TV ads for Orville Redenbacher's are popping up (pun intended!) on the Olympics. Many of the ads promise not good popcorn as the benefit of the gourmet popcorn, but bringing people together. Check out this "tea party" ad:

The ad closes saying: "Spending time together. That's the power of Orville Redenbacher's." When product ads connect through deeper shared experiences, they hit home. We don't just think about it, we feel it. And we all know that feelings and emotion is what drives most purchases, right?

Google had one one of the best ads this Super Bowl- and it cost next to nothing to produce. The beauty of the ad was telling a love story in words- and in a way that shows the power of Google's search (and works for football fans!)

More and more, I believe "story" is one of the most effective marketing tools we have. While it's not always easy to tell a compelling story, when it works, people are engaged, immersing themselves in the story, and most importantly - connecting - on a personal and emotional level. And that kind of connection is priceless.

Many years ago, a study by OgilvyOne found that as much as 66% of brand preference is driven by emotional elements. So why is it that so many other Superbowl ads just tried to be clever or catch our attention. No one is complaining about the Danika Patrick commercial, wait... I mean the Go Daddy commercial... or what was it she was selling again?

The point is stories emotionally connect and resonate with consumers in a meangful and memorable way. It's just like the late great Don Hewitt (producer of CBS 60 Minutes) always said: "Tell me a story." 

To "prepare" us for the next Muppets feature film in 2011, Disney (who bought the Muppet franchise several years ago) has unleashed a brilliant and carefully orchestrated combination new and traditional media strategy that draws on Disney's many assets. A major communication channel is YouTube, and Muppet characters have been appeared in several ABC and ESPN programs. Check out the very cool Muppets version of Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody, which to date, has been viewed by over 11.6 million viewers.

Soon we'll be seeing Muppets everywhere. The power of pop culture to influence our collective psyche!

After 72 Years on the Air, 'Guiding Light' Fades to Black.

This was a recent Washington Post headline announcing the demise of the longest running soap opera in history.

We worked with the soap opera community several years ago, as part of the multifacted Soap Summits to encourage better portrayals of safe-sex, drug problems, and violence prevention in soaps, which at that time reached over 30 million very loyal viewers a day.

I learned five key lessons:

1. My initial and rather smug dismissal of soaps as a waste of time was deeply misguided, as I quickly realized that for many viewers watching their soap was a valued ritual that they called "my time." It was an effective and reliable escape from the hardships of everyday life.
2. The currency for entertainment on television is ratings, which translates into profit, which is their bottom line. Incorporating positive health portrayals is only relevant to the soap opera community when it helps ratings. The job of the health community is to package their issues in ways that improve soap opera stories. It's their turf.
3. Health and social issues can be highly engaging and poignant, and add to to a storyline,without turning into a dull or preachy lecture. I remember one conversation among All My Children writers deciding, as a result of the Soap Summit, to have a new young female character always carry condoms in her purse as part of her persona.
4. Women and men want different endings. Women want stories to show the resolute woman taming the wild man or bad boy so he becomes good. Everybody wins. Men want the bad guy to lose and be beaten by a better man. Winner and loser.
5. Lastly, I learned that soap operas were invented by Procter & Gamble to sell soap, hence the name. The "opera" was simply an addictive container for P&G ads that sold their products to homemakers. Pretty clever.

May we all shine our guiding lights.