Behold, ladies and gentlemen, the arrival of a new sort of creature—one that is entertaining, yet promotional; effective, yet enjoyable. I speak, of course, of advertainment. This concept has come up with greatly increasing frequency in the advertising and production worlds over the last couple of years, and has been especially prominent on the World Wide Web of late. It is significant because, I believe, it represents the most important change of the last two decades in the way we speak to consumers. "Where did the term ‘advertainment’ come from?" I’m often asked. Honestly, I don’t know. I found myself using it a few years ago because it seemed to fit, and I didn’t think of the term as particularly clever. But regardless of the terminology, the idea is clever.
Why must advertising be crass and invasive? The answer is that it doesn’t have to be. Consumers aren’t half-wits; they’re our potential allies. Advertisers don’t have to be at odds with the people whom they hope to reach. In most cases, advertisers produce things that someone needs or wants—things that someone wants to know about. The long-term reason that brands advertise is to make people like them. But people don’t like being "sold." In most cases it’s easy enough to figure out what the product is about. The hard part is making people want to buy it from you rather than from someone else. One way to make consumers like you and buy your brand is to behave like a friend rather than a used car salesman. So why not give your audience something they like at no charge? Something they can enjoy without feeling taken advantage of. Something like entertainment.
The key to making this new type of work effective, regardless of the brand in question, is to keep the "sell" separate. Since it requires willing participation on the part of the audience, you have to give them what they want and what they’re interested in—not what you, the advertiser, want them to know. You have to assume that, like in any good relationship, the people you’re talking to will take an interest in you if you have made them like you.
On a basic level this is nothing new. Certainly the last decade offers numerous examples of entertaining ads that people love—from the more than a decade of Nike work, to the ever-popular "Got Milk?" campaign, to several fantastic campaigns for Lee and Levi’s jeans, and years of award-winning spots for SportsCenter, just to name a few. It’s not hard to find well-loved and entertaining advertising. Furthermore, these examples are not just frivolous exercises in winning statuettes at awards shows. They’re sophisticated and effective communications that raise the awareness and approval of the brands they are associated with.
But you can only do so much in :30 of television time. With the increased penetration of Internet access and improved connection speeds, the Internet has become the new proving ground for advertainment. Here, sponsored entertainment exists that varies from informational to downright goofy. And some of the largest advertisers in the business are getting on board. BMW’s The Hire series was one high-profile example, as was Volvo’s recent interactive campaign. On a less serious note, my partner, David Rosenthal, and I created the spoof series "The Pork Fizz Chronicles" for Pepsi via Treat, Dogmatic’s commercial production division.
All three brands have seen notable site traffic and resultant increased brand interest. In some cases the work is a campaign’s centerpiece, while other examples, like "The Pork Fizz Chronicles," are intended to broaden a target audience and appeal to a consumer who normally wouldn’t find the advertised brand so appealing.
The increasing popularity of this type of work is testimony to the public’s positive reaction to the trend, and to consumers’ desire to be talked to in a more intelligent and entertaining way. The common thread that runs through all of these examples is that they not only take advantage of, but also transcend, the media in which they’re presented. The creative is based on concepts that would work in any format.
To execute this kind of work, clients and agencies are choosing a new type of director—one who can help create work for many types of media, not just the commercial format. To support this need, many agencies and production companies are opening new divisions, and sometimes even entire new shops. But while certain top production houses have adapted very successfully, some of the players at the top of the commercial market have simply set up shop under a new banner without learning any of the new skills required for the creation of advertainment. This new market segment comes with the need for new knowledge and specialized experience to maximize the effectiveness of the work. The good news is that many emerging companies and quite a few existing players are quickly becoming very good at it. So put away your hard sell and give the people what they want: advertainment.