Have you noticed television ads are baring it all? Not in the form of skin, but in character. In its latest Super Bowl ad, Chrysler admitted plush luxury wasn't their thing, but reminded us they know what it means to make a solid, affordable vehicle. Chrysler isn't the only company taking this approach in their advertising campaigns. Take for example, this Burger King ad:
We all know the Egg McMuffin from McDonald's was the original breakfast sandwich, but BK shows us original doesn't necessarily mean superior. They don't try to hide the fact they stole the idea and you can't help but be charmed by their honesty.
Next up: tampons. Yes, even commercials for feminine hygiene products can be cool. In an effort to be more upfront in their advertising, Kotex decided to call attention to ridiculous commercials of the past. The idea for an upfront approach came from an intern at New York advertising agency JWT. The intern, Kelly Diaz (not an actress), starred in the first pitch. Kotex even used footage from their own archives for the spots. The authenticity can't go unnoticed. See for yourself:
Perhaps the ultimate example of transparency was Domino's Pizza's Turnaround campaign. People were dissing Domino's Pizza. Customers called the food names like cardboard, boring, bland, and processed. Domino's had two options. President Patrick Doyle said,
"You can either use negative comments to get you down or you can use them to excite you energize your process of making a better pizza; we did the latter."
While others might have assumed a defensive position, Domino's had the humility to accept responsibility for their lackluster performance. Acknowledging their inferior pizza, they resolved to improve it. Head chefs worked to create a new pizza from the ground up. Domino's then paid a personal visit to their harshest critics, inviting them to weigh in on the new recipe. The response was overwhelmingly positive. Personally, I think their pizza is a vast improvement from the old stuff. At Advent Creative, Domino's occupies our lunch table at least once a month.
Up next: Ridiculous Ads