I’m still in mourning after the Super Bowl. As a die hard 49er fan, it kills me that they were sooooo close!
But enough about the game, let’s get down to one of the other important aspects the big day- the commercials.
Here were two of the favorites:
Tide’s “Miracle Montana”
Ram’s “God Made A Farmer”
But not all ads are created equal. Here are a couple of absolute bombs:
Home Away
Priceline
After watching these ads, it’s abundantly clear to me that some companies really understand messaging and others are woefully ignorant. Think about it, all these companies have a group of marketing execs that sit down and hash out a plan to spend millions and millions of dollars, so how come some hit so big and some miss so badly?
Here’s a few things to remember when you are trying to promote a company, brand or even a church:
1. Have a Clear Message
Tide was focused on the “Miracle Montana Stain” all the way through the commercial. Ram stuck to the farmer theme. On the other hand, I have no idea what the message for Home Away or Priceline was, even though I’m very familiar with Priceline!
The successful commercials developed their message with a strong ending, while the others left you wondering what was going on.
2. Find Your Audience
Tide had a clear target- messy guys and women who have to clean up after them. The genius of their commercial is that they tied in football, the 49ers and a sports legend that almost everyone over the age of sixteen knows.
But the beauty of advertising is that you can be effective in completely different ways, the proof of that is in Ram’s commercial. They appealed to those hard working, God fearing, truck driving men and women who are probably a bit older in most cases. I’m no farmer, but by the end of this two minute masterpiece, I wanted to be one!
For us as a church, we must have a clear message and recognize that we have different audiences to reach. Jesus left the 99 sheep behind to find the one in the Bible. He knew that the 99 didn’t need what the one did. Sometimes I fear that we spend far too much time on people who are just fine and not enough on those who are in desperate need.
We must start being intentional with our abilities, resources and time if we want to truly make a mark. After all, we aren’t fighting for dollars, we’re fighting for souls.
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