Advertising and the emotional connection.

Oft I hear these words at meetings when I am presenting scripts.

‘It has to have an emotional appeal.’

This from the clients point of view mean two things. Happy or sad.

Actually strike out sad. It is happy and/or inspiring.

Is that all consumers are capable of? Is that all brands can promise? A hint of a smile or a determined grunt. Nothing deeper. Don’t get visceral with the consumer.

Are these true emotions?

Why can’t we try to find that emotional g spot instead of leaving it at a chaste kiss?

Imagine if everything around us was designed to be a high strung experience across all spectrums of emotions that we are capable of?

It exists in product design. It exists in fashion. It exists in architecture. It exists in automobile design.

Paintings do it. Music does it. Films do it.

But very rarely in commercials. And closer to home, India, you could stand to loose your job if your ads made your consumer burst in to tears, violently disturbed him/her, made one feel erotic or got visceral in any manner.

And so the advertising people are churning out safe, happy, shiny ads and getting an affectionate ruffling on the head by the client. ( Yes. Me too. )

But I was happy to note that there are brands and creative people out there that are doing precisely this. Below I have compiled some work that does this.

Chocolate ice cream. Ever feel a tad erotic, sensual and a wee bit more alive when you eat a delicious one??

Check out this ad for magnum. That sinful and very sensual feeling that eating a chocolate icecream gives you.

You are in an elevator, or a club or on the streets and a beautiful man or woman passes you by and you get a whiff of his/her perfume and your olfactory senses burn with synapses going wild sending signals to your brain and the synapses are given a no red signal clearance all the way to where the unreasonable sensual reactor resides.

This one for Pacorabane XS. Caution - nudity

What a wonderful way to tell us that this planet is a living breathing thing.

Greenpeace.

Brandalism, an ongoing movement in London during the Olympics does this. Though they are thumbing their nose at big brand advertising, it does so by getting under your skin and making that point. In a way a brilliant example of compelling communication in print.

It might be too exhaustive to take up print work done with this philosophy and possibly will require some extensive research so I will leave you with a few ads from a brand that you all probably know. Hans brinker budget hotels done by my favourite creative house, kessels Kramer, which I was fortunate to spend a day at. Brutally frank, truthful and real. 

Like ads should be.