Exit, pursued by a bear.
It’s found in literature the world over. Films take pride in it and art is renowned for it. I’m talking, of course, about pancakes.
Wait for it…
No, surprise. I’m talking about surprise. Whether it’s M Night movies or the Spanish Inquisition, we love surprise. Even that bearded bloke in the red costume cashes in on it every year. In advertising, surprise (and even the anticipation of surprise) can work in your favour. Classic “man bites dog” advertising turns around our expectations in order to trigger a memory response. Done with a positive way it can create lasting feelings for the brand.
I’m going (grudgingly) use an example here. I’m only using it because it was brought up by another post I read recently and the grudgingly bit stems from the fact that I don’t actually like the ad. I don’t see it as either entertaining or effective but it is certainly surprising. Maybe it’s a Phil Collins thing with me – after all the ad is beautifully done and ticks all the standard good advertising practice boxes. I’m sure the agency has the figures to prove it was effective so I guess it’s just not sitting right with me.
Anyhoo – the ad to which I’m referring is Gorilla for Cadbury. The build up is slow and we don’t know what to expect. We have great recognition with the soundtrack which I’m willing to bet has deep penetration with consumers. The comes the pull back and we see the big hairy beast belt out on the drums. Surprise registered and I’ll always (for good or bad) associate the ad with Cadbury. Job done.
I’ll make an ad up for you. It’s going to be for a photography studio. We see a beautiful woman lying seductively upon a sofa. She’s obviously in a studio as we can see the backdrop (white) and the umbrella lights around. Then, in the foreground we see the photographer. Actually, we can’t miss him. The reason? He’s buck naked. His back is to us (thankfully) but we see him bending over his (ahem) equipment. The scene is against convention – especially when I throw in a headline… “He wanted to photograph me naked”.
And there we have it. Clumsy? Probably. Surprising? I think so. I believe you’d remember a photography studio that advertised in this way.
