Creative Television Promotional Ideas
by Ruth Altman
Television has the power to improve, change or repair a company's reputation.
1 What Makes an Advertising Campaign Successful?
2 Examples of Ethos in Advertising
3 Top Marketing Blunders of All Time
4 What Are Some Examples of Poisoning the Well in Advertising?
Television is a preferred advertising medium for businesses that want to achieve a large reach. Whether you advertise on cable or broadcast networks, you can increase awareness for your business with the implementation of creative TV spots.
Unconventional Beauty
TV is inundated with beautiful people, from Hollywood starlets to well-scrubbed evening news anchors. Try something new in your advertising campaign by using people who look like real people. Unilever successfully captured the attention of its core demographic when it rolled out its "Dove Campaign for Real Beauty" TV ad series in 2004. The ads were so successful that in 2007, Dove's "Evolution" ad won the Grand Prix for viral marketing (Cyber Lion Award) at the coveted Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival. Your business can use the same principles of what Dove calls "evolution advertising" to make an impact.
Artsy Approach
An artistic TV promotional ad is an excellent way to brand your business. As opposed to direct-response advertising that aims to elicit a response from its consumer, a branded message centered on an artistic approach can create buzz and awareness for your company. With an emphasis on digital communication, an artistic and entertaining ad is also essential for transcending the confines of TV. According to Forbes, "social media demands that advertising function as art (or entertainment) in order for it to be shared and go viral. If an advertiser chooses to merely block and tackle, lacking human relevance, his message will die a quick death." Mega-retailer Target showed its artistic side in its "Color Changes Everything" TV ad campaign. Featuring lots of color, whimsical dancing and magical transformations all to the tune of the classic French song "Alouette," it resonated with its audience, garnering rave reviews from consumers and critics alike. It was so largely successful that it got nominated in 2012 for an Emmy in the "Outstanding Commercial" category.
Funny Storytelling
Funny commercials are subjective, but they can resonate and, if funny enough, go viral. Many commercials opt for storytelling through witty or clever humor as opposed to "laugh out loud" commercial styles. In 2007, Apple's "Get a Mac" TV commercials were smart as much as they were funny – and not in the slapstick kind of way. Instead, Apple zeroed in on its unflappable, cool factor by poking fun at PC users who were projected to be stiff and nerdy, not to mention riddled with a host of computer problems. The ads did exceptionally well, garnering critical acclaim and earning Adweek's nod of approval, saying the commercial series was "the best advertising campaign of the first decade of the new century." Your business can try its hand at subtle, witty humor by scripting a TV ad series that tells a story. Hire a creative writer or work with a local TV producer to create script ideas.
Many promotional TV ads focus on resurrecting or changing a company's public image. If your small business needs to correct a negative perception within its local community, a reputation-management TV promotional campaign can do the trick. Think of positive aspects of your business that counteract negative perceptions and highlight them in your TV spots. Aiming to improve its reputation, British Petroleum launched a series of TV commercials after its disastrous Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010. The oil company's TV campaign "Voices of BP" and "Voices of the Gulf" depicted the company's efforts in the oil spill cleanup. Taco Bell also took to the airwaves to counteract a lawsuit filed in 2011 that questioned the purity of its beef taco filling by launching a $3 million TV campaign titled "We Stand Behind Our Seasoned Beef." Small businesses can take the same approach with creative TV promo ads if reputation is a factor in their local communities.
TheStar.com: Dove's `Evolution' ad wins at Cannes
Dove: The Dove®Campaign for Real Beauty
Forbes: Less Fartsy, More Artsy: The Evolution of Advertising Into an Art Form
Emmys: Color Changes Everything
AdWeek: Apple's 'Get a Mac' -- the Complete Campaign
BP: National Campaign Provides Progress Report on Gulf Recovery and Restoration
Ruth Altman writes on business, lifestyle and careers. She holds a Master of Arts degree from Pepperdine University in addition to a bachelor's degree from Harvard University.
Altman, Ruth. "Creative Television Promotional Ideas." Small Business - Chron.com, http://smallbusiness.chron.com/creative-television-promotional-ideas-60868.html. Accessed 21 January 2020.
Altman, Ruth. (n.d.). Creative Television Promotional Ideas. Small Business - Chron.com. Retrieved from http://smallbusiness.chron.com/creative-television-promotional-ideas-60868.html
Altman, Ruth. "Creative Television Promotional Ideas" accessed January 21, 2020. http://smallbusiness.chron.com/creative-television-promotional-ideas-60868.html
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