benefit. Simplifying your message oftentimes allows for a much more quality, compelling ad. It leaves room for you to get creative with it instead of worrying about the 50 things you want to cram in one ad. 

3. It's relatable. I WAS that girl. Dancing in my room. Dancing and singing in front of the mirror. Rocking out in my car. Moving furniture around to choreograph full-on dances in the living room. And I know I'm not the only one.  We've been that girl, know that girl, or are parenting that girl. And you can imagine many similar scenarios, whether girl or boy, of kids being kids. Rough-housing. Playing. The last thing you want to do is spoil their fun because you are worried about the houseplants. I enjoy interior designing and like things to look nice but I don't believe in houses acting like museums. They are meant to be lived in, where memories are made. 

The first time an insurance company ad ever caught my eye was Progressive's Mayhem commercials. Normally, insurance ads aren't something you're going to watch 20 times in a row. But this ad, I did do so. I will continue to do so. Rock on, adam&eveDBB for your amazing work and for selling this concept through. Rock on, John Lewis for taking a chance and letting the ad agency do what they do best—make your brand memorable. I won't be able to forget you, all the way from here in the United States.

Folks, if you haven't seen the ad, watch it here. I dare you to try not to fall in love with it!

Netflix Makes You Friends

(If you want the short and sweet Buzzfeed version I wrote, you'll wanna see this.)

“The lack of chemistry between couples can be overcome as long as everyone happens to love House of Cards.”

YES, Neftlix, YES. So much truth.

                                    Chirp. Chirp. Screenshot from the commercial.

I may or may not know from personal experience that Netflixing does in fact speed up bonding with couples. After you get into the initial, “What’s new with you” interview, what do you talk about next?  Well, you casually mention that you and the hubs binged on Netflix this weekend and it was the best, most unproductive thing to happen to you in a while.

“Oh really, what did you watch?” they ask, which is almost always followed by a, “We love Netflix too!” You tell them you can’t stop watching House of Cards. Totally addictive. Totally awful lives these characters are leading but you just. can’t. turn. away. You also thank God you don’t personally know anyone like them. Their eyes grow wider. “You like House of Cards too?” one of them pipes up. Now you’re all smiling. You know what comes next. Dessert will be served in front of the TV.

In the instance that your guests aren’t hooked on Netflix, it’s your job to help them see the light. So you go on about how House of Cards is full of brilliant writing and acting and it’s actually a Netflix original. Kevin Spacey is the lead character. So credible. You know what comes next. Dessert in front of the TV.

By the end of the evening, you feel like better friends. And this, my friends, is why I say Netflix will help your life. But since this is an advertising blog, I’m mostly here to assert that this is why you need GOOD copywriters to write the commercials we watch. Because, if we’re going to be bombarded with them, can’t they please be interesting to our personal lives?

Watch the whole thing. Really, you’ll love it. I don’t know the copywriter. (But I wish I did, because I’d love to tell him or her that he or she is awesome.) I also don’t know who thought up the idea for the commercial. But I DO know that good copywriters know how to take a general idea and put a unique spin on it that only copywriters can do. The art direction is also great, it adds to the humor, however, the words came first. So there.

“Can one man’s life be forever altered by plunging into the depths of a personal Netflix recommendation?”

“Yes it can.”

I love how it was worded like a philosophical question, with dramatic word choices like “forever”, “altered”, “plunging” and “depths”. I can very much speak to the plunging. Once you’re hooked, you sink real deep, real fast. I got my husband hooked on The Office after it ended and we got through all nine seasons of The Office in a pretty marginal amount of time that doesn’t need to be mentioned. And you know what? It bonded us “forever” (there’s that word) in a new way. The Office was a world my Bobby knew nothing about and it pained me for him to not know such humor. To have no one that was my husband to share it with. Now we can randomly spit out Office quotes at each other. I am no longer faced with a blank stare when I burst out, “You want a kooky-cookie!? Try my kooky-cookie!” Bob likes it when I do the “I’m Prison Mike!” impression. And lately, he’s been saying, “Conference Room. 5 minutes!” at the most random of times. I swear, until this Netflix binging, we were less-than-complete.

So there. Wieden + Kennedy, you’ve done it again. You’ve spoken right to me. You had/have my attention (which is why I’m writing this really long thing). And it solidifies my Netflix fandom.

Ironically, I’m finishing up a three-week Netflix fast (an obstaining) with Bobby. Because, once again as I said, I also know that Netflix is entertainment and a catalyst for connection. However it is not everything, because that would be sad. Variety is the spice of life. Read a book. Listen to a podcast. Go to a museum. Go on a date. Volunteer. And, yes, occasionally go ahead and binge on Netflix. It's just one more thing to talk about.

YES to Storytelling

So here’s my new obsession. The newer Kohl’s ads produced by local MPLS agency Peterson Milla Hooks really make me smile. It’s what it should be. It’s storytelling. Showing, not telling. When “The Surprise” aired last holiday, my first reaction was “Awwww!!!!!” and I quickly proceeded to show my co-workers. Watching it again, I thought, “Someone get me a granny, I want to make her day!”. Continuing to ponder, I thought, well that was risky, Kohl’s. No copy trying to sell product. In fact, there’s no copy at all. It wasn't necessary. Tacking on salesy writing doesn't work with this kind of spot. Does marketing-y writing in general move people? Especially Millennials? No. Research already shows we like the emotional stuff. (I'm seeing more and more of it.) And we like causes. The ad has both.

Now, school is back in session and so is Kohl’s with a new ad “First Day Journey,” which aligns with their “YES” campaign. Once again, bravo. It is an adorable 30-second journey of a 6-year-old’s first time navigating the big, unnerving school bus — right at eyelevel. I don’t need kids for this to hit close to home, though let it be known a mom friend of mine was the first to point out this ad. All I have to do is think back to my own first day of school. How exciting and nervewracking it was, all at the same time.

In the ad, girl steps onto a bus full of kiddie chaos and the copy reads, “Yes to the first-day outfit.” It’s a jungle in there. Confidence is key on the school bus. A good outfit helps. (That line, by the way, is the only very subtle mention of product.) The last line of copy reads, “Yes to a new friend.” Every mom prays for that. Every kid yearns for that. School sucks without friends, am I right? What helps? I remember feeling much more set for school knowing I had a cute outfit to wear. For some reason, it’s a big day with big fashion expectations. 

PMH gets it. The result? A Kohl’s that understands you. A memorable ad that beckons you — except you forget it’s an ad because it’s so beautifully done. Somehow you wind up at Kohl’s for back-to-school shopping. Coincidence? I think not.

Have you seen the back-to-school ad? What do you think?