“The best advertising isn’t advertising.” –Ajaz Ahmed

The Idea:  Five million dollars for a 30 second spot – was it worth it? A recent Fortune article states “80% of Super Bowl commercials do not boost sales or purchase intent.  And 87% of viewers who watch Super Bowl ads are doing so solely for entertainment or social purposes.” That’s a lot of energy, a lot of hype and a whole lot of noise.  Super Bowl Sunday is an ad agency beauty pageant; a pageant which often times lacks a compelling story.

What can be learned?  Researcher has found that immediately after a 10-minute presentation, listeners  remembered 50% of what was said. And a week later it was only 10%.  You need a sticky story.

Great stories transport you from being judge to participant allowing you to enter the story.  They are convincing and they create experiences that move you to action.  We are swimming in a world of overdone, incoherent messages and gimmicks that over stimulate the audience, and often times leaves one confused, asking one simple question: “What was the point of your story?”

This week’s Super Bowl campaigns were littered with two groups of brands: the ones that tried too hard to engage, and the few that connected. The best were short, crisp, conveyed a message you could not refute while smothering their campaigns with experience, authority and/or truth.

The general consensus is that, among the many intriguing ads were: Kevin Hart’s “First Date” Hundai commercial, Mountain Dew’s “Puppymonkeybaby”, Audi’s “Commander” set to David Bowie’s “Starman”, Pantene’s “Strong is Beautiful”, Kia’s Optima “colorful socks”, and Colgate’s “Every Drop Counts” campaign. (See all Super Bowl Commercials Here)

Besides the “Puppymonkeybaby” ad, which was a bizarre yet impactful choice, the best commercials were stories; the best presentations (similar to commercials) are always clear, experiential, and they move you to act.

Here is the reminder for sales and marketing leaders in any industry: if the audience doesn’t understand your “one” compelling idea in thirty seconds, you have not conveyed a compelling reason to go further.  The first thirty seconds give you the receipt to move forward into the next 15 minutes.   It starts with your story.  It is that simple.

  • Do you have an opening that matters and brings others in emotionally?
  • Does the entirety of the story have meaning and does it align with your opening?
  • Is your story’s ending compelling enough to entice the audience to watch it again?

A great story moves you from being a critic to a fan.  It takes you out of your head and moves into the role of participant.  A great presentation (like a commercial) has a soul and speaks to you, not at you.  

And the most powerful stories move, inspire and change you. They are simple.  As author Henry Green reminds us “The more you leave out, the more you highlight what you leave in.”Super Bowl Sunday is our national holiday but it is also a moment to educate on the art of storytelling.

Author Brandon Sanderson in The Way of Kings frames it perfectly, “The purpose of a storyteller is not to tell you how to think, but to give you questions to think upon.”

How are your storytelling skills?