Lewis, you have a way of taking us back to the roots. When I was a kid I could tell the make of a car by looking at it. Now I am not sure even when I look at the name on the nameplate. (Nameplates were coveted prizes in the streets of Philly in the 50’s by the way.)

When all cars look the same each year and they look alike it is hard to get excited from year to year.

I do think, in rare occasions, anticipatory marking happens. The IPhone is one; computer games (Halo 3), Harry Potter books and some movies fit the bill. I can’t wait for the new Sopranos movie, whenever that will be.

It takes a fantastic product to get through all the clutter and segmented demographics to obtain this exalted status now. Back in the 50’s and 60’s American cars it that bill. My favorite is the 1956 Chevy and when I was a kid, I lusted for a Thunderbird. Any one of them made during the 50’s.

By the way, we were a Hudson family.

Harry,

As always, you have added much to the discussion. In fact, it may be that the only way for Detroit to return to prominence is to return to the days when every new model had a special look to it. Now that was something to look forward to. Today, only Chrysler seems to be in that game and not whole-heartedly.

Lewis -- That second video is a riot! Dinah Shore and Pat Boone smoothly crooning about "the new wave" of subliminal advertising...! Hysterical. What a find... thanks for sharing.

p.s. And it's almost 2 minutes long! Can you imagine a 2 minute commercial today? That's clearly an indication that audiences have changed.

Ann,

I agree that our attention span has shrunk. Is this a chicken or egg result. Has it shrunk because ads seldom tell stories or has it shrunk because of viewer's attitudes toward advertising?

Exactly... not sure. What's interesting is that Dinah and Pat are completely unapologetic about what they are shilling -- their attitude is such that "you really want to see this, and we are fabulous for bringing it to you...! You will love this when you see it! Did you see it? Don't you love it? Now go buy it!"

Contrast that with today's advertisements, which take a very different approach to selling.

Ann,

Yes! You are absolutely right. Dinah and Pat are passionate about Chevy's, and they make us believe in their passion.

All I can say is - take a load of Dinah's tiny waist! Now those were the days of the corset!

As for advertising with stories, you can't rule out some spots today that do just that. Take the Jimmy Dean sausage commercial, for example. In the most recent one, the rainbow lost her color because she's watching her weight. Sun tells her she can have a turkey sausage on a whole wheat bun for breakfast and still eat well. She does and her color comes back. Hoaky? Yes, but it's a story. And there are many other examples out there.

As for passionate celebrity endorsements, what about Lindsay Wagner telling us how well she sleeps on a Sleep Number bed, or Kirstie Alley and Valerie Bertinelli raving about their weight loss thanks to Jenny Craig? They don't sing about it, but their enthusiasm comes through nevertheless.

As for attention span, maybe more advertisers would produce longer spots if the cost wasn't so high. For more depth, we now have infomercials.

Elaine,

I agree. Some story-telling remains but I don't think it is well done, and maybe costs are the reason. As for the celebrity endorsements you mention, that's all they are. There is no story. They tell us they did such and such and lost x number of pounds. That's the end, but where is the beginning and the middle. All three are required for a good story.

Great conversation, Lewis!

You know, I am wondering whether the shift in consumer attention to the web and to social media is symptomatic of a craving for deeper engagement. What I am thinking is this ... what if our attention span has not shrunken? What if we really are capable and open to a longer form -- but the producers of the 30 second spot, driven by costs and creative direction have cut down the focus. And ... of course, the longer form requires permission. You can't interrupt with a 2 minute ad ... you need the audience's compliance.

That's where social media seems to have a competitive advantage. It's in the intersection of story and permission. It's why at least some of us marketers are experimenting in this place ... but is clearly being driven by mass uptake. Now it's up to us to craft the compelling narratives that open the door to permission and trust.

Fascinating to see how you all view this.

A few random thoughts:

The first spot is more indicative of the time and place-- it's Dinah singing a song. Not sure what the "story" is.

The second is charming in a naive sort of way. Ann's comments about how unapologetic they seem are spot on.

These are the sorts of spots the Creative Revolution of the 1960s rebelled against. The famous VW campaign from DDB which showed why YOU might want to have the car. These spots are about what Chevy wants to say. Not what the consumer wants to hear.
Contrast these with the classic VW "Snowplow" spot (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cUnEbNgHFco) - the English translation is in the top comment) which plays like a short film and makes you think.

:30 spots were a network invention to make more money. Ditto :15s. Clients liked them because they cost less and they could get more spots on and spend less money on production.

The problem, imo, is that we now have too many commercials: every commercial pod has 3-5 minutes worth of crap much of which I can assume does not apply to me. Contrast this with a single 1 minute or 1:30 spot that splays like a small movie and might actually be relevant.

As societies become more sophisticated, their resistance to advertising increases. We could never run these types of spots today because they are so sell-heavy: people are resistant to these types of messages. Dinah and Pat's "passion" would no doubt be laughable today. Or hip in a decidedly retro way, e.g. it would be viewed as a sarcastic takeoff on old school 1950s advertising, not taken on face value.

@Gavin: remember that this "shift in attention" is only for a very small segment of society: most people have never heard of Facebook, let alone used it. TV may be fading, but it's still king.

@Elaine: As you yourself note, there are much better examples of commercials that play like small films. The new Sony Bravia spot (UK) is a fine example: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P9aALd3wVT0

Fascinating comments on here from people we agency folk don't usually hear from. Some random thoughts

• These spots are very different. Not sure where the “storytelling” is in the first one and as for the second one, what’s interesting is (as Ann points how) how unabashedly happy to be selling Dinah and Pat are.

• Much as the Green family may have liked them, these spots are precisely what the Creative Revolution of the 1960s was rebelling against. Compare these spots, which basically feature selling points the brand wants to tell you about with a spot like the classic VW “Snowplow” (Non-English version at http://youtube.com/watch?v=cUnEbNgHFco , translation in the topmost comment) which highlights a consumer benefit in a clever way and which plays like a mini-movie.

As societies mature, they become much more resistant to advertising of the sort featured here where the selling is so blatant. Were these spots to run today, they’d be laughable. Either that, or viewed as ironic sarcas, parodies of old-time advertising.

TV networks started selling :30 and :15 spots to increase revenue – agencies and clients didn’t ask for them. But by cramming more advertisements into every commercial break, they all but guarantee that most of them will not be relevant to me, so I’m more prone to ignore them.

@Elaine: As you yourself note, you’ve found a weak example there. The new Sony Bravia spot from the UK that broke this week is a much better example of modern storytelling: http://youtube.com/watch?v=P9aALd3wVT0

@Gavin: Be careful with phrases like “the shift in consumer attention to the web and to social media” – a very very small percentage of the population has actually shifted its attention. Most people have never heard of Facebook, let alone logged on to it. TV may be starting to wane some, but it is still the king.

Lewis

I think in general (and with a few exceptions), advertisers have forgotten how to put the magic back into advertising. We need more Hollywood and less preaching. As you say, your clips are really mini-Broadway shows. They're entertaining, and after playing them I still find myself singing the tune even though I wasn't around when the clips were made! (which brings me to another point...)
When I think of the ads that I really remember, many used music very effectively (remember: "I'd like to teach the world to sing?") Even after all these years, I still know each and every word and - more so - remember the brand.
Advertisers today for the most part seem to focus solely on external elements of the product (ie. buy this car and LOOK cool, pick up chicks with this car, etc.) They say advertising is a reflection of the culture at hand, so perhaps modern commercials are catering to today's fast-paced lifestyle. Still, I still believe that in reality people truly want the same things in life. There's still room for storytelling and what I call "experience of show" in advertising.

Gavin, Tangerine and Karen:

As always, great insights and points of view. Toad, maybe you had to be there but the story strikes me right between the eyes. It's in the words being sung, as Karen says.

The beginning: "See the USA in your Chevrolet." This was at a time when for the first time Americans had a mode of transportation that could take them anyplace they wanted to go. And then the musical continues with images and words to make us feel and believe that Chevy is the best and the most fun way to see the USA.

Personally, I think that today's ads have a much heavier "selling" feel to them than any ads from the '50s and '60s. But again, maybe that's just nostalgia talking. And, I agree with Gavin. The young people I know don't have any less of an attention span that my generation did. But their need for stories that they can relate to cannot be filled in a 15 or 30 second spot that simply sells something, while never making an effort to make me part of the product exerience.

Tangerine, that UK Bravia spot is brilliant. I loved it. Is Sony planning on using it (with a spelling change) for the U.S. market?

Have you ever noticed how European commercials are edgier, funnier, and just more memorable? Why is that? Is that a statement about American culture?

Back to stories....the Coke polar bear commercials and their famous, "We'd like to teach the world to sing..." are examples of spots that resonate. Maybe you can argue, Lewis, that they don't tell stories per se, but they capture attention, and if we remember them long after airing, isn't that the whole point?

Elaine,

I agree that the Coke polar bear commercial is wonderful. And it does tell a story of family, fun, caring and growing up. But they are so rare and often are animated. Although I love the Coke ad, I don't relate so well to animated humans.

As much as I love story commercials, I do think that commercials in the last several years have lost track of matching the appropriate story to the product. I've noticed this a lot with commercials about websites. Even if the story is funny or clever, if the website is just tacked on at the end, who is going to remember they were related?

Or if the story and commercial are epic in feel and the product is non-epic like pretzels or potato chips, that also feels jarring and false to me. I want the product and its ad to make sense together. Otherwise, when I talk about the ad to someone else, I won't remember what brand it was for.

Also, I agree very strongly that music makes a huge impact. Maybe it's an original song, or a song where you modify the words to fit your product, or a classical music piece that you brand forever in people's minds as being tied to your product (i.e. Beef & Aaron Copland "Hoe Down").

CW,

We are in complete agreement. Why are the messages and the story so disconnected? Half the time I have no idea what is being sold.

@Lewis: It all goes back to something I've written about quite a bit: "Not Everyone Is A White, Upscale, 30something Male"

Most commercials are written to appeal to that tiny demographic, since that demographic (e.g. advertising creative directors) determines what wins in award shows and what constitutes "great" work. Of course its only "great" by their subjective standards, so much of what wins at awards shows are brands that appeal to them: Nike, various beers, etc.

@Elaine: I doubt they will run that in the US. It's the third spot in the campaign, and to my knowledge, they have not run any of the previous ones.

Toad,

I think you might be right: The larger firms that I know always seem more interested in winning awards than in results. Having sat on a few awards committees, the discussion usually centers on the quality of the creative instead of the quantity of the results. Excellent point, Toad. Thank you.

Coincidentally, the nonprofit I work for is doing a free training session on Stroytelling for Fundraisers. Details here: www.Fundraising123.org.

I'm surprised nobody has mentioned the Chanel No 5 mini-movie starring Nicole Kidman and Diego Luna, directed by Baz Luhrman. They don't play it nearly often enough but it's simply gorgeous and if I hear that it's on I'll even run in from another room to see it. It's a great example of what is being talked about here: storytelling and "more Hollywood, less preaching."

Two of my favorite commercials are ones I've never seen - old VW ads that were running when my parents were kids. They made such an impression that I've been told about them at least a dozen times and they've become part of family legend. Talk about great advertising! I'm not sure what has happened to automotive advertising over the years - but then, I guess it's hard to have a creative ad about the distinctive qualities of your product if your product doesn't have any.

Lewis,

I think that your points are solid. Today's "instant gratification" society has no patience for anticipation. Rarely is a new concept able to be kept secret until the scheduled unveiling - someone gets a glimpse of it, it is "accidently" leaked, someone manages an unauthorized look at it, or whatever and then it's posted here and there. Cell phone cameras create instant "spy" photos for anyone in the same room with a secret. Next thing you know - no more secret, no more anticipation - except for the actual availability of the particular product or service.

The Boone/Shore ad did something I can't remember anyone doing in a long time: it created curiosity about the product. That's a powerful way to hold interest.