The Afflack Duck Was a Problem, But Its Demise May Be Premature
The news that Afflack is abandoning its quacking duck mascot is mixed news. When an advertising symbol becomes bigger than the product, such that viewers fail to relate to the product as has happened with Afflack and the Afflack duck, a serious problem emerges. The problem though is not with the duck, which is now a widely known symbol for Afflack, but with the ads that failed to follow through with the connection as to what the duck was selling. Getting rid of the duck may allow future ads to focus on the messages Afflack needs to deliver to customers. Still, that quacking duck has become a powerful symbol. A better approach would be to keep the duck, as it that relates to viewers, and improve the message as to the Afflack product.
Rozerem Ad Fails to Deliver Its Message
When I first saw the current series of Rozerem ads, it was in a billboard. There was a picture of Abraham Lincoln and what looks like a groundhog. My guess at the time was it was a teaser ad for promoting Pennsylvania, with Lincoln representing Gettysburg and the groundhog representing Punxsutawney. When the ads came to television, it took me awhile to figure out that these were supposed to be dreams (who dreams about Lincoln and groundhogs, anyway, and what is that silent spaceman doing in the background?). These ads are too confusing and fail to make the connection between a sleep aid, Rozerem, and the lack of sleep that Rozerem is supposed to cure. Rozerem can make a better statement for its product with better ads. The concept is interesting, but the execution is poor.
Geico: The Gecko Works, the Cave Man Should Become Extinct
The gecko in the Geico ads is brilliant. It gets your attention, it helps people remember the name of the company (Geico), they're funny, and people walk away remembering the message.
The cave man in the Geico ads was good the first time they used it, but it is time for the cave man to go out of existance. The subsequent ads only continue a joke we already got and the message of the product is no longer being mentioned (i.e. the using Geico is so simple a cave man could figure it out). Without continuing to connect the joke to the message, the message is lost. Funny commercials, but they fail to make the point of the advertising campaign.
Geico should either reshape the cave man ads or stick to the gecko.
Pepsi's "More Happy" Makes Me Happy
I haven't seen any of the advertising, but their upcoming theme of "More Happy" is a move in the right direction. Tie something positive, especially happiness, is the way to go for your product.
