January 3, 2012
Keep it simple and have fun: the two rules I try to follow at the beginning, middle and end of a project. Because I’m a nerd, I spend countless hours scouring the web for great videos. It gives me inspiration and its entertaining as well!
There haven’t been many videos that have really hit the mark for me recently, but the videos that have ALWAYS been an inspiration are the Jeep commercials done by the ad agency Wieden Kennedy out of Portland. They started with a great commercial introducing the new Grand Cherokee:
In my opinion, this was the first success of the “manifesto” style campaign. Now, while the production-side of things may not have been simple, the message was clear and concise. It would be a safe bet to say it resonates with almost everyone. It pays homage to the old pro-American commercials during WWII. In a time of economic turmoil, they really hit the nail on the head with this commercial. Hell, it even made ME want to buy a Jeep.
After that, W+K really started playing to my weakness…the single shot commercial. I have been looking at doing one of these for a LONG time, but the proper subject has never really presented itself. Expanding on their success with the Jeep commercial, they launched a series of single shot commercials touting the strengths of certain aspects of the Jeep:
Now THIS is what I am talking about. I know its been out for a while now, but it is a good reminder that SIMPLE is STRONG. You don’t need fancy effects, crazy transitions or scantily clad women. You just need a good message and a little bit of creativity.
Next time you embark on a project, take a second and ask yourself how you can strip away all the excess stuff and make it as simple as possible. It will help keep your message believable and most importantly, keep the audience engaged.