Wednesday, February 19, 2014

Selling Happiness: Two Pitches from Mad Men

The following links will take you to YouTube clips of the popular AMC series, Mad Men.

The first clip   is from the very first episode of the series, and shows Don Draper making a pitch for Lucky Strike Cigarettes: "Mad Men: It's Toasted."



The second shows a pitch for the Kodak Carousel: "Mad Men: Carousel."

As you watch the clips, consider how the use of a single word, or the choice of one word over another, can increase the persuasive appeal of an advertisement.

16 comments:

  1. I liked the carousel analogy and how the guy used nostalgia to gain appeal for his product. It's crazy how people can slightly alter their words to make something more appealing. Sometimes it works for me and I have to ask myself "does this product really do exactly what it says it does?" Advertising can be so mind-numbing sometimes.

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  2. On the "It's Toasted", I felt like tobbaco was just like the oil business men. The Gov. puts on stricter requirements, they try to brain wash the common person. This brainwashing leads to people taking off Catalytic converters or in the case of diesel trucks the DPF. Thinking they can get more power out of the vehicle. Point is in the diesel trucks, from the factory you already have 800 pounds of torque with the DFP and you lose the power when you take it off and the huge cost of the DFP, is like throwing money away. On the Carousel, making a person attach to a product is a powerful tool. Like me and my car, we are connected. Many people have this attachment to items by: inheritance, first car, family heirloom etc.

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    1. Nice man. I can see you know your stuff when it comes to automobiles and that really cool.

      Latrell Padmore

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    2. What you just said....went right over my head! But I agree that many advertisements try to brainwash people to be more effective.

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  3. The carousel preview was a perfect display of advertising. The best thing about the whole clip was that they were so confident that they made the perfect clip for their client. Ending the clip the main character wishing them good luck with their other meetings.
    Stephen Knotek

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    1. I agree with Stephen, I thought they did a very good job on advertising for carousel. At the end of the clip I was actually thinking about my family and wanting to get away with them.
      Sydney Medsker

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    2. I agree with Stephen as well. The carousel advertisement was highly effective.

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    3. When they wished them good luck for their meeting, I could totally understand why they had that confidence. It was a very good pitch.

      -Ben Nelson

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    4. The main character was very confident in his ability to sell a product, and for good reason too!
      -Kortney T

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  4. Isn't it crazy how words or phrases get cemented into our brains? I mean talk about the power of the word. After the super bowl what do the winners always say? We're going to disneyland! What do people say when they come back from Vegas? What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas. Jeep, there's only one. Catchy phrases or words, or simply the use of a unique word in a bold way captivates the minds of millions who view it. What are some phrases or words from ads that have stuck with you in your head?

    Trevor Williams

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  5. Farmers Ins. "We are farmers..." came to my mind. It would be interesting to see how effective phrases like this have on their business.
    -Tanner Adams

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  6. when I saw these commercials, I found myself wanting the "carousel." It was very powerful.

    -Ben Nelson

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  7. Very powerful commercials!! I liked them!!!

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  8. I loved the Carousel clip. I thought he was very effective at selling his product, and by the end I was hooked.
    -Kortney T

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  9. I didn't think these were powerful at all. Maybe more context than just a clip would have helped.
    Evan C

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