Mean People Don't Suck--They Drink

LAUGHTER ALONE IS POISON

You've heard it said that people buy emotionally, and justify the purchase intellectually.

So all we need to do is get some emotion out of people, and we win!

And the most fun way we're going to do that is by making people laugh!

Quick! Let's whip out a funny ad!

SFX: SCREEEECHING BRAKES

Hold your horses there, buckaroo.

Yes, people buy emotionally and justify intellectually.

But that doesn't mean making them laugh is going to make them buy.

Laughter isn't even an emotion.

Laughter is a symptom of emotion. I don't feel laughter. I laugh because I feel something else. I feel Happy. I feel Joyful. I feel Loved. I feel Nervous.

These are emotions and they can evoke laughter. The reason you laugh when your boyfriend presents you with an engagement ring is a whole lot different than the reason you laugh at an episode of The Office.

But...


LAUGHTER IS NOT THE GOAL

The goal is to make the audience feel something about the product or service.

And there's typically only one way to do that: the product or service MUST be a central character in the emotionally evocative scenario.

Emotionally evocative scenarios are an excellent idea.

They work.

The simple fact that people STILL talk about the Mean Joe Greene Coca-Cola commercial over 30 years later is proof of that. This simple little story has been called one of the Top Ten TV Commercials of All Time.

If you've never seen it or want a refresher, you can find it on YouTube. But don't go there now. For our purposes, a simple transcript will help make the point...


MEAN JOE GREENE & COKE, FIRST AIRED SEPTEMBER 1, 1979

INSIDE THE STADIUM TUNNEL. CROWD NOISES CAN BE HEARD OUTSIDE. THE GAME IS OBVIOUSLY IN FULL SWING.

MEAN JOE GREENE IN HIS PADS, GAME JERSEY IN HAND, IS LIMPING TOWARD THE LOCKER ROOM.

A LITTLE BOY APPROACHES AND LOOKS UP AT JOE VERY EARNESTLY.

Mr. Greene. Mr. Greene.

JOE LOOKS DOWN

Yeah.

You need any help?

Un-unh.

I just want you to know I think you're the best ever.

Yeah. Sure.

Want my Coke? It's OK. You can have it.

No, no.

Really. You can have it.

(Resigned) OK. Thanks.

JOE TAKES THE BOTTLE AND STARTS CHUGGING DOWN THE COKE. MUSIC SWELLS AND CONTINUES UNDERNEATH: "Coke and a smile! Makes me feel gooood! Makes me feel niiiiice..."

KID HEAVES A SIGH AND TURNS TO WALK AWAY. HE WAVES GOODBYE.

See ya round.

KID HEADS BACK OUT THE TUNNEL AS JOE EMPTIES COKE BOTTLE

Hey, kid.

KID TURNS BACK

Catch.

JOE THROWS HIS GAME JERSEY.

THE KID CATCHES IT.

Wow! Thanks Mean Joe!

Joe smiles wide.

SHOT HOLDS ON MEAN JOE SMILING AS THE GRAPHIC COMES UP: "HAVE A COKE AND SMILE." MUSIC CONTINUES AND OUT


LITTLE STORY, BIG "POW!"

Before going any further, let's just point out that this is a 60-second TV commercial. It contains exactly 51 words of dialogue.

That, my friends, is economy.

There is nothing in there that doesn't need to be said. That is some tight, miserly writing and it's exceptional. They went after that copy with a razor-sharp sword and sliced away anything that didn't propel the story forward.

Now, why is this is one of the Top Ten TV Commercials of All Time?

One word: emotion.

It's a sweet, funny, engaging little story that plays out inside a cinderblock hallway. It has zero production value.

But that's not the only reason it works as one of the Top Ten TV Commercials of All Time.

The reason it works as one of the Top Ten TV Commercials of All Time is because that sweet, funny, engaging little story has one central character who has no dialogue at all: the bottle of Coke.


THE PRODUCT IS CENTRAL TO THE DRAMA

The kid is holding it when you first see him. He's a skinny little kid and it's a big skinny bottle of Coke.

He's too small to help Joe do much of anything, but he offers--and he offers his Coke. He has a big heart.

Joe takes the Coke and drinks it--and is so thankful for what the kid did, he trades his game jersey.

This isn't laugh-out-loud comedy. It's a simple, boyhood fantasy. In its quiet efficiency, it speaks volumes about children and football and celebrity and heart. This is gentle humor. It pokes a little fun at Joe. It'll probably make you laugh the first time you see it. You'll be happy to watch it again.

And every time that music swells, you feel really good.

BUT--it's still a sales message.

So those good feelings need to be connected to Coke.

And they are.

Take away the Coke, and the story falls apart.

This is why Coke is the leading soft drink in the world and probably always will be: they understand fully what it means to create a feeling about their brand.


SCIENTIFICALLY PROVEN!

Scientists have demonstrated the reason people were so angry with New Coke (and angry when they took the Pepsi challenge and learned they'd chosen Pepsi over Coke) was because Coke has been so expert at creating good feelings about their brand for so long, it actually has a physiological impact on the brain when you thwart expectations.

Emotion in advertising is a winner--but only IF you inextricably link the emotion to the brand.

The product or service being sold MUST be a central player in whatever drama is being presented in the ad.

If that doesn't happen, you don't have an advertisement. You have a little bit of fun, and a sales pitch that's lost forever.