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TAL

This ad campaign has three parts each time, no matter what medium is used be it online, radio, print, or television. This gives each ad a beginning, middle and an end which keeps it simple, memorable and always drives the selling point home to the audience.

THE BEGINNING

The question is asked: (Who, What, Where, When, How or Why) will you spend your next dollar?

Take note that the word is “dollar” and not “dollars”.

We could add on automotive/car/transportation/or whatever just before the word “dollar” but it would be best to keep it simple with a short sentence. The rest of the ad explains what is being talked about anyway.

With visual ads this sentence can be black letters simply put on a white background with a voice over of the words being read. Pause a touch to let the question sink in. For Audio campaigns, you obviously have the question read in a straightforward, simple way.

THE MIDDLE

The goal here is to simply compare two different ways of doing business when it comes to buying a car. I think the wrong way should be displayed first and the right (Midlands) way second. This order can be debated.

In some cases the two ways could be displayed visually side by side (perhaps with some humorous interplay like a devil trying to poke the angel with a pitchfork but only hitting the divide between them).

Another example could be the customer cow-tied by a cowboy versus a customer smiling with a friendly, informative salesperson.

Another example could be a simple animated frown versus a simple animated smile with voice over explaining the Midlands Difference. This would actually be a good introductory ad for the series, which would explain the ad to viewers since the campaign lends itself to many future variations. By the way, taking a campaign and building more of a story with it over time works very well at keeping the public’s attention. Look at what insurance companies have done with cavemen, ducks, and geckos.

This middle part of the ad is where many different ideas can be sold based on which question is asked at the beginning. The main goal is to keep it funny, light, and entertaining but to primarily show that Midlands is a different and better place to spend your dollar.

THE END

The end will be as simple as the beginning. The question will have already been asked, the middle will have shown the two choices, and now the end will answer (who, what, where, when or why) will provide the good choice: Midlands Honda!

This answer should be as simple as the beginning such as black letters on a white background. I would not even include an address or phone number. Maybe that could come later. Maybe the address could be mentioned in the voice over.

Depending on the budget when it comes to visual ads, an animation that has the word “MIDLANDS” turn into a smile would be ideal for the last thing seen. Maybe the word “Honda” would stay on the side or maybe slip underneath. An animator could play with this.

A note on all of this. An ad must be done with excellent production values or the message will be seen as stupid and unbelievable. It does not mean the ads have to be terribly expensive. This campaign style is fairly simple and after an initial investment does not have to be too costly to continue it as a story.