What We in the Marine Industry Can Learn From The E.T. New Commercial

A new commercial featuring the most famous alien in the world, E.T., is now on all our screens. The commercial starts quite well—it captures the viewer’s interest easily—then the character becomes an obviously unsuccessful imitation of the movie original, and it feels rather upsetting to connect the beloved alien with the brand name that appears at the end.

Here are three elements to understand (read: mistakes to avoid) when you advertise your brand in the marine industry.

1.      The connection that all of us had with the movie is the relation between the boy Elliot, played by the actor Henry Thomas (now playing a father in the new commercial), and E.T. During the few minutes’ duration of the commercial, this special friendship seems faded.

You cannot underestimate the connection that your client had with a brand or product they used in the past. By asking explicitly, you can learn what they liked about this other brand and use the same feelings to build a new connection with your brand.

2.      The makers of the commercial tried to create the same connection between E.T. and Eliot’s kids in a few minutes as existed between E.T. and Eliot in the original movie. They were attempting to inspire the same feelings we had the first time around.

But you cannot build in a few minutes the same connection that was originally developed over a full two hours’ crescendo of complex situations.

Similarly, you cannot rush to build a relationship with your customers in a short time. It is necessary to undergo a certain process of contact, exchanges, questions, and answers; even better if you can connect with their problem and become their solution provider.

3.      Our expectations of the commercial are disillusioned in seconds. We are disappointed that the reunion between Elliot and E.T., after thirty-seven years, took up only a few instants of the spot while it should have been the main focus. We the viewers were excited to feel the joy of the characters, but unfortunately, that feeling is skipped over.

Never build up your client’s expectations unrealistically or make them believe that you are able to offer something which you are not. This leads to the worst type of pushback that you can receive from clients.

The commercial is well done in its structure and details, but the connection and memories fade away with the seconds and images passing by.

You can build the best advertisements using a huge budget, but if the message you want to convey is weak, it’s all for nothing. If the final target cannot get your meaning, then you have to learn a new lesson from this failure. Even worse, if you want to leverage something with great meaning, using a well-known element that has emotional resonance with all of us can be a powerful tool. But if you are not able to create this resonance, if it seems to your audience that the old memories are badly treated, then the illusion of being a witness to something special is transformed into the reality of mere commercial use. The use of nostalgia is a risk if not used properly.

To make your clients into advocates for you, transport them to that magic place where they were once happy, and they will be happy to follow you there. You have to offer more than they expected from you, and never, never betray their expectations, or, worse, hurt their feelings.

Thank you for reading, I would appreciate hearing your thought on this.

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Davide Scalia is the CEO & Founder of Namaka Consulting, with over 15 years of experience in the Marine Industry and over 10 years’ experience in Strategic Business Development, helping over 500 businesses to clarify what to do next to build the Brand, how to increase sales, giving new ideas to obtain exponential Business Growth.

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