Daniel Floyed: Only Meaning Can Break the Monotony

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In dear old Adland there's ever more brands doing ostensibly the same thing. Nothing new there, right? Well, ladies and gentleman, it's last orders at the business-as-usual saloon.

Take a quick look at a handful of ads from the leading toothpaste brands or supermarkets and you'll see that there is a struggle to create a real point of difference, and as a result generate any tangible brand value. And that plays out when you look at Havas’ recent study of 1,000 brands and 300,000 people across 34 countries, where we discovered that consumers wouldn’t care if 74 per cent of all brands disappeared for good.

74 per cent! That's terrifying. And suggests we are not evolving fast enough. Sure, we get consumer expectations have changed, but we serve up the same widgets in response.

In truth, the problem runs much deeper than similarity and monotony within advertising, as many brands are failing to stand for anything other than ‘buy my product’. In contrast to this, consumers are increasingly being turned-off by brands that have little relevance to their every-day (wait for it...) 'real lives'.

There’s still too much of a focus on product attributes, and encouraging consumers to strive for whiter whites or greener gardens. We seem to have forgotten that most people don’t really care all that much about these things. Or put another way, if it works, it works but that's not the only reason why I'll buy you, and stick with you.

What they do care about is what brands stand for and what use they can serve in their lives, in a way that's credible and relevant. Last year Social Enterprise UK revealed that one third of consumers feel ashamed of buying from socially irresponsible businesses, and on top of this we see consumers increasingly calling brands out on social media.

In this context, to put real true value back into brands, we need to make them culturally relevant. Or rather, build ideas 'in culture' versus artificially inseminating them 'into culture'. And that means focussing on something more meaningful than convincing you to buy-buy-buy me.

Some brands are already ahead of this. Like A Girl [above] will undoubtedly win a Lion at this year’s Cannes Festival. It’s a great piece for Always but it attracted so much attention because it touches on an issue that’s very present in society, and seeks to lift the curtain on the root of gender imbalance in a three minute film (and one that now has close to 60m YouTube views).

And Dove's Men+Care’s recent Father’s Day film [below] is getting everyone behind the idea that men can be sensitive too by showing powerful and emotive examples of real men finding out that they are going to be dads. I look at that and I connect in a far deeper, more personal level.  

Sometimes we see brands stepping outside of just having a powerful message and instead trying to affect immediate change. Facebook responded to the Nepal earthquake by adding a Safety Check Feature, which enabled survivors to let friends and family know they were ok. A donate button led to its users donating $15m, not only demonstrating the power of Facebook but providing much needed relief to those affected.

Thankfully we’re beginning to see more and more brands looking to culturally connect by making our lives better, offering us content or tools that, God forbid, are actually useful. However, it needs to be the norm because we know now that brands that play more of an active role on the ground will undoubtedly win.

When we created the Win the Right Way campaign for Chivas Regal [below] we embraced the fact that, of course, whisky is a badge of success –  but were keen to ensure that it’s a type of success that's about winning together versus winning at all costs. We sought to present and champion a fresh way to succeed that has real meaning in society by focussing on social entrepreneurs – those individuals who had a business idea where making money wasn't at odds with doing good. 

If we could help the ones with the most promise by funding and supporting their business ideas, then that would give real meaning to the term ‘success’. Is it a campaign? Sure, but it's one that leaves a legacy. And that's the difference.

It’s these types of ideas that will break the circle of traditional ad messaging and reinvigorate consumer interest in brands. Without a strong injection of meaning, brands are facing last orders. It’s something we’re seeing with the fast food giants who are losing out to brands like Chipotle. The Scarecrow [below] won the Grand Prix at Cannes last year because it redefined what it means to get food on the go, making it more about ‘Cultivating a Better World’ than factory-farming.

There is a huge potential here. As consumers, we’re choosing sportswear brands that encourage us to fulfil our true potential via wearable technology, community involvement and smart functionality. We’re buying FMCG brands that want to make our daily lives better through nutritional, health and beauty advice, convenience and value for money. And we’re loyal to those car and electronics brands that aid our self-expression, better connect us and show a social conscience.

In reality, brands are never going to be our friends, but if they improve our society, help us to live healthier lives, connect us to our family, make our lives easier and improve our fitness and happiness, then, and only then, will we begin to care and choose them above their rivals.

What this means is that we all need to think bigger than creating 'ads', and instead utilise the power of brands to communicate meaningful ideas that make a difference and make us all proud. Exciting times ahead.