Psychology of Advertising

Tuesday, October 9, 2012

Lessons in Gangnam Style

Gangnam Style has captured imaginations around world. Go to the videos on YouTube if you have yet to experience this phenomenon.

The performance by Psy and his entourage exemplifies both what and why people "seek and share" in social media.

Now, Gangnam Style as become a meme, with new videos by Psy and others appearing on a regular basis. They present a classic case study in viral diffusion patterns as shown in these results for a Google Trends search for the term Gangnam Style.

Notice the ascending diffusion pattern composed of a sequence of layered Pareto distributions. The Pareto distribution is the "unit form" for the diffusion of an idea placed on the Web at one point it time.

In the graph, you can see how the intermittent infusion of new sources adds to the accumulation of interest over time. It will be interesting to watch how this story continues to unfold.

Here's an updated chart as of November 22, 2012. As of this date, there have been 1.1 billion visitors to Psy's YouTube channel, where the Gangnam Style video has been viewed over 800 million times.

You can see the continuing introduction of new sources of interest. These consist of new video posts on Psy's YouTube channel as well as posts made on other highly visible websites. You can also observe a cyclical character of peaks and valleys within the overall pattern that seem to accord with weekly patterns in search behavior.

On November 7, Psy explained how his Gangnam Style video become viral in his remarks at Oxford Union.

Can Psy's success be attained by others? Yes, to a degree, but such levels of success cannot necessarily be "manufactured." Audiences will gravitate to original expression, not corporate replication.

On December 17, nearly a half year after its first release, the lastest search on Google Trends shows the Gangnam Style video continues to garner worldwide interest.

This latest graph shows daily interest levels holding within 80 percent of the peak reached about three months after the video's release.

For more perspective on psychological theory and the development of persuasive advertising, please see Strategic Power of the Theory of Planned Behavior.

Friday, October 5, 2012

The "Jobsian Perspective"

Today Apple posted this video capturing Steve Job's vision.

The secret of Steve Jobs is to inform an insistent focus on what technology can be with human insights grounded in arts, history and social sciences.

The "fundamentals" of business success are not grounded in economic analysis, rather they reside in humanizing concepts and values.

For more on the psychology of advertising, please see Diversity and Communication Power.

Tuesday, April 3, 2012

Shakespeare as Advertising Copywriter

To seek, to share, to save. The latest commercial from Google+ condenses and expresses the functions of social network services.

The creative work was done in London, UK by the advertising agency Adam & Eve.

Monday, April 2, 2012

Advances in Advertising Placement

It's not news that the precision of the Internet has dramatically advanced the productivity of advertising placement.

Here's an entertaining example in connection with the previous blog post about the Fiat 500 commercial that ran on the 2012 Super Bowl. A banner link to latest Fiat 500 commercial "House Arrest" has been appearing in the advertising banner location below the post.

That link won't be featured forever though, so here's the commercial for "archival purposes."

Monday, February 6, 2012

What Advertising Can Be

On Super Sunday 2012 Fiat introduced us to the future of the muscle car.

Now, Detroit has been using sex appeal to sell cars for a very long time.

But, the metaphorical power of this wonderfully conceived and produced commercial reinvents advertising to car enthusiasts, and in so doing paves the way for the kinds of muscle cars the future may allow.

Despite all the hoopla about popularity polls, this is the 2012 Super Bowl any creative person would want to have on their reel. The commercial was done by the Dallas-based Richards Group.

Saturday, January 14, 2012

Whale Of A Commercial

Tow truck drivers are like fishermen, always out to hook "the big one." Therein lies the basis of a great automobile commercial.

However, to realize this promise, the brand needs to be a big one, legendary in some respect.

It is one thing to "claim" legendary. Thirty years ago Audi pioneered permanent all-wheel-drive.

It is another thing to enact legendary with conviction. People recognize the metaphor of "the one that got away," whether it is Ahab's great white whale or a catfish lurking in a summer pond. This commercial is brilliantly conceived and produced.

Wednesday, December 14, 2011

Attitude Toward the Ad As "Foot-in-the Door"

No one really wants to talk about buying insurance, but sometimes we need it.

Centraal Beheer is one of the largest insurance companies in the Netherlands. Based in the city of Apeldoorm, the company is known for its lighter touch when it comes to reaching out to the marketplace.

The call to action translates as "Just call Apeldoorm." Their humor is so consistently fresh and to the point that the slogan has become an everyday utterance when people encounter unexpected problems.