This ad is on fire - lessons on emotional marketing from Burger King
This Burger King ad is setting people on fire! It’s got me on fire for a few reasons. Recently, I wrote about the 1.7s test for video ads and this is the perfect example.
(Haven't watched the ad yet? Scroll down to the video at the bottom of the article)
I used to have the Burger King app just to get freebies. Since I committed to living a healthier life, I’ve deleted it, BUT this ad has me itching to download the app again.
Here’s a breakdown of why this ad is lit, drawing on my learnings in Psychology and Neuro-linguistics Programming (NLP). I will share my thoughts in (1) a play-by-play breakdown of the ad, followed by (2) a sharing of the creative concepts that any advertiser can use.
1. The play-by-play breakdown
The 1.7s test
With such a short attention span for ad content, running a 50 second ad is a risk - would it flip viewers to take action or would it flop? I believe this ad stands a high chance of getting massive growth in app install numbers for Burger King.
How did it pass the test?
Within the first second, viewers are greeted by a fearsome imagery. It looks like a building in flames and it harks back to the horrifying moments in recent history when buildings burned.
That feeling is immediately amplified by the copy - “People are setting ads on fire”.
My mind was going “What?! What’s going on?!” - they’ve got me.
Time check: within 2 seconds, they’ve got my attention. They left the fire on screen for a solid 5 seconds - a ‘poignant pause’ - to build up suspense.
It’s no longer about them telling us. It’s now about us wanting more.
What’s in it for me?
Even if I have never seen a Whopper or heard about Burger King, I know someone is handing out free burgers and I want one.
This appeals to our self-interest. (What’s in this ad for me? A free Whopper? Tell me more!)
The next scenes of hungry people chomping on a juicy burger just kills me. Tell me how I can get a free Whopper already!
By now, the viewer is no longer thinking about leaving the ad. I’m intrigued and committed to follow through to the end.
Shock, self-interest and curiosity. They’ve been adept at evoking emotions in just a few seconds.
The Message
“Our competitor ads are everywhere so we decided to use augmented reality to burn them.”
I love it. In one fell swoop, BK has satisfied our initial curiosity and set up the next sequence of interest. Within 20 seconds, the initial question has been answered and replaced with a new hook. This will keep us going.
What else is beautiful about this segment?
“Flame-grilled is always better” artfully suggests that Burger King is always better without being snobbish through the use of unconscious suggestion. While the mind consciously thinks of BK’s ad burning, the unconscious mind starts receiving the suggestion that BK’s flame-grilled burgers are better.
So, 3 beautiful things in this segment:
- Satisfy our curiosity
- Tell us that Burger King is better
- Demonstrations of people burning ads plants the question: “How can I do this too?” - which is smoothly answered by the next part of the ad:
The Value
“It’s not just fun” - in NLP, there’s a presupposition that the unconscious mind does not process negatives. This statement is artfully crafted to say that this is REALLY fun and there’s something more, which again highlights the WIIFM: “YOU also get a free Whopper”
Read: It’s not just these people. You can get a free Whopper too when you download our app.
The call to action in plain text: Download our app now.
Followed once again by the idea and message:
2. Creative concepts in play
What are the 3 key messages?
- Get your free Whopper (WIIFM)
- Download the Burger King app (call to action)
- Burger King is better (opinion)
The 3 messages were delivered through:
- Evoking emotions
- The storytelling structure
- Carefully crafted copy
- Brilliant imagery
i. Evoking emotions
What amazed me was the complex interplay of emotions. Some were in sequence while others were overlaid over the different parts of the video.
The initial burning image sparked concern. The free Whopper engaged my self-interest. The music and imagery amused me.
Realize the meaning behind the emotions - Each emotion was carefully selected and evoked for a specific outcome. Shock and concern was designed to keep my attention on the ad. Self-interest was in play to motivate me. Amusement was designed to get me to share the ad.
When crafting your ads, a tip to follow is to ask: How does that make the viewer feel? What does it tell about your product, service or company?
ii. The storytelling structure
The ad comprises 3 themes:
- People are burning competitor ads and getting a free Whopper
- How you can use our app to burn ads with augmented reality too
- It’s fun and Burger King is better
In a span of 50 seconds, Burger King delivered these 3 messages to serve 2 purposes:
- Install the ad (because it is fun)
- Reinforce the idea that Burger King is better (because the ad told you so, and because you get a free Whopper when you burn a competitor’s ad)
This is splendid. Many ads I’ve seen imagine that the product or feature is the most important element of the creative.
How strong can a product photo and a copy that goes “$29.99” be? Tell a story, make a point.
iii. Carefully crafted copy
“People are setting ads on fire and getting a free Whopper. Our competitor ads are everywhere so we decided to use augmented reality to burn them. The feature is available on the Burger King app. It’s not just fun - you also get a free Whopper. After all, flame-grilled is always better. Burn that ad.”
I can bet that lots of time was spent crafting the copy. Perhaps they even spent time testing the effect on different audiences before arriving at this simple sounding message.
As a Toastmaster, I’ve played with the power of words. My speaking idol, Mohammed Qahtani said in his world championship speech:
“A simple choice of words can make a difference between someone accepting or denying your message.”
Don’t forget to consider who your message goes out to as well - people across context and culture perceive language differently, which is why Game Insight trusted Creadits to develop localized creatives.
iv. Brilliant Imagery
I noticed several brilliant scenes through the course of the ad:
- The massive burning ad in the first scene
- Hungry people chomping on a burger
- People using the app to burn ads
- Happy people enjoying themselves with the app
These scenes were optimized to induce feelings. It leaves people with the desire for more instead of more to be desired. There are obviously a lot of elements that went into these scenes beyond the scope of my reflection today, but I’ll leave you with a helpful question when you review your creatives: Do my creatives leave me desiring for more or have more to be desired?
It’s not possible for me to create such ads! - or is it really?
You might be thinking: in-house teams may not have the expertise to produce such ads while engaging in a traditional ad agency costs a bomb.
Impossible?
Well, perhaps on your own, but why should the big boys be the only ones who can produce such stunning ads?
Imagine creating strategic and stunning ads on a budget. Imagine having a stack of impressive creatives to use over your various campaigns.
Imagine these possibilities at a fraction of the cost of traditional ad agencies and the cost of maintaining a team of pros.
Sounds too good to be true?
This is what we do at Creadits. We support companies and marketing teams with creative strategy and ad production at scale and on demand, at a fraction of the usual costs.
At Creadits, we believe in fairness - not just within the team but out in the world.
Our platform allows you to play on a level playing field with ads that rival the big boys.
Curious to find out more? I enjoy chatting about ads and creatives. Feel free to connect or reach out for a free creative consultation.
Now that's a good ad.
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Exciting news! Creadits is now an approved YouTube partner. Feel free to reach out to discuss how you can leverage the full potential of Google's full range of products with our fully managed, end-to-end solution.
Cheers,
Jun Han :)