Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Reward Theory of Communication

As I stated in an earlier blog post, attention is the most valuable commodity in the society and economy.

Viewers, listeners and readers give their attention. In return they must receive value. This leads us to the Reward Theory of Communication.

As advertisers we must provide information that is perceived as having more value than the time we borrow from the audience.

Cadbury's latest commercial is exemplary. It captures our attention, delivers enjoyment, and reminds us why we value the brand and its products.

I am pretty sure Grant Wood would have appreciated the visualization.



Many thanks to Aaron E. for finding this commercial. It is very viral.

Copyright © 2009 by John Eighmey. All Rights Reserved.

4 comments:

  1. while this and the previous gorilla commercial from cadbury are both very entertaining, I wonder how effective it truly is.

    There is nothing about either commercial per se that connects with the brand until the end.
    I may remember the content but will an average consumer remember the brand behind the content?

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  2. That is always a good question to ask.

    Communication need not be literal to be highly effective, and the brand disclosure seems well timed in this case.

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  3. Fallon London also did one other Cadbury commercial in between eyebrows and gorilla featuring awkward airport vehicles racing into the night. Have a look http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BGYMMsPg_ME

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