Review of marketing planning cases and the cool advertising in 2019!

• Introduction•

"It's fun to be silly for a while, it's fun to be silly all the time!"

2019 is the first year of "silly advertising". "Silly culture" has begun to become popular, and no one can escape the poison of "silly copywriting".

Today, I will take stock of the "silly advertisements" of 2019 for you!

l What exactly is “sand sculpture culture”?

"Sand sculpture culture" has gradually become the traffic driver in recent years. So, what exactly is "sand sculpture culture"?

"Sand sculpture culture" is not a decadent and negative energy culture, but more of a release and expression of emotions in a high-pressure society.

l Why are “sand sculpture advertisements” so popular?

Without selling anxiety or promoting antisociality, sand sculpture advertising has built a relaxing refuge in modern society.

The essence of sand sculpture advertising is a challenge to the logic of mainstream culture, an antidote to modern anxiety, and an emotional expression that is counter-normal and anti-mainstream cognition. It caters to the trend of younger users and has gradually evolved from a joke into a culture.

There are endless "sand sculpture" Internet celebrities with huge traffic. There was Geng Shougong's homemade nose hair clip and the emergency tool for eating noodles during an earthquake. Then there was Xiao Wu, the "hairline boy", who was charged a sky-high price at a barber shop and inexplicably became an emoticon package for the entire network...

Because compared to advertisements that play the tragic or inspirational card, consumers prefer "silly sculpture advertisements" that don't require thinking. They are brainwashing and funny, without the burden of any brand placement. They can remember the brand while laughing, which is really low-cost and high-effective.

l 2019 "Sand Sculpture Advertising" Classic Case

1. NetEase Cloud Music Releases Underwear

NetEase Cloud Music and Three Guns Underwear have crossed over to the retro genre and jointly launched a set of underwear with music player elements and a set of socks from the same series. The socks are printed with icons such as "play", "pause" and "favorite", and the center of the underwear is printed with a favorite "red heart" and a random play pattern.

On June 11, NetEase Cloud Music and Sanqiang announced a strategic partnership and launched the "Le" series of underwear and socks, which will be sold on e-commerce platforms such as NetEase Cloud Music Mall, NetEase Kaola, Sanqiang JD self-operated flagship store, Sanqiang Tmall official flagship store and Sanqiang offline channels.

Sanqiang, an 80-year-old Chinese brand, is a "brand in memory" in the minds of consumers. In the minds of consumers, the "underwear brand in memory" is always inseparable from "rustic autumn clothes worn by the elders" and "unfashionable underwear."

Learn to understand and capture details, figure out the public psychology, understand what the public needs to see, what the public likes to hear, and what words can quickly occupy the traffic high ground.

We have learned how brands can cope with situations in the age of traffic from Kris Wu’s “earthy love talk and self-deprecating style” in “Big Bowl of Wide Noodles”. NetEase Cloud Music chose to carry out this retro crossover despite the criticisms - it is not fashionable, has poor picture quality, and is rustic.

According to a report released by Consumer Research Report, people are always more willing to buy products that evoke past memories than products with innovative concepts.

NetEase Cloud Music hopes to ignite consumers' shopping passion through nostalgia . The poor picture quality from the 80s and the announcement in the style of TV shopping from the last century: "Buy one for grandpa, buy two for parents, buy three for younger brother, buy a few for yourself." It brings consumers back to the era when domestic products rose to prominence and awakens consumers' memories.

Nostalgia marketing tactics: Consumers’ romanticization of past eras is always mixed with special emotions, especially in times of economic instability and social unrest.

Marketing guru Martin Linsterling once used a whole chapter in Brand Brainwash to talk about the effect of nostalgia marketing: "As human beings and consumers, we are fooled into thinking that the past is perfect - the brain thinks so too. The culprit is a simple but powerful psychological lobbyist: nostalgia."

According to the "China Mobile Internet Industry Development Analysis Report for the First Quarter of 2019", NetEase Cloud Music users are concentrated in the white-collar and student groups, showing a clear trend of getting younger.

The combination of nostalgia and current popular elements is simply the "hottest new thing". The appearance of the "Le" series of underwear and socks conforms to the aesthetic characteristics of young people's "trendy pants" and are brightly colored. What attracts young consumers the most is that the "Music" series of underwear are printed with icons commonly seen in the NetEase Cloud Music APP, such as "1w+ music reviews", "play", "red heart", and "single loop".

2. Jing Tian endorses Jingtian bottled water

As early as 2015, a netizen asked on Douban: "Why doesn't Jingtian Mineral Water ask Jing Tian to shoot commercials?" Four years later, the speculation was finally successfully realized in March 2019.

The plot summary of the commercial is about a noble prince who nourishes a princess with Jingtian Xinxing bottled water. Every morning, the princess would sit on the tree, waiting for the prince to come. Then the prince would bring two buckets of Jingtian bottled water that he had carefully selected to meet his beloved princess. Then Jing Tian ran away holding up her skirt, and the two hugged each other excitedly.

Ever since Bawang invited Mao Buyi to be the brand's anti-hair loss spokesperson last year, investors seem to have opened the door to new ideas in brand marketing.

Although Jingtian's method of using a "pun" as its spokesperson caused a stir on social networks, and the brand advertising strategy of "Tian Shang Jia Tian" is also very easy for users to remember, the "spectators" have said: "This advertisement is so stupid that it hurts me."

After the advertisement was launched, the heated discussions among the "melon-eating crowd" on social networks fueled Jing Tian's endorsement campaign. The brand reputation and popularity of Jingtian mineral water soared, and even the Baidu index of "Jing Tian" reached a peak in the past two days.

3. Shanghai Jiaotong University’s Magical Advertisement

On the eve of filling out college entrance examination applications, the "battle for students" among major universities is in full swing. First there is the "Silly and Sweet Novels" series of "The Domineering President Falls in Love with Me", then there is the "Silly Sculpture" series of "Coco Tree Coconut Juice", and there is also the earthy recruitment advertisement of the Lanxiang version.

1. The Domineering CEO Falls in Love with Me (Silly and Sweet Novel) Series

The following is a conversation between one of the CEO's subordinates and the overbearing CEO:

"Master Di, Madam Young is going to Dalian University of Technology after taking the college entrance examination."

"What? Isn't she going to Cambridge with me?"

"What about Dalian University of Technology?"

"Forget it, help me withdraw from Cambridge, I will go to Dalian University of Technology with her"

Next is the introduction of Dalian University of Technology…

2. Coconut Tree Coconut Juice "Sand Sculpture" Series

Central South University of Forestry has launched a resounding "sand sculpture" recruitment advertisement: "Seeking truth and innovation, cultivating trees and people, a provincial and ministerial-co-constructed university, Central South University of Forestry and Technology, has been focusing on science and education for 60 years, including science, engineering, agriculture, literature, economics, law, management, and art. There are 9 major categories, and there is always one suitable for you."

Among them, the recruitment advertisement of Shanghai Jiao Tong University has inherited the magical advertisement of Coco Tree Coconut Juice, with a series of silly copywriting and a poster layout full of silly style. It has been rated as an excellent representative of "silly recruitment advertisement".

3. Lanxiang’s rustic recruitment advertisement

Different from the "silly and sweet novel" series such as "My Overbearing President Falls in Love with Me" and the "silly sculpture" series of "Coco Tree Coconut Juice", the "silly sculpture" in Shanghai Jiaotong University's recruitment advertisement is unique. It is the Lanxiang version of the earthy recruitment advertisement, and it has inherited the true tradition of Shandong Lanxiang Technical School's advertisement.

Especially the "brainwashing sand sculpture" advertising slogan that consumers have been exposed to: "Which company has the best excavator technology? Go to Lanxiang in Shandong, China" was adapted into "Which company has the best undergraduate technology? Shanghai Jiaotong University in Minhang."

As one of the top universities in the country, netizens were moved by the fact that the prestigious Shanghai Jiao Tong University was able to navigate such a down-to-earth environment. However, Shanghai Jiao Tong University gave an official response, stating that this was not done by the official.

4. Huang Feihong: The Temptation of a Bag of Peanuts

Huang Feihong adheres to the brand creed of "everything in the world loves to eat Huang Feihong spicy peanuts" and embarks on the "sand sculpture road". Twelve "silly drama series" were produced in one go, incorporating classic childhood memes such as zombies, monsters, and aliens.

Zombie Chapter: A zombie was buried on the head of a corpse, crunching something. When the camera zoomed in, it turned out that the zombie was not eating the skull, but Huang Feihong Spicy Peanuts; Monster Chapter: The monster used all kinds of martial arts, but its target was actually Huang Feihong Spicy Peanuts; Alien Chapter: A flying saucer roared in the old alley, making sound effects like in a horror movie, and it felt like a world war was about to break out. In fact, the alien was just simply jealous of us humans for having such a treasure as Huang Feihong Spicy Peanuts; Scallop Chapter: I wanted to eat a scallop, but its mouth was so hard that I couldn't pry it open. It turns out that the scallop was eating Huang Feihong spicy peanuts with its mouth closed. The "carving" in the scallop chapter can be said to be the most "sand" chapter in Huang Feihong's "sand sculpture advertisement" series. It seems to be unrelated and illogical, but when combined together, there is a harmonious and unified sense of humor, which makes people laugh "hahahahahahahaha" after reading it...

Accompanied by the uniform "silly copywriting": peanuts that even xx likes to eat. The 12-chapter commercial uses such a "silly sculpture" way to convey a message - everything in the world loves to eat Huang Feihong spicy peanuts.

5. Tencent’s 21st anniversary advertisement

2019 is the 21st anniversary of Tencent’s establishment. Tencent shot a promotional video for this occasion titled “Warmly Celebrating the 21st Anniversary of the Establishment of Shenzhen Tencent Doll Factory”. However, this promotional video exudes the “rustic and cool” style of the “Jiangnan Leather Factory”.

Tencent dolls, finely crafted, leading the trend, a must-have at home.

The 5-cent animation text effects, PPT-style editing, monophonic sound, the round bangs on the forehead of the female host, and the long microphone, coupled with the extremely earthy painting style, coupled with various "silly" earthy jokes, perfectly interpret the sologan of the advertising short film "Dolls are forever, one will be passed down forever."

On November 11, 1998, Tencent was officially established in Shenzhen, China. It is a world-leading, comprehensive doll manufacturer that is not solely focused on its main business... Why is Tencent Doll Factory so powerful? Because the dolls it produces are sold to five continents and four oceans, it has become a loyal partner in improving the quality of life of more than one billion people on the world.

In order to ensure that all Tencent dolls meet the internationally leading XSWL2333 quality system standard, the workers in the Tencent doll R&D workshop worked so hard that they lost all their hair. The dolls produced by Tencent are not afraid of sun, rain, violent pulling, chemical immersion, car crushing and other tests. Only materials with “excellent performance” have the opportunity to enter the production line. Only in this way can the dolls produced be guaranteed to be fully functional, of high quality, and well-received by those who have used them.

At the Tencent doll sales counter, a large number of customers come to buy their favorite dolls every day. Coinciding with the 21st anniversary of the establishment of Tencent Doll Factory, Tencent Doll Factory launched many new types of dolls, including the missing person doll that reunites families (Tencent Youtu), the translation doll that can understand the sign language of deaf and mute friends (Tencent Translator), the medical doll that makes doctors never say they are tired again (Tencent Smart Healthcare), and the navigation doll that allows you to travel around the world without worrying about getting lost (Tencent Maps).

In addition to producing the serious "silly TVC short film", Tencent did not forget to promote its own products. The chat dolls, game dolls, payment dolls, cloud computing dolls and other doll types correspond to Tencent's Tencent QQ, Tencent Games, WeChat Pay, Tencent Cloud and other products, which strengthen consumers' impression of Tencent's major products.

In the minds of consumers, the penguin doll has become an image logo and a brand imprint of Tencent. When seeing the penguin doll, consumers will automatically think of Tencent.

In this "silly and cool" short film, Tencent fully utilized the brand memory of the general public about the Tencent penguin image and claimed to be a manufacturer of penguin dolls. It broke the audience's inherent perception of Tencent's brand image for many years, but the "silly TVC advertisement" that hit the tastes of young people also won the favor of young audiences, making consumers with severe aesthetic fatigue feel refreshed, and bringing freshness to consumers both at the auditory and visual levels.

6. Platinum Travel Photography

The "MLM-style" silly advertisements irritated many netizens: "I have tolerated the silly advertisements of Platinum Travel Photography and Boss Direct Hire for a long time. I can see them every day when I take the elevator."

The brainwashing slogan of Platinum Travel Photography, "Go wherever you want to take photos," has swept major elevators across the country, causing many people to say that staying in a confined space with Platinum Travel Photography made them feel miserable.

When it comes to brainwash advertisements, the first thing that comes to many people’s minds is Melatonin. The slogan “I won’t accept any gifts this year, and the only gift I will accept is Melatonin” can be said to have grown up with the post-90s generation. Now, the brainwash advertising has "made a comeback" with a new spokesperson and different channels, once again disrupting the minds of consumers.

However, we have to admit that brainwash advertising can indeed bring huge exposure to brands in today's era where brand imprints are hard to find, and can also magically implant advertising slogans into the minds of consumers.

Compared with the previous TV bombardment, modern brainwashing advertisements are more likely to be displayed in closed spaces such as elevators, because in elevators, users are forced to stay inside for a few seconds to more than ten seconds. Therefore, in order to make consumers form a brand impression in a very short time, it is necessary to constantly repeat the advertising slogans and bombard the users' senses. Only in this way can users form an impression of the brand.

"In the current media environment, it is difficult to find an advertising scenario as efficient and accurate as getting on an elevator. Through the exclusive use of life scenarios and the large-scale coverage of advertising terminals, we can directly output brand awareness and conduct mandatory advertising reach to target users."

Good repeatability should be the periodic repetition of marketing forms, rather than the repetition of brainwashing slogans. The periodic repetition of marketing forms can allow each marketing activity to be superimposed into accumulated brand assets, but the repetition of brainwashing slogans can only make the brand boring to the public and eventually be criticized by consumers.

In fact, brainwashing advertisements are not "silly advertisements". "I won't accept any gifts this year, the only gift I'll accept is Melatonin" is not the originator of "silly advertising", and Platinum Travel Photography and Boss Direct Hiring are not important branches of "silly advertising".

The biggest difference between "silly ads" and brainwash ads is that the former is full of humor and is a successful anxiety reliever, while the latter is just a crazy repetition brought about by a large amount of media placement. It has no sense of humor and also amplifies the absurdity of the ad itself. The content of the ad has no aesthetic appeal. The unrestrained repetition and unlimited dissemination make consumers feel bored.

7. Audi’s Infiniti Advertisement Mistake

Audi released a video advertisement for Audi Q8 on WeChat Moments, but the promotional video released by Audi was actually from Infiniti. Even the final display in the video was Infiniti’s brand logo and slogan.

At a time when attention is wealth, Infiniti became the biggest winner without doing anything, getting advertising exposure and hot searches for free.

Infiniti won easily. The three great fortunes in life are: wedding night, passing the imperial examination, and Audi advertising for me.

Netizens named this incident the "Didi incident", which refers to the oolong incident that occurred in the advertising placement of Audi and Infiniti in the circle of friends on November 13, 2019, and later refers to joint marketing in general.

When Volvo Cars asked @Audi on Weibo to help run an advertisement for them, surprisingly, Audi replied, "I understand your idea and will get back to you later." Other car manufacturers also started to make fun of Audi, and Audi was fooled.

Afterwards, Audi and Infiniti made official statements, with Audi saying that today is the time to be tolerant. "I understand what love cannot understand, and I forgive what love cannot forgive. By Wislawa Szymborska". Infiniti even responded mischievously that this was Audi's 30th anniversary birthday gift to Infiniti. It even "integrated" its own logo into the Audi logo.

This mysterious operation caused netizens to joke about "Didi's family".

It was originally a misunderstanding, but because of the "high emotional intelligence" of the public relations teams of both sides, it actually attracted a wave of fans. It was originally a wrong operation by Tencent, and many people were waiting to see how Audi would respond. However, Audi and Infiniti turned the apology into a win-win situation. In a marketing environment where attention is wealth, this wave of operations can be called a perfect event.

However, the success of this incident is only a one-time thing. Any brand that wants to imitate the Audi and Infiniti's blunder will only be a case of imitating others without success and over-marketing.

• Conclusion•

"Sand sculpture advertising" is a cute, positive form of advertising creativity that can effectively alleviate social anxiety. However, advertising must not be self-indulgent. Attention should be paid to methods and approaches, and a sense of proportion should be maintained. More thought should be put in the user's perspective to stimulate consumers' senses from multiple dimensions.

The era of extensive dividends has ended, and the era of intensive dividends has arrived. The traffic dividend has not disappeared. It still exists in many places. We just need to use the right approach to tap into it.

Just like the "archaeological excavation" of "sand sculpture culture", brands can turn jokes into a magic weapon for brand communication, and can also turn marketing difficulties into a turning point.

Ultimately, the underlying logic of all business models is the insight into human nature.

Author: Clockwork Brown

Source: PR Home