Normally I immediately block out banner ads when I peruse the interwebs, just like everyone else. But today, I was reading the front page of the digital edition of the New York Times and I came across one of those, “I”™m a Mac, I”™m a PC” ads. Firstly, the ad prompts you to opt-into the ad by clicking on the sound icon in the upper right hand corner, which I did mostly out of curiosity because I wanted to know what the Mac and PC guys were bantering about this time. I click and I hear the Mac guy pointing out the results to the latest Forrester research results that is prominently displayed above their heads in a graph just under the NY Times masthead. The PC guy says, “Surprise, surprise, Apple ranks highest in customer experience among PC manufacturers. Well It’s just one survey. I’ll hear some more opinions before I decide.” Then, suddenly on the left hand side of the page we see an ad for Hair Growth Academy come to life.
We hear the man in the “Before” box say, “I love how Macs are so incredibly easy to use.” Then the coiffed man in the “After” box says, “And I love when I have a question, I can just talk to a Mac genius.” The ad finishes up with the PC guy saying, “OK, OK, before guy, that’s enough out of you. Looking good, after guy.”
Not only was this banner ad funny, it got me to pay attention to a graph, which I try to avoid as much as possible. What apple is doing here is great advertising that engages the jaded user while leaving them with a tidbit of information and a smile. This is what we attempt to do in our brandcasting service. We give the viewer something that will delight them, whether it be entertaining or just informative or both.
Enzo F. Cesario
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