“At the heart of effective creative philosophy is the belief that nothing is so powerful as an insight into human nature, what compulsions drive a person, what instincts dominate their action, even though the language so often camouflages what really motivates them. For if you know these things about a person you can touch them at the core of their being.” Bill Bernbach.
It’s been quite an emotional start to the year so it could be that I am unduly sensitive to these things.
But I feel 2021 is much better for Cadbury’s revival of ‘Mum’s Birthday’, two years old and still cheering me up every time I see it. If this leaves you unmoved, I worry that you should be legally disqualified from owning guns or sharp objects.
What’s the serious point? Benefits work better when they play on an emotion. There is doubtless a glass and a half of milk in a bar of Cadbury’s chocolate. Milk is good for you. Rational benefit. By all means tell your customers about this stuff but if you want maximum value from creative investment, remember ‘people buy people’ and not sensible advice or vitamins.
I’m also very happy NatWest has decided to bring back its MoneySense film with‘the supermarket kid’. You know, the one where she finds the pound? Pleasant surprises have been in short supply lately, we can agree. So it’s good to recall the times when finding a quid could seriously make your day, and makes me smile to see young actor, Tallulah Conabeare, tearing up the screen using only a coin as a prop.
This is, indeed, how you do it.