…most likely won’t help sales or profits (although it might well gain plaudits and awards for the agency).
The video below has become something of an internet sensation. Launched on YouTube on 27th January (2015) as I write this it has already attracted 5,794,334 views and has picked up coverage in publications like the UK “Daily Telegraph”.
It certainly packs an emotional punch…
…but as an ad it is very unlikely to produce worthwhile and measurable results for the advertiser.
Let’s start with what’s good about the ad…
…that it’s firmly focused on the prospective customer and what they care about. It makes an emotional impact because it taps into a very powerful trigger, the love of a parent for their children.
And it holds the attention and draws the viewer in with the unexpected twist in the story where the little girl makes an unexpected and shocking statement.
All good and worth noting.
If we were looking at this in the framework of the trusty A-I-D-A formula…
…the ad has done a pretty good job on the first 2 steps.
Sadly, then it all falls a little flat.
We come to the end of the “story” and something of a punchline…
“A child’s future is worth every sacrifice”.
After a few more moments of emotional climax we are exhorted to “Pursue more from life” and the Met Life logo is displayed.
Finally, and very low-key, almost as if the creative types producing the ad were embarrassed to have to do it (!!) we get something of a call to action at the end of the video.
We all have a dream for our children.
Share yours with us, and it could become reality.
Find out more at MetLife.com.hk
Follow the link and you find that there’s a competition to win an insurance policy that could be used to help provide for a child’s future.
Note that the link leads to the MetLife HK home page, not directly to a dedicated landing page, and the details of the competition are actually part of a slider.
So, what we have here is a lead generation campaign…but one that falls down in the final two steps of the A-I-D-A process.
There’s virtually no effort to build up any desire to take action here…or to be specific about what that action is.
Presumably, the message is all about the importance of providing for a child’s future, but this is implied rather than being spelled out clearly.
Then, when we get to the crucial “Action” step it’s all very feeble. Again, there’s the implication that if you follow the link there will be a competition or something of benefit to you, but it’s not clear.
Now, I know that curiosity can be a powerful trigger for action, but that curiosity needs to be stoked up a little with the promise of a significant benefit. Put another way, you need to “sell” the click. That’s especially the case here where the company has caused a problem for themselves by displaying the MetLife name and logo before the end of the video. It might only be subconscious but when people see that they are going to think “Warning! Life Insurance company!”
MetLife is a big company with deep pockets, so this exercise isn’t going to hurt them and seems to have delivered some favourable publicity. But that doesn’t necessarily translate into more sales and higher profits. If you’re a small business or entrepreneur, you can’t afford to gamble on advertising that isn’t going to deliver you results. So beware of copying what big companies do with their advertising…
…even if they are something of an internet ad sensation.