Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!portal!cup.portal.com!ErikG From: ErikG@cup.portal.com (Erik Alexander Gavriluk) Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga Subject: Re: Ads on MTV Message-ID: <11718@cup.portal.com> Date: 24 Nov 88 09:20:02 GMT References: <3616@pt.cs.cmu.edu> <11545@cup.portal.com> <856@applix.UUCP> Organization: The Portal System (TM) Lines: 94 Scott Evernden writes (quoting me first): >>Look, Commodore--if you're gonna advertise on MTV, do something hot and >>rocking, with hot music and lots of fast cutaways. What I saw was a crappy >>looking flying saucer genlocked over a cheesy hillside that looked as if it >>were shot with a home video camera. >Hey, Commodore. No matter what you do, someone will tell you it sucks. >I, for one, thought the ads I saw were darn neat. Commodore has done >_exactly_ what everyone has been suggesting they do for years. And >people still complain. People suggested that Commodore advertise. We assumed that if they did advertise, they would do it right. They didn't. >These ads play against Nintendo and Sega commercials. MTV's own graphics >do _not_ overshadow these ads. These are short, dynamic, and flashy peeks >at the Amiga that make you want to see more. Yes, the ads do "play" against them, but the products are not in competition with one another. Perhaps if I'm more explicit people will see why the ad strategy is so poor. - They're 15 second spots. Ad agencies are not entirely sure if 15 second spots are at all effective. They're normally used to refresh the memory of a previously effective ad campaign that used 30 or 60 second spots. They should NEVER be used to introduce a new product! (15 second spots have to be purchased in groups of two, by the way. Sometimes they will run back to back, other times you'll see a 15 second spot, another products' 30 second spot, and then the second 15 second spot.) - They're on MTV. Who watches MTV? The people who buy records. MTV is basically an advertising medium to sell records--that's why people make videos. Thus, MTV is geared to attract people who buy records. These people are aged 12-21. Now, the people 18-21 are in college, and they're broke. If they're buying any computer, it certainly isn't going to be an Amiga. People 12-17 are VERY hard to sell things to. Thus, the ads must be effective. They aren't. - These ads are geared for Xmas, of course. Kiddies can buy a machine that lets you put a flying saucer over a hillside for $800, or they can buy a Nintendo game system for $100. Guess what they're gonna find under the tree? - "Free VCR". This one takes the cake. Ok, this is supposed to be some major enticement to buy the computer. FIRST- Commodore doesn't even bother to mention what you could do with a VCR and an Amiga. (They couldn't say it in 15 seconds anyway...) So people don't understand the relationship between the two, and are not likely to remember the deal. SECOND- Most people already have a VCR! Since Commodore doesn't bother to inform them why a second one would be nice, people are even more likely to ignore this. It's like 70% of the households in America have a VCR. Now, how many homes with cable TV have a VCR? Gotta be like 90%. So, 90% of the people who see the "Free VCR" thing already have one. And 0% understand what you could do with it anyway. - Don't say, SHOW! Geeze. This is the major rule of thumb of advertising. "..and stereo sound to tickle your ears." A cartoon character's ears get big. That's dumb. Some really hot music in the background would probably be more indicative of sound capabilities, wouldn't it? - These ads don't even bother to show the computer. Why? ==== Ok, since I've already created enough controversy, I'll give you the ErikG advert that would solve many of these problems. I like the "THIS COMMERCIAL WAS MADE..." and "ONLY AMIGA MAKES IT POSSIBLE" stuff. That's very effective for the name recognition. I'll keep that. 30 sec spot. 2 secs "This commercial was made on a Commodore Amiga." Amiga, monitor and mouse are neatly arranged on a desk. A music score is on the monitor. A female hand taps the left mouse button. A really hot rock score commences. Drums, guitar and synth. Camera zooms in on the screen. Every two beats you see something new. Fast, flashy, gorgeous. The kahnakas demo. HAM pic of a beautiful woman. Dragon's Lair. Man zooming in onto the eye of the woman. Music softens. 5 seconds of the birds (with sound) flying around the AMIGA logo. Music gets louder, intensifies. The pictures start coming more quickly. So fast that the viewer can't quite see them all. A final hard drum beat sounds. Sexy female voice: "ONLY AMIGA MAKES IT POSSIBLE." >I think they'll help in reaching that 1,000,000 figure by xmas... Well, they certainly won't hurt. But a more effective ad could result in a 2,000,000 figure for next xmas. How's that sound? Erik Gavriluk (and, yes, the portal.weenie!) | mail: ErikG@cup.portal.com I'm mildly blatant; that's why she loves me. | flames: portal!weenie!ErikG