Selling the sizzle
Whilst hunting around for cool TV spots yesterday I came across this one from JWT NY. And it got me thinking on quite a few topics.
I started out loving the ad. It’s different, it’s exciting and it has an idea behind it that is easy to grasp. Whereas most video game ads will feature gameplay, this one was brave. The idea meant it could sell the sizzle, not the sausage that is Metal Gear Solid. And that I like. It’s always a great moment when a client takes a “chance” on a creative direction that seems so leftfield that it surprises and excites me to be a part of it. Provided I have satisfied myself that the ad isn’t self-indulgent, that it really does sell the product and not my own cleverness then I love it. Deep down (and I’m pretty shallow) I believe that one of the biggest risks an advertiser can take is to look like the competition (unless that’s a genuinely deliberate strategy of course – see own label products for how THAT one works).
So, MGS. The ad was leftfield. A thumb based interpretation of the game. That’s got to be cool, right? Well it was. For the first minute or so. Then it did kinda drag. I got the joke, I got the point. I liked some of the neat touches (the extra finger was funny) but then it began to get repetitive. And that gave me a bit more time to wonder about the actual game. Was it a comedy version? What did it actually look like? Were they hiding something from me? I began to doubt everything, including my own doubts.
By the time the payoff came onscreen I already knew what they were going to say. And I was expecting something more surprising, with a twist or a final laugh. It just sort of fizzled. I’d have maybe left him facing a huge number of enemies, disappearing into the floor and then re-emerging as a middle finger stuck up to them all. Ok, probably never going to be passed by the censor but it just seemed to run out of ideas.
But what do you think? I doubt the ad was ever intended to spur you on to direct purchase. More likely it was intended to simply entertain you and lodge the brand name in your mind and promote recognition next time you saw it on the shelf. They want to associate entertainment with MGS. I’m just not sure that, ultimately, it was the right kind of entertainment.
Still, it is a beautifully creative piece of work. That’s undeniable.
UPDATE: I just read THIS and had to smile.
A reader who didn’t want to go to the trouble of commenting sent in this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lJ06RKGcPBI. I’d not seen that but it’s certainly a superb example of how to make a concept more than a simple joke – this is actually exciting.