When Blammo! released Log in the United States, they launched an infectious ad campaign that quickly took the nation by storm. If you haven’t already seen this commercial, be warned: This song will not leave your brain for a long, long time.
The jingle for Log contains all of the product’s selling points:
- Bigness
- Heaviness
- Woodenness
- Goodness
Okay, so only the last one of those is an actual selling point, however, that puts them one up on brands with marketing campaigns that promote product features which are in no way related to anything resembling real selling points.
A prime example:
That’s right. The ability to make something cold by placing it in a refrigerator is now a unique product feature. The Coors Light campaign is definitely a one trick marketing pony, trying to hit the “potentially low temperature” note from every concievable angle. The beer comes in “Cold Activated” bottles and cans with “Frost Brewed Liners” packed into cartons that have “Cold Activation Windows”. It’s frost brewed! What does that even mean?
Then there’s Bud Light’s “drinkability”. I’m not going to dignify one of these sad commercials with a video example, because you’ve already seen them. Drinkability? Why not carbonation? Why not wetness, for that matter? Bud Light should be all over this. In fact, they should tout the fact that drinking Bud Light will lead to urination, which will in turn keep the workers at the sewage treatment plant employed. Drink Bud Light, unless you want honest, hard working wastewater technicians to face foreclosure.
I think they may be taking a page from Lucky Strike’s playbook. (Sorry, but YouTube won’t allow me to embed the video)
For those unwilling to take the leap and open a new tab to watch this great scene from Mad Men, it features a dashing Don Draper convincing executives that, although every cigarette features toasted tobacco, highlighting this non-selling point is the key to Lucky Strike’s brand viability.
I have to be a stickler and point out the anachronism: ”It’s Toasted” was added to the Lucky Strike package in 1917. But hey, who’s gonna tell that to Don Draper? I mean look at him. I’ll believe anything that lantern jaw says.
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You make a good point about faux benefits. While some touted benefits are the de facto standard (“It’s Toasted”) some are actually pretty debatable. Some benefits may not please all constituencies. (In some places beer is deemed better at room temperature.) Always did love that Blammo commercial, though and what a great tag-line: “It’s better than bad—it’s good.”