The Art of a Story

AdAge's long-awaited review of Google's "Parisian Love" Super Bowl spot is out. Bob Garfield, the critic known for his sarcastic style and sometimes snide comments when reviewing spots, did something extremely surprising this time.

"Naturally, like everything else these people do," he states, "it was perfect."

Shocking. You can find the article and the ad here.

Garfield states that the reason Google's ad was such a success was precisely because it was so simple. By telling a short, sweet story, Google effectively demonstrated how essential it is to the lives of everyday people, while at the same time emotionally impacting men and women alike.

The ad itself shows just how important the aspect of storytelling is to a great commercial. In all of the renowned spots of the past, this tiny trait has provided the basis for their greatness. It is obvious in its simplicity, and profound in its impact. Let's examine:

Apple's "1984" spot.

American Express' "My Life, My Card" spots.

VW's "Snow Plow" spot.

And, recently, Proctor & Gamble's "To Their Moms, They'll Always Be Kids" spot, which made my friends watching the Olympics with me cry.

All of these ads not only serve to further the brand and awareness of their product, but they also bring to light the importance that seemingly small items serve in our lives. Proctor & Gamble's products are very low-impact purchases; however, by airing this commercial, they show us that these products - those which we don't think about on a normal basis- are fundamental in the bonds that we have with our family. It reminds us how we learned to brush our teeth with our moms, the smell of clean laundry when we came home from school, and those minor messes we made when we were having the most fun.

The stories don't have to be obvious in order to be told. On the contrary, by being so implicit, they allow us to make connections we may not have made had they been more explicit. Google does not show the man doing the searching, just as VW doesn't show the man driving the snow plow, and Apple shows a non-comformist in the midst of an undefined many to demonstrate how it (and after buying it, we) stands out. By making them this way, the advertisers give personality to the brands themselves, and not the people using them. It allows consumers to form relationships and loyalties with the brand, and it stands out precisely because it does not overtly try to sell the product's attributes. Consumers don't like to be told; instead, they want to feel like they're seeing and understanding for themselves.

These ads allow them to do that, and all of them have been revered as some of the the great artistic spots of our time. So what does it take to make art in an ad, and how can we interpret a demonstration of commercial spending to exploit the American consumer as art?

That's easy. Make it a story.