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Breaking Through the Clutter. If all this clutter bothers some consumers,
it also causes huge headaches for marketers. Take the situation facing net-
work television advertisers. They pay an average of $342,000 to produce a
single 30-second commercial. Then each time they show it, they pay an aver-
age of $112,100 for 30 seconds of advertising time during a popular primetime
program. They pay even more if it’s an especially popular program, such as
Sunday Night Football ($803,000), Empire ($497,000), Big Bang Theory ($348,000),
or a mega-event such as the Super Bowl (averaging $5 million per 30 sec-
onds!). Then their ads are sandwiched in with a clutter of other commercials,
network promotions, and other nonprogram material totaling as much as
20 minutes per primetime hour, with long commercial breaks coming every
six minutes on average. Such clutter in television and other ad media has cre-
ated an increasingly hostile advertising environment.9
It used to be that television viewers were pretty much a captive audi-
ence for advertisers. But today’s digital wizardry has given viewers a rich
new set of information and entertainment options—the internet, video
streaming, social and mobile media, tablets and smartphones, and others.
Digital technology has also armed consumers with an arsenal of technol-
ogies for choosing what they watch or don’t watch and when. Increasingly,
thanks to the growth of DVR systems and digital streaming, consumers are
choosing not to watch ads.
Advertising clutter: Today’s consumers, armed Thus, advertisers can no longer force-feed the same old cookie-cutter
with an arsenal of technologies, can choose what messages and content to captive consumers through traditional media.
they watch and don’t watch. Increasingly, they are Simply interrupting or disrupting consumers no longer works. Unless ads
choosing not to watch ads. provide content that is engaging, useful, or entertaining, many consumers
Piotr Marcinski/Shutterstock will simply ignore or skip them.

Merging Advertising and Entertainment. To break through the clutter, many market-
ers have subscribed to a new merging of advertising and entertainment, dubbed “Madison
& Vine.” You’ve probably heard of Madison Avenue, the New York City street that houses
the headquarters of many of the nation’s largest advertising agencies. You may also have
heard of Hollywood & Vine, the intersection of Hollywood Avenue and Vine Street in
Hollywood, California, long the symbolic heart of the U.S. entertainment industry. Now,
Madison Avenue and Hollywood & Vine have come together to form a new intersection—
Madison & Vine—that represents the merging of advertising and entertainment in an effort
Madison & Vine to create new avenues for reaching consumers with more engaging messages.
A term that has come to represent the
This merging of advertising and entertainment takes one of two forms: advertain-
merging of advertising and entertainment
ment or brand integrations. The aim of advertainment is to make ads and brand content
in an effort to break through the clutter
themselves so entertaining or so useful that people want to watch them. There’s no chance
and create new avenues for reaching
that you’d watch ads on purpose, you say? Think again. For example, the Super Bowl has
customers with more engaging
messages.
become an annual advertainment showcase. Tens of millions of people tune in to the Super
Bowl each year, as much to watch the entertaining ads as to see the game. And ads and
related content posted online before and after the big game draw tens of millions of views.
These days, it’s common to see an entertaining ad on YouTube long before you see it on TV.
Advertisers are also creating content forms that look less like ads and more like short
films or shows. A range of brand messaging platforms—from webisodes and blogs to on-
line videos and social media posts—now blur the line between ads and other consumer
content. For example, as part of its long-running, highly successful Campaign for Real
Beauty, Unilever’s Dove brand has created numerous long-form ad videos about how
women of all ages view themselves. Its “Real Beauty Sketches” video compared images
of women drawn by an FBI-trained sketch artist based on their self-descriptions versus
strangers’ descriptions of them. Side-by-side comparisons show that the stranger-described
images are invariably more accurate and more flattering, creating strong reactions from
the women. The tagline concludes, “You’re more beautiful than you think.” Although
the award-winning video was never shown on TV, it drew more than 163 million global
YouTube views within just two months, making it the most-watched video ever. Other
blockbuster Dove Real Beauty videos—with titles such as “Evolution” and “Change One
Thing”—have met with similar receptions.10
Marketers have tested all kinds of novel ways to break through today’s clutter and
engage consumers. For example, Hostess Brands—maker of those yummy Twinkies,
 ChapTEr 15 | Advertising and Public Relations 459
Ho Hos, Ding Dongs, and cream-filled cupcakes—recently shared a tweet celebrating
the opening day of the Major League Baseball season. The tweet contained a picture of
baseball-decorated cupcakes but also the bold headline TOUCHDOWN. As expected, the
tweet grabbed plenty of attention, as droves of Twitter followers pounced to point out the
mistake, just the reaction Hostess intended. “The ‘touchdown’ line was intentional,” says
the marketing director of Hostess Brands. “It’s fun and aimed at young audiences who are
in on the running joke.”
Other brands have also “tested the stupid waters,” as one analyst puts it. For example,
JCPenney once posted incoherent tweets, grabbing widespread attention and leading to
speculation that the retailer’s social media person was either drunk or had been hacked.
Instead, says JCPenney, the person was tweeting with mittens on to promote its winter
merchandise. P&G’s Charmin brand’s #tweetfromtheseat Twitter campaign uses irreverent
humor to create engagement and drive buzz, with questions such as “Charmin asks: What
are your thoughts on streaming while streaming?” and “There’s no toilet paper left on the
roll, do you yell for help, wiggle and air dry, text someone for help?”11
Brand integrations (or branded entertainment) involve making the brand an inseparable
part of some other form of entertainment or content. The most common form of brand
integration is product placements—embedding brands as props within other program-
ming. It might be a brief glimpse of Starbucks coffee products on Morning Joe on MSNBC
or of Microsoft’s Surface tablet and Bing search engine in episodes of Elementary or Arrow.
It could be scenes from Avengers: Age of Ultron in which Black Widow rides a Harley-
Davidson Livewire.
Or the product placement might be scripted into a movie or an episode of a TV show.
For example, a GoPro camera played a starring role opposite Matt Damon in the movie
The Martian. And a three-episode story on the hit
TV show Empire was built entirely around the
making of a Pepsi commercial in which the char-
acter of Jamal, a rising singer, becomes the new
face of Pepsi. Then Pepsi ran the actual ad during
commercial breaks in subsequent episodes of the
show. The Empire brand integration cost Pepsi an
estimated $20 million.12
Similarly, a storyline in one episode of
Black-ish was built around a Buick Encore, which
characters Dre and Bow purchased for their daugh-
ter, Zoey. Dre lists all of the great features of the
Enclave. However, after his work colleagues re-
mind him of the riskier things teenagers do to and
in cars, Dre has second thoughts about whether
Zoey is really ready for a car. Dre’s mother, Ruby,
feeds his concerns so that she can claim the car
for her own. Ruby even posts a selfie with the car
on her Facebook page, proclaiming, “Praise Jesus.
Branded integration: A three-episode story on the hit TV show Empire was That son of mine finally got his mother a Buick.”
built around the making of a Pepsi commercial in which one of the show’s By the end of the episode, Zoey gets the car. Other
characters becomes the new face of Pepsi. Black-ish episodes feature storylines built around
Ron Batzdorff/Getty Images brands ranging State Farm to Chipotle.
Originally created with TV in mind, brand integration has spread quickly into other
sectors of the entertainment industry. If you look carefully, you’ll see product placements
in movies, video games, comic books, Broadway musicals, and even pop music. For exam-
ple, last year’s top 31 movies contained 430 identifiable brand placements.13 The highly ac-
claimed film The LEGO Movie was pretty much a 100-minute product placement for iconic
LEGO construction bricks. According to one writer, “The audience happily sits through a
cinematic sales pitch . . . that shows off the immense versatility of the product while plac-
Native advertising ing it in a deeply personal context. The majority of the film is a breathtaking display of
Advertising or other brand-produced what LEGO bricks are capable of as creative tools, but the personal element is what really
online content that looks in form and elevates this film to product-placement perfection.” The LEGO Movie boosted The LEGO
function like the other natural content Group’s sales by 13 percent the year after it opened.14
surrounding it on a web or social media A related form of brand integration is so-called native advertising (also called
platform. sponsored content), advertising or other brand-produced online content that appears to be
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“native to” the web or social media site in which it is placed. That is, the brand content
looks in form and function like the other natural content surrounding it on a web or social
media platform. It might be an article on a website such as The Huffington Post, BuzzFeed,
Mashable, or even The New York Times or The Wall Street Journal that is paid for, written by,
and placed by an advertiser but uses the same format as articles written by the editorial
staff. Or it might be brand-prepared videos, pictures, posts, or pages integrated into social
media such as Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, Pinterest, or Twitter that match the form
and feel of native content on those media. Examples include Twitter’s promoted tweets,
Facebook’s promoted stories, BuzzFeed’s sponsored posts, or Snapchat’s “brand story” ads,
branded posts that appear in the app’s “Stories” feed. Native advertising is an increasingly
popular form of brand content. It lets advertisers create relevant associations between
brand and consumer content. According to a recent study by the Association of National
Advertisers, “given today’s media landscape, where consumers can avoid ads more than
ever, advertisers are looking for new ways to get their messages noticed and acted upon.”15
Thus, Madison & Vine is now the meeting place for advertising, brand content, and en-
tertainment. The goal is to make brand messages a part of the broader flow of consumer con-
tent and conversation rather than an intrusion or interruption of it. As advertising agency JWT
puts it, “We believe advertising needs to stop interrupting what people are interested in and be
what people are interested in.” However, advertisers must be careful that the new intersection
itself doesn’t become too congested. With all the new brand content formats and integration,
Madison & Vine threatens to create even more of the very clutter that it was designed to break
through. At that point, consumers might decide to take yet a different route.

Creative concept Message and Content Strategy. The first step in creating effective advertising content
The compelling “big idea” that will bring is to plan a message strategy—the general message that will be communicated to consum-
an advertising message strategy to life in ers. The purpose of advertising is to get consumers to engage with or react to the prod-
a distinctive and memorable way. uct or company in a certain way. People will engage and react only if they believe they
will benefit from doing so. Thus, developing an effective message strategy begins with
identifying customer benefits that can be used as advertising appeals. Ideally, the message
strategy will follow directly from the company’s broader positioning and
customer value–creation strategies.
Message strategy statements tend to be plain, straightforward outlines
of benefits and positioning points that the advertiser wants to stress. The
advertiser must next develop a compelling creative concept—or big
idea—that will bring the message strategy to life in a distinctive and memo-
rable way. At this stage, simple message ideas become great ad campaigns.
Usually, a copywriter and an art director will team up to generate many
creative concepts, hoping that one of these concepts will turn out to be the
big idea. The creative concept may emerge as a visualization, a phrase, or a
combination of the two.
The creative concept will guide the choice of specific appeals to be used
in an advertising campaign. Advertising appeals should have three charac-
teristics. First, they should be meaningful, pointing out benefits that make
the product more desirable or interesting to consumers. Second, appeals
must be believable. Consumers must believe that the product or service will
deliver the promised benefits.
However, the most meaningful and believable benefits may not be the
best ones to feature. Appeals should also be distinctive. They should tell
how the product is better than competing brands. For example, the most
meaningful benefit of a refrigerator is that it keeps foods cold. But GE
sets its Café refrigerator apart as one that gives users an in-the-door filtered
hot water dispenser and a Keurig® K-Cup® single-serve brewing system
for making cups of coffee, tea, and other hot beverages at the fridge. It’s
“a new way to brew.” Similarly, the most meaningful benefit of owning a
wristwatch is that it keeps accurate time, yet few watch ads feature this ben-
Distinctive advertising appeals: GE sets its Café
refrigerator apart as one that gives users an in- efit. Instead, watch advertisers might select any of a number of advertising
the-door filtered hot water dispenser and Keurig® themes. For years, Timex has been the affordable watch that “takes a licking
K-Cup® single-serve brewing system. It’s creating and keeps on ticking.” In contrast, Rolex ads talk about the brand’s “obses-
“a new way to brew.” sion with perfection” and the fact that “Rolex has been the preeminent sym-
Courtesy of Haier US Appliance Solutions, Inc and Keurig Green Mountain Inc. bol of performance and prestige for more than a century.”
 ChapTEr 15 | Advertising and Public Relations 461
Message Execution. The advertiser now must turn the big idea into an actual ad execution
that will capture the target market’s attention and interest. The creative team must find the
best approach, style, tone, words, and format for executing the message. The message can be
Execution style presented in various execution styles, such as the following:
The approach, style, tone, words, and
format used for executing an advertising
• Slice of life. This style shows one or more “typical” people using the product in a nor-
message. mal setting. For example, IKEA content—from microsites and Instagram posts to print
ads and television commercials—features people living in rooms furnished with IKEA
furniture and household goods.
• Lifestyle. This style shows how a product fits in with a particular lifestyle. For example,
an ad for Athleta activewear shows a woman in a complex yoga pose and states: “If
your body is your temple, build it one piece at a time.”
• Fantasy. This style creates a fantasy around the product or its use. For example,
a Calvin Klein “Drive in to Fantasy” ad shows a woman floating blissfully above a
surf-strewn beach at sunset in her Calvin Klein Nightwear.
• Mood or image. This style builds a mood or image around the product or service, such
as beauty, love, intrigue, serenity, or pride. Few claims are made about the product
or service except through suggestion. For example, a tear-inducing Budweiser “Lost
Dog” commercial portrayed a little lost puppy that was rescued from a hungry wolf
by his pals the Budweiser Clydesdales. The ad tugged effectively at heartstrings and
topped the ad charts during Super Bowl XLIX while saying nothing about the taste or
other qualities of Budweiser beer.
• Musical. This style shows people or cartoon characters singing about the product. For
example, the M&M’s “Love Ballad” ad, part of the Better with M campaign, featured
Red singing Meat Loaf’s “I’d Do Anything for Love,” showcasing his commitment to
actress Naya Rivera. Red has second thoughts, however, when Rivera can’t resist add-
ing Red to some of her favorite treats, including cookies, cake, and ice cream. To all of
that, Red answers with the lyric, “But I won’t do that . . . or that . . . or that . . . or that.”
• Personality symbol. This style creates a character that represents
the product. The character might be animated (Mr. Clean,
the GEICO Gecko, or the Pillsbury Doughboy) or real (perky
Progressive Insurance spokeswoman Flo, Dos Equis beer’s “The
Most Interesting Man in the World,” or Ronald McDonald).
• Technical expertise. This style shows the company’s expertise
in making the product. Thus, Jim Koch of the Boston Beer
Company tells about his many years of experience in brewing
Samuel Adams beer.
• Scientific evidence. This style presents survey or scientific evi-
dence that the brand is better or better liked than one or more
other brands. For years, Crest toothpaste has used scientific evi-
dence to convince buyers that Crest is better than other brands
at fighting cavities.
• Testimonial evidence or endorsement. This style features a highly
believable or likable source endorsing the product. It could be
ordinary people saying how much they like a given product.
For example, Whole Foods features a variety of real custom-
ers in its Values Matter marketing campaign. Or it might be a
celebrity presenting the product, such as Taylor Swift for Diet
Coke or NBA star Stephen Curry for Under Armour.
The advertiser also must choose a tone for the ad. For exam-
ple, P&G always uses a positive tone: Its ads say something very
positive about its products. Other advertisers now use edgy hu-
mor to break through the commercial clutter. Doritos commercials
are famous for this.
The advertiser must use memorable and attention-getting words
in the ad. For example, rather than just saying that its prescription
novel formats can make an advertisement stand out: In this sunglass lenses protect your eyes and look good at the same time,
Sherwin-Williams ad, the eye-catching illustration delivers the a LensCrafters ad announces, “Sunblock Never Looked So Good.”
bulk of the “Where will color take you?” message. Rather than claiming that “a BMW is a well-engineered automobile,”
The Sherwin-Williams Company BMW uses more creative and higher-impact phrasing: “The ultimate
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driving machine.” And instead of stating plainly that Hanes socks last longer than less expen-
sive ones, Hanes suggests, “Buy cheap socks and you’ll pay through the toes.”
Finally, format elements make a difference in an ad’s impact as well as in its cost. A small
change in an ad’s design can make a big difference in its effect. In a print or display ad, the
illustration is the first thing the reader notices—it must be strong enough to draw attention.
Next, the headline must effectively entice the right people to read the copy. Finally, the copy—
the main block of text in the ad—must be simple but strong and convincing. Moreover, these
three elements must effectively work together to engage customers and persuasively present
customer value. However, novel formats can help an ad stand out from the clutter. For
example, in recent ads for Sherwin-Williams paint, eye-catching illustrations—featuring
dazzling colors and unique designs—capture attention and deliver the bulk of the message.
Once the illustrations engage the reader, small-print headlines ask, “Where will color take
you?” while a familiar Sherwin-Williams “Cover the Earth” logo identifies the brand.

Consumer-Generated Content. Taking advantage of today’s digital and social media

technologies, many companies are now tapping consumers for marketing content, mes-
sage ideas, or even actual ads and videos. Sometimes the results are outstanding; some-
times they are forgettable. If done well, however, user-generated content can incorporate
the voice of the customer into brand messages and generate greater customer engagement.
Perhaps the best-known consumer-generated content effort is the former “Crash the
Super Bowl Challenge” held annually by PepsiCo’s Doritos brand. For more than a decade,
Doritos invited consumers to create their own 30-second video ads, with winners receiv-
ing cash awards and having their ads run during the Super Bowl. Based on the success of
the “Crash the Super Bowl” contest, Doritos now runs new campaigns that create fun fan-
made ads and other content throughout the year.16
Brands across a wide range of industries—from automakers and fast-food chains
to home furnishings brands and pet food marketers—now routinely incorporate user-
generated social media content into their own traditional and social media marketing
campaigns. For example, trendy home furnishings maker West Elm runs a campaign
called #MyWestElm. The campaign collects user-generated photos of West Elm products
shared online and uses them in promotional posts on its web, Facebook, and Pinterest sites
along with links to similar products on the company’s online store. So far, some 18,000
photos have been uploaded, and the MyWestElm website attracts 2 million monthly users.
Moreover, 40 percent of West Elm’s product webpages now also contain user-generated
photos showing buyers how fellow customers use the products in the real world.17
Consumer-generated content can make customers an everyday part of the brand. For
example, rather than relying on high-powered advertising, shoe brand Converse steps aside
and lets customers themselves co-create
the brand and co-author the brand story
(see Real Marketing 15.2). And action-
camera maker GoPro has long featured
consumer-made videos on its web and
social media sites as a means of letting cus-
tomers share their high-octane experiences
with others. Such videos have attracted
a huge following, creating an engaged
GoPro customer community that helps
shape and share GoPro usage and lore.
The collection of high-quality user-made
GoPro content contains truly spellbind-
ing scenes captured by adventure-seeking
amateurs and professionals. Some of
content is so good that the company has
set up a GoPro Licensing division that li-
censes the best user-generated GoPro con-
tent to other brands for use in their own
Consumer-generated content: Some of GoPro’s user-made content is so good that promotional campaigns, inviting them to
the company’s GoPro Licensing division now licenses it to other brands for use in their “use the best of GoPro to tell your story.”18
own promotional campaigns, inviting them to “use the best of GoPro to tell your story.” Not all consumer-generated content ef-
GoPro forts, however, are so successful. As many