The Power Of Video Marketing

Why Will Ferrel’s SuperBowl Ad Shows The Power Of Video In Marketing 

Why Video?

It is probably not the first time you have heard that video marketing is crucial for your business. You are probably thinking, ‘Is there a video I could watch instead of reading this blog?’. This kind of behaviour makes sense as ‘video’ makes information easier to digest and far more interesting than reading long boring texts. 

Video marketing has the power to spark emotions in your target audience. 

Your clients want to watch and learn about your product/service rather than reading about it. This is a fantastic opportunity for business owners like YOU to get creative and highlight your product/service value by utilising video. 

Then, you are golden, and the money rolls your way like warm tortilla rolls over that delicious burrito filling. Because to stay competitive in the digital marketing world, you need to:

• Know how your product is going to solve the client’s problem
• Why they need to have it
• Create a need in the market
• Show your customers how valuable is what you are selling
• Be engaging and entertaining

There is no better way to show the world your unique products and services than by making a hilarious video ad. That is why we look at the General Motors Super Bowl ad starring Will Ferrel and its responses as an example of great video marketing use. If you haven’t seen Will Ferrell bash on Norway, then watch below:

General Motors use of Video Marketing

General Motors is invested in the idea of pushing electric cars as a more mainstream vehicle, while Norway is far ahead in this trend, with approximately 50% of the cars sold per capita being electric. The United States is trying to get a piece of the pie with GM asking all car companies to create more accessible EVs. 

The approach GM took to push electric vehicles is to make everybody get on board. How do you get a country with massive petrol consumption like the US to get on board with electric cars? You need to push the idea that EVs are a necessity for something other than helping the environment. In the case of Americans, they want to be the number one nation in the world. The competitiveness is what makes GM’s ad so powerful. GM grabbed people’s attention by getting a famous comedian in a video ad that barely shows the product but creates a necessity to beat Norwegians in the EV race. 

Competitiveness becomes valuable for the consumer because it creates a sense of greatness (by beating Norway), and helping the environment makes sense of fulfilment. A great way to get people interested in your products/services is by relating them with an experience, an idea, and ultimately an emotion. 

Norwegian companies gained leverage from Will Ferrel’s ad.

Although GM’s ad aimed at Americans, Norwegians took it as an opportunity to position themselves as better and more peaceful problem-solvers than the US with some brands creating their video responses to Will Ferrell. Brands such as Audi Norway, created a video ad starring Kristofer Hivjub (Game Of  Thrones), replying to Ferrel with the slogan, “Don’t Hate, Imitate”. Watch below: 

It became an excellent opportunity for Norwegian companies to use GM’s ad as leverage for their success. 

The University of Adger replied with their video ad to promote their services:

Circle K had their comic-style ad to reply to Will Ferrel: 

These responses show the power of video advertising. The use of emotions appeals strongly to audiences. The leverage used by Norwegian companies came from the competitive emotion created by the Super Bowl ad. Although these responses were passive-aggressive, the message remained unchanged: To purchase more electric vehicles. From an ad to raise EVs sales, companies that are part of the same sector proactively used its effectiveness to support their own business. The power of video marketing relies on the emotions it generates that relate to your product/service. And, as seen above, one can use the leverage created by other brands’ video marketing to create your own. 

If you need help creating your own video ad, DMKT Performance offers a range of video ads packages that tailor YOUR business needs. Use the webform page to send us an inquiry and chat with one of our video marketing specialist.