No, you close your mint hole Altoids

I love Altoids. The “curiously strong mints” are the perfect solution to a busy schedule and an addiction to coffee. However, when I opened my my most recent tin, I was surprised and honestly disappointed to see this packaging.

Although some people might enjoy the crass humor presented on the liner, I just don’t see the point of it. I remember getting Altoids from my grandmother when I was a child. That is the image I associate them with. The use of tin rather than plastic or cardboard, the font, everything about the package seems to contribute to the story of a brand that has lasted for decades because of the products unquestionable effectiveness.

And while this might be an effective move to reach a new audience if it was part of a complete packaging and brand revamping, it isn’t.  You don’t even see this abrasive message until after you have purchased and opened the mints. So rather than attracting a new audience, it seems Altoids is risking alienating their current consumers with little benefit. Obviously, some people will enjoy this message and some won’t, but it is only reaching current consumers of the product. The people who are offended by this message may reevaluate Altoids as their mint of choice, as one commenter on this online forum claims she intends to. On the other hand, I don’t see those who chuckle at the message increasing their purchases.

If you are going to go for a crass, sassy approach to speaking with your consumers, you can’t do so half heartedly. And for Altoids, I just don’t think this is the right brand message.

28. Wim Hof

I kinda love this.

It’s just such a good story that leads so perfectly to the product. Everything is working together in this ad from Butler, Shine, Stern & Partners.

The time of year the ad was released, combined with cold weather imagery reminds everyone that it’s getting cold and it’s time to buy a new winter coat.

The music fits in perfectly with the intensity of the story about a man who frequently goes out into subfreezing temperatures in only shorts. It complements Wim Hof’s own casual confident humor. This tone is further enhanced by the ironic voice of the narrator.

I love that these ads are funny, but what’s even better is that they convey the brand story of Columbia Sportswear. Columbia frequently uses the same ironic, humorous, tough guy voice to show that its consumers aren’t afraid of the outdoors and that while they are out in them, they wear Columbia.

13. It will make me grow extra arms?!

So this ad is weird. She’s supposed to be the product, but then she’s also holding the product? And while I think her multiple, spider-person arms are supposed to signify all the things the product can do, they are distracting because they look grotesque. I think the music and background in the ad, in addition to the arms, is supposed to lend a sort of sci-fi futuristic feel to show how technologically advanced the product is. Instead it just comes off as cheesy.

Still, I think that there is some decent thinking behind the ad, so I tried to break down where it went wrong.

1. There isn’t a central idea. The futuristic theme and the personification of the product are separate ideas, and when they are forced together they create the weird spectacle above.

2. Neither of these ideas is really executed well. While if done right, either could work for the product, it seems like neither was pushed to meet its potential. The personification is uncreative (“I will awaken you with a song”) and simply lists the products functions rather than why those functions will be useful to the consumer. The futuristic theme is also bland and unexciting because there is nothing really unique in it. (Sidenote: I see a lot of phone/computer commercials attempting to incorporate futuristic/sci-fi elements, but I can’t think of any that really impress me).

3. It’s “advertising thinking” not “brand thinking.” These ads are trying to sell a specific product, which is fine, but they have no connection with the overall brand story of HTC. And that is really important in this case, since there are a lot of competing smart phones that have similar functions. This ad doesn’t give me a reason to choose HTC’s Rhyme. It tells me nothing about the value of the brand.

5. Should we even advertise?

I remember taking an economics class a few years ago and seeing an example in the book that struck me as a little funny and a little disturbing at the same time. The section of the book was about game-theory economics, and one of the examples used was advertising. The book explained that all competitors in a certain market would be better off if none of them advertised.

Basically, according to the book, everyone would be better off without advertising. When two companies both advertise, the from each firm cancels out the advertising from the other. So neither firm makes more money, and they also lose the money in profits because of the increased expenditure on advertising. It’s also bad for consumers, who see the higher costs incurred by advertising reflected in prices. So according to the book, it would be overall better of no one advertised. Not the most inspiring thing to read as an advertising major.

But while it might seem a little strange, I hear a version of this message repeated to me by my professors all the time. “You can’t think in terms of just advertising campaigns anymore,” says Deb Morrison. “You have to start using brand thinking, where every message from a brand contributes to telling their story.” It’s the same sentiment that led executive in residence Edward Boches to say “Build Shit!” the exclamation that led to the phrase’s explosion on Twitter. It’s what David Allen means when he says he students shouldn’t want to work at advertising agencies.

It’s all pointing towards the idea that traditional advertising isn’t enough anymore. If we want to work in this industry, if we want this industry to even keep existing, we have to come up with bigger ideas. Our ideas can’t just sell products, they need to tell stories and give birth to change. This is already happening in the advertising industry, with projects like Pepsi Refresh and Tide Loads of Hope. But if we as students want to compete in this world, we have to come up with even stronger ideas than these that will continue pushing changes forward.