Be cute only if you are cute!

Posted at August 15, 2009 // Advertising

Nuvaring is at it again.

I wish I have some insight on ad awareness data.

I was not a big fan of the “Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday” ad. It started out as a really strange cartoon in August 2008. In September 2008, the cartoon was enacted by real people. In November 2008, the ad got a black & white treatment for the old pill method. Now, a year later, August 2009, I see ads that use the old ad as background, with women in the foreground talking about the contraceptive ring.

I have to say, the old ads were effective visually, and the jingle made the ads stand out. However, I still wonder how motivating they were. I think the latest version was the best version thus far. At the end of the day, they were trying to change people’s behavior. To do so, they had to address women’s concerns / fear, and offer them a reason why the NuvaRing solution was better than their existing solution. I felt the cartoon or cartoon-like ads were never truly relatable. I, while represented only one data point, would never be convinced by a cartoon on something so important to my health. Today, NuvaRing returned to having women talking to women about women issue, which seemed to me to be far more appropriate.

So, I wonder, what would have happened if NuvaRing had today’s ad in market a year ago? Would their sales have been better?

My conclusion: Make sure your marketing message is aligned with your brand equity. If it’s a cute product, by all means, be cute. If it’s a serious product, be serious. If even you don’t take yourself seriously, why would I?

See previous discussion on NuvaRing ads here.

Note: YouTube may remove the video without notice. You may also be able to see NuvaRing’s current commercial here.

Tags : Advertising, Strange ads