Why Negative Ads are Gaining Popularity in Commercial Advertising

Though the McCain camp has been slammed in the press for his latest political campaign ad, in which Barack Obama is compared to Britney Spears and Paris Hilton, pundits argue that the ad—and negative advertising in general—actually works.

Negative advertising, in fact, has long been a component of major political campaign advertising but remains generally frowned-upon in commercial advertising. In the article “Going Negative in Political Advertising” John Quelch explains:

“As the market leader, Coke would never give the underdog Pepsi the benefit of a mention in its ads. For its part, Pepsi would worry that negative ads against Coke would say more to consumers about the character of Pepsi than Coke. And when Pepsi did famously “challenge” Coke 20 years ago, it was with blindfolded consumers choosing between two unlabeled samples, as close as you could get to a scientific test.”

Pundits have argued, much like Quelch has, that negative advertising has always worked better in the political realm than in the commercial one, which is probably true. But how are we to explain the success of Apple’s ad campaigns for Mac computers? More a critique against Microsoft than a promotion of the Apple brand, the ads have prompted many young 20-somethings, with whom I’ve spoken, say in more or less words, “I think those ads are pretty funny. I don’t own a Mac, but I kind of want to

The reason may lie in the fact that young people are now inundated with a variety of television and Internet shows which synthesize information, such as The Daily Show, The Colbert Report, and The Soup, YouTube spoofs and the vast majority of VH1 programs, all of which create an environment of mocking and satire that appeals to young people and to which they find themselves accustomed.

For instance, YouTube has made it possible for commercial audiences to not only view humorous ads, but also to participate in the creation of such ads as well. The impact of the YouTube phenomenon was felt in 2006, after a contest for a new GM ad on the television show The Apprentice spawned a host of mock ads attacking GM, created by internet users.

It is within this cultural milieu of self-derision that the viewers of advertisements receive the Apple ads, which ridicule the competition with a knowing smile and nonchalance in which the audience takes part. The new face of negative advertising is an in-joke, rather than a call to step outside and duke it out. Quite literally, it is the face of Justin Long, a wiry, geeky master of humor, who would rather outsmart than outperform.

Acceptable or not, the Mac ad campaign has had a sizeable impact on Microsoft who aims to retaliate with their own ad campaign in the near future.

Says a friend of mine, “I can’t wait to see the Microsoft ads. They’d better be funny. Bring it on!”

Will Microsoft rise to the youthful occasion? That remains to be seen. But if Paris Hilton can take on John McCain with a campaign ad of her own (released shortly after she learned of the McCain ad featuring her image), then I’m sure Microsoft can handle Apple.

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Contact:

Jennifer Silva
Zilker Ventures, LLC
401 Congress Ave. Suite 1540
Austin, TX 78701 P: (512) 448-9031
F: (512)722-7721

~ by zilker on August 29, 2008.