Fixodent Documentary-Style Ad
- Identify the message that the storyteller is communicating
The primary message that the documentary intends to communicate is the punchline of Fixodent which is Giving back the bite [1]. It relates succinctly with the focus of the story which is to restore Aslan’s teeth to give him the ability to chew as well as highlight the operational activities of Fixodent. It is a story of how small actions can lead to big happiness, even for an animal and it matters transcending the treatment for human dental problems.
- Describe the storytelling elements used to communicate the message
In marketing. Appealing to the emotions of an individual has far reaching impacts and consequences [2]. The elements of documentary style of storytelling akin to the style used in Animal Planet or National Geography has been used to showcase the life story of Aslan, the white lion, which then cascades into a marketing style with the introduction of the problems and presenting solutions as well. The connect to the brand has been made by the voiceover of Kevin Richardson, ‘The Lion Whisperer’. It lends credibility and captures the attention of the viewers as well. In marketing, this video has successfully used the Mere-Exposure Effect which lets the audience associate itself which familiarity, in this case through Richardson [3].
- Describe how the storyteller’s belief system has impacted their story
The storyteller’s belief system has been positively affected by their story. Richardson strongly believes that the teeth of lions or for any other animal is a source of their pride as well as their livelihood depends on it. He is also intimately involved with the welfare of lions and offers as much help as he can to solve problems for the lions. It also mirrors the actions of Fixodent which provides solutions of teeth problem in humans and just like the lions, the teeth and their condition is also a source of confidence for people as well. Thus, the belief system of Richardson is also synonymous to the beliefs of Fixodent and the contribution made a significant positive impact on the life of Aslan.
- Identify the strengths and limitations of the storytelling strategies used for each message
The primary strength that can be listed is the use of ethos which has comprehensive positive impact on consumers. Fixodent has made justified use of this feature to showcase and market their products subtly. In addition to it, the embeddedness of the message in a documentary style marketing is highly effective to generate positive perceptions amongst the consumers. This is also in line with the tenets of Cause-Related Marketing (CRM) campaigns which integrates a social cause of animal welfare in the marketing campaigns for Fixodent [4].
The weakness however has been a considerable lack of showcasing the contribution of Fixodent apart from at the very end. While the documentary style marketing is effective, it is also necessary to highlight and exhibit the role of Fixodent for brand perception, brand image and brand development [5]. The lack of Fixodent being sufficiently integrated may also result in inability of the consumers to make an effective connection or impression.
- Provide an analysis of the persuasive strategies used
The persuasive strategy that has been used in this marketing is of ethos and pathos. Ethos uses the authority of the speaker to elicit emotional response (pathos) from the audience [6]. Ethos has been exhibited through the human-animal relationship between Aslan and Richardson as well as the sympathy that Richardson and Fixodent have for the welfare of the animals. The actions of Fixodent and continuous striving by Richardson is pathos which is being encouraged by this ad for the viewers to take up. The marketing intends to build on the credibility, popularity and expertise of Richardson to make an appeal and convince the viewers about the effectiveness of the services offered by Fixodent as well as associate with the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) activities that are undertaken by the company. The basic idea is to form a connection of responsible action between the products and services of the brand with the fixing the teeth of humans and animals being the synonymous focal point. It is not directly pointing out the conventional portrayal of dental advertisements but is considering appealing to the viewers about the value and importance of the teeth for an individual, just like a lion as well as socially responsible action which always has a positive impact on the audience.
- Give your overall assessment of the effectiveness of the storytelling concepts used to communicate the desired message
Sandy Hook Promise Public Service Announcement
Overall, the marketing campaign is largely successful in generating sympathy and emotional response from the audience and viewers. It has all the elements of positioning the brand as a suitable and responsible dental care brand. It builds on the expertise and credibility of Richardson to make a difference which showcases the focus or vision of the brand “Giving the bite back”. However, the use of more integrated snippets of brand contribution or role would have made it much easier for viewers to make a connection and develop a positive brand image. In a nutshell, the storytelling concepts has been largely successful to communicate the desired message to its viewers.
- Identify the message that the storyteller is communicating
The primary message that this ad campaign communicates is that gun violence in school is preventable if people notice the telltale signs exhibited by students [7]. While the school is portrayed as a happy place for student interaction, studying, happy place for the students, often the struggles if depression, bullying and others are missed and not taken care by the school authorities. This message has also been compounded with the statistics presented at the end. The message is clear and simple and yet highly impactful and close to heart of people around the world. The video intends to evoke a strong response to identify the signs that can lead to gun violence and disseminate information about it.
- Describe the storytelling elements used to communicate the message
The basic storytelling elements that have been used is pretty straightforward. The ad showcases the happy and fun students as focused characters of the ad within a school setting. The plot is to show the more attractive and displayed nuances of activities in a school while missing more degrading experiences of some of the students as well. However, the conflict is displayed with sensitivity without identifying the face of the shooter or the actual shooting itself. The story has been beautifully crafted to show that just as the audience missed the dreadful events in the background, in reality such events are also often missed. These elements intend to add impetus to the rising concerns of addressing the mental health issues of students.
- Describe how the storyteller’s belief system has impacted their story
The belief system of Sandy Hook is that detecting early signs of amongst students can lead to effectively reduce occurrence of gun violence. The storyteller intends to disseminate information and teach people about the signs and how to detect them for actionable strategies of curbing gun violence in schools. The story has beautifully connected out own impression of a school as a safe place for students to interact and engage in which has been marred by neglected mental and physical problems at school. The issues also relate to some of us experiencing bullying or insecurities in school which is aggravated to take such action as a gun violence.
- Identify the strengths and limitations of the storytelling strategies used for each message
The primary strength of the ad is in the making the audience enable to think for themselves and draw parallel from their lives and school experiences to make a connection. It does not present a solution per se but showcases different perspective of focus in the same frame. It argues with the realities of school environment and urges the viewers to watch it again just to notice the different focus of the same story. It interconnects the own impressions of the viewers with the contextual but forgotten events of every student life, either in person or in perspective to make a justified claim of preventing gun violence through learning the early signs and taking actions through the website of Sandy Hook.
Effectiveness of Storytelling Strategies
However, the limitation lies in the small time which is afforded to showing the problems or actual reasons leading up to gun violence. It may easily disconnect the audience or the viewers may easily ignore the video citing it as a just another video showing how beautiful the school life is. It limits the ability of the video to reach a wider audience to some degree.
- Provide an analysis of the persuasive strategies used
The persuasive strategy that is used in the video is logos. The rational logic or thinking of the audience is being leveraged to ensure that sufficient actions are taken to identify the early signs of gun violence amongst students. The contrasting display of the school setting focusing on happiness in school often overshadows the problems of mental health and gun violence to show a logical relationship. The logos is also in the subliminal comparison of the viewers’ own school experience to gain a perspective about mental health that leads to gun violence and compare it with the context of today. The logical argument is also presented through the focus of the story as well as the literal camera which shows how the audience is unconsciously biased towards a particular argument or view. It makes the viewers contemplate and examine their own life as evidence to attest to the persuasive goals of learning more about the signs of gun violence crimes in students as well as of mental health.
- Give your overall assessment of the effectiveness of the storytelling concepts used to communicate the desired message
Overall, the storytelling concepts that has been used is highly successful as it elicits a strong emotional response built in logical manner. It links the experiences of the students and viewers to propose viable solutions of such problems as well. The desired message is successfully received by the viewers and the aim is immediately achieved at the end when the reaction to the message takes a sudden turn of events to question the belief of the viewers and make a statement.
- Identify the message that the storyteller is communicating
The main message of the ad is that puppies can be just as good a companion as a human and it is just as enjoyable or difficult as raising a child. The story teller is also communicating that Purina Puppy Chow puppy food and other items can be used to make it a little bit easier for the adopters. Puppyhood like parenthood also lends such connection to the events of raising a puppy raising an emotional quotient of the viewers and presenting the solutions in the form of the products and services of the company. It is the “ultimate resource” which a puppy owner would ever need which is also the tagline of the company.
- Describe the storytelling elements used to communicate the message
The storytelling elements that have been used is a every day life setting of an individual such as the bedroom, drawing room, activities like showing a guest about the things and objects in the home and others. The aim of the story teller through the course of the narrative to connect all the pet lovers with the elements that connect them to their pets and is also a crucial part of them upbringing their pets [8]. Human like qualities has been attributed to the puppy and animal like instinct has also been given to the protagonist. The interchange of characters shows the connection between the pet and the owner (or parent). The food product of Purina Puppy Chow has also been subtly integrated in the ad displaying interactive emotions with the puppy being happy and running for the food. It is a juxtaposition of the human lives to encourage puppy owners to buy the products of the company.
- Describe how the storyteller’s belief system has impacted their story
Strengths and Weaknesses
The belief system of the storyteller, Purina Puppy Chow, is direct and engaging. The joy of owning a puppy along with all the hardships that an owner endures has been presented. This impacts the individual journey of the puppy owner who instantly connect with the story and prospective parents of newborns who also faces similar problems raising their child as well. Audiences tend to search for a meaningful association in marketing campaigns [9]. This belief system has been used by the marketing campaign for showcasing products that can help a puppy parent. The things like a box, puppy food, collar and other items that was bought by the protagonist from a single store goes to show the essence of the brand and its products for a puppy owner.
- Identify the strengths and limitations of the storytelling strategies used for each message
The strength of the ad is in the utilization of the unconventional subject matter that has been embedded in the advertisement for the portrayal of the puppyhood subject. Additionally, the ad is interesting as it is easy going and displays the appeals and caveats of owning a puppy which the audience is able to instantly recognize. The innuendos of the protagonist are also hilariously captivating and generates an interest among viewers to own a puppy.
The primary limitation is in limited use or display of the products and services of Purina. It has made limited use of the Puppy Chow which is also not clearly displayed or visible. The audience are unable to make a connection to the products that was used in the ad along with the products and services of the brand itself. Additionally, the ad itself could have used a more pronounced display championing the products of the company which would have been more effective.
- Provide an analysis of the persuasive strategies used
The persuasive strategies used in this case is that of ethos. The ad intends to purely generate an emotional quotient of owning a puppy along with the things that can help make it easier. The ethos is shown through the myriad of activities that are done by the puppy owner like playing, talking to the puppy and others in order to device strategies of eliciting a strong emotional response from the viewers. The store in the beginning also shows the potential destination for everything related to puppy raising which helps communicate the intention of championing the Puppyhood products. Akin to raising a child, the ad appeals to the puppy owner, potential puppy owners and parents to articulately think about owning a puppy.
- Give your overall assessment of the effectiveness of the storytelling concepts used to communicate the desired message
Overall, the effectiveness of the storytelling concept is scarce as it does not effectively relate to the aims of the ad campaign. The brand is not displayed sufficiently along with limited use of products. However, it is highly effective in generating interest amongst the viewers to own a puppy but does not drive home the fact that this ad, if nothing else, is a commercial enterprise to promote the products and services of Purina.
The primary recommendations that can be made for after the analysis for Olde School Advertising Agency are as follows:
- It is recommended for the company to use modern methods of digital content of Cause Related Marketing (CRM) campaigns for effective display of the CSR activities of the brands. It can use digital media and social media such as Instagram, Facebook and others for dissemination of information.
- The company is also recommended to use celebrities, experts and prominent personalities for adding value, credibility and association with the tenets of the advertisement communications.
- The company should also use emotional and thought evoking marketing strategies. Therefore, the company is also recommended to use strong and likeable characters for displaying and eliciting strong emotional response from the viewers.
References
- com. 2022 [cited 8 April 2022]. Available from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RA5J2vuFbcs
- Nimkar N. Role of Content Marketing and it’s Potential on Lead Generation. Annals of Tropical Medicine and Public Health. 2020;23(17).
- Cutting JE. The mere exposure effect and aesthetic preference. InNew directions in aesthetics, creativity, and the arts 2020 Feb 10 (pp. 33-46). Routledge.
- Vrontis D, Thrassou A, Christofi M, Shams R, Czinkota MR. Cause-related marketing in international business: what works and what does not?. International Marketing Review. 2020 Jul 9.
- Kim H, Youn S, Lee D. The effect of corporate social responsibility reputation on consumer support for cause-related marketing. Total Quality Management & Business Excellence. 2019 Apr 3;30(5-6):682-707.
- Voci D. Logos, Ethos, Pathos, Sustainabilitos? About the Role of Media Companies in Reaching Sustainable Development. Sustainability. 2022 Feb 23;14(5):2591.
- com. (2022). Retrieved 8 April 2022, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9qyD7vjVfLI.
- Hong S, Kang JA, Hubbard GT. The effects of founder’s storytelling advertising. International Journal of Entrepreneurship. 2018;22(3):1-9.
- Campbell C, Farrell JR. More than meets the eye: The functional components underlying influencer marketing. Business Horizons. 2020 Jul 1;63(4):469-79.
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