Can Even The Best Emotional Campaigns Fail?

Mother’s Day is celebrated as a day to appreciate our mother for being who she is. So wish your mother a Happy Mother’s Day and thank her for her unconditional and everlasting love. 

Brands understand the importance of this bond and take it as an opportunity to connect with the customers on an emotional level. However, some may get derailed while making such attempts. Let’s just take a look at these ads.

Warning: Do grab your tissues!   

1. Dominos- #MaaNahiBhoolti (2018)

Dominos released this ad campaign in July 2018 which grabbed the attention of a lot of people and left them teary-eyed. The ad grabbed 2.5 a million views and there is a reason.

Okay, so did you watch the ad? Cried already? Now let’s watch the ad as a rational consumer and not as an emotional being. 

So the first time I viewed this ad, I felt that it is a sad advertisement. It made me curse the guy for leaving his mom just like that. But it did leave a void space.

 What was the ad trying to prove? The only thing I can think of is that mother’s love is unconditional. Apart from that, there was nothing in the ad that made me go head over heel crazy for Dominos.

Let’s count the mistakes, shall we?

• First off, the ad made no separate position in my head for Dominos. If I replace the dominos box with Pizza Hut, it won’t make a difference. In fact, my loyalties for the brand might be at stake. 

• Second, the issue highlighted was a very serious one while the solution for it seemed vague. When you raise an issue of society in an ad campaign, you need to make sure your product can vouch for its removal or at least an attempt for removal. How Dominos is going to eradicate this problem of society is a matter of doubt.

• And Third, the irrelevance of the writing. Did you see how the mother said that he cannot start his day without tea made by her? Well, he was fully capable of doing so. But he came running back when his mother offered him Dominos which he could have easily ordered for himself. Now if the ad was of Tea leaves, I would have been convinced about his reason to come back. But Dominos? Why would he return for something he can get and not for something he can’t!

I guess the ad was able to make us walk through the lane of the mother's unconditional love but was absent in placing its product.

      2. Google- #TogetherOnline: First Day

Now, this was an amazing ad campaign. Not only did it very beautifully reminded us of our mother’s endless love and care but it also brought back our memories of the first day at school. Already a good step to soften the customer. 

Now for the motive, the ad very conveniently placed its product into the picture. There was no other brand in my mind that could have replaced it. If I were to teach my mother to get online, Google would be the first thing.

That is exactly what they wanted. To let the customers believe in their product, its feasibility, and its necessity. It also raised a very important campaign of bringing our mothers online, ultimately leading to encourage all women to get onto the platform.

The emotional and smart targeted advertisement goes a long way. 

Well, that was my opinion about these advertisements. Can you think of one more mistake that Dominos made or any other failed campaign? Let me know in the comments section.

 Write up: Shavy Jain