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Nike RE2PECT: The Power of Ritual

Nike RE2PECT: The Power of Ritual

I'm a huge sucker for well crafted, emotive advertising. When a brand creates powerful stories through their communications, they not only give themselves a better chance of engaging their audience, they have a much better chance of driving changes in behaviour.

Nike (via W+K) have just released a new star studded campaign 'RE2PECT'. The ad is a beautifully shot and scored celebration of the career of Derek Jeter as he moves towards retirement.

Beyond the aesthetics, the ad leverages the powerful marketing tactic of ritual.

As outlined by Douglas Van Praet in his book 'Unconscious Branding: How Neuroscience Can Empower (and Inspire) Marketing':

"Rituals are some of the most powerful ways to brand because they often involve multiple sensory experiences and repetitive acts, driving information into the mind." 

Hoopla

Hoopla

After recently dusting off my Advertising book collection (who keeps physical books these days anyway?), I had another read of Hoopla, a fantastically insightful manual on how to think differently when it comes to creating successful modern day advertising.

Hoopla is essentially the story of the rise of Crispin, Porter + Bogusky (CP+B), the tiny Miami agency that went on to become a global powerhouse. Besides the amazing insight into their body of work, it provides an overview of what they consider to be their secret sauce - the theoretical tools they have applied to drive success in a rapidly changing world.

This post is designed to take a deep dive on some of these concepts.

A Technique for Producing Ideas

A Technique for Producing Ideas

Ideas are the lifeblood of Advertising. While there are a huge range of material already written on the subject, I thought it would be interesting to go back to the one of the earliest sources on the matter.

 A Technique for Producing Ideas by James Webb Young was first presented to graduate students in advertising in Chicago in the 1940's before being published in the 1960's. More a long form essay, it outlines a simple five step process designed to kick start creativity.

Leave the World Behind with Volvo

LeavetheWorldBehind.png

This is an absolutely fantastic piece of branded content by Volvo.

Traditionally the car brand has had a perception of being very safe, reliable, and quite frankly dull, and associated with a much older demographic. The agency has done a fantastic job of reversing this through the content.

Building upon the brand heritage, the video pairs the members of Swedish House Mafia, set to the breathtaking backdrop of Sweden itself, with audio by Swedish singer Lune and director Adam Berg.

The result is what feels like an utterly authentic, unpretentious and beautiful piece of storytelling, that makes you long to escape the city and genuinely leave the world behind.

I would have never thought about buying a Volvo, but this does a great job of making mereconsider my position. Check it out:

http://leavetheworldbehind.com/

 

Sound of Honda

I love this new piece of branded content from Honda.  

In 1989, Ayrton Senna broke the world record on a hot lap on the Japanese F1 circuit. During this drive, Honda recorded data using an on board telemetry system that ultimately changed racing and the sport forever.  

Honda have loving brought this drive back to life, utilising the available data combined with an elaborate light display and sound system to re-create the experience. 

In an age when data visualisation has become such a hot topic, this represents one of the most incredible ways I have seen to bring cold facts and figures to life (and beautifully position Honda as an innovative car company).

Watch the video, and immerse yourself in the feeling of the ghost of a legend come to life.