Great Brands Evolve Over Time
I love the Mac ads.
Most people do, because they?re funny, without being offensive. They don’t bore us with product details, but in 30 seconds or less, resonate with their audience, because they get ?right to the pain?.
As you watch them, it is easy to assume that Mac and Apple in general have always had great advertising. But a quick look at some of their early advertisements, reveals an ugly truth, and I mean ugly. Apple started out very similar to PC with copy heavy ads, selling features instead of benefits.
Somewhere along the way, they found their voice and their sense of humor. The early ads were still a little too “text heavy”, but by 1979 they had learned the power of a strong visual and headline as a means of grabbing our attention. Over time, their ads have become more and more visual, which is also the real strength of their product. They found their voice.
The goal for every business is to find their voice. Brands do not launch fully grown, they evolve over time. The Internet and social media give you a chance to accelerate your evolution if you are consistent across platforms. The challenge is to create interesting, engaging personalities on Twitter or Friendfeed, which is supported by the personality of your website and the rest of your marketing and advertising.
And while IBM claims an end to Advertising as we know it I think there will always be room for smart, engaging ads which are supported by a smart and engaging brand.