Are Lovemarks effective?

After watching the movie Persuaders that discussed the various ways and techniques advertisers try to attract an audience into buying their product, the one technique I found the most interesting and entertaining was lovemarks. Lovemarks are a form of advertising in which the company creates an emotional story to engage the audience while incorporating the product they are advertising into this short story. They allow us to have an “iconic” place in our hearts for this specific product—more than just an everyday item sitting in our homes. For me, as much as I love watching Lovemarks commercials, as they are far more engaging and interesting than most of the mundane, annoying commercials I want to fast-forward while watching TV, I actually don’t think that lovemarks are any more effective at convincing me or any other person to buy their product.

For me, many of the Chevrolet commercials I’ve seen in the past, especially during the Super Bowl, are ones that struck me emotionally, with heart-wrenching story lines involving the new Chevrolet vehicle. The first commercial I vividly remember seeing was one about a father and son moving out of their house, putting boxes into the back of their pick up truck—of course, a Chevrolet pick up truck. As the father is looking at the marks written on the wall tracking his son’s height over each of his years, he sees the word “Mom” written at the top of the wall. The commercial quickly switches to “Mom’s garden,” with roses in memory of her presence...Of course, this has nothing to do with the Chevrolet car itself, but the Lovemarks aspect of the commercial truly draws in the viewer. When the boy asks, “Who is going to take care of Mom’s roses?” the dad responds with “We are,” carefully digging up the rose bushes, putting them into a box, and placing them in the back of the Chevrolet pick up truck.

The other Chevrolet commercial I remember watching was about a dog named “Maddie.” The first scene of this Lovemarks commercial is the woman (owner) with her dog in a vet’s office. The rest of the commercial features events of the woman’s life—including her graduation, breakup with her boyfriend, playing with leaves in the park, and moving into an apartment. In all of these scenes, Maddie is with the woman—such an emotionally appealing commercial for all viewers. Next, the commercial shows the woman learning to drive with Maddie in the backseat, going back and forth between the car and the woman, as a young girl, choosing Maddie’s name and kissing her on the nose. The car Maddie is driving is, of course, a Chevrolet SUV. The final scene that truly hits so many viewers is seeing the dog again, back in the vet’s office, being kissed by its owner, as it passes away in the office. When I first saw this commercial, it almost made me cry.

Lovemarks are a common advertising technique because they allow for the audience to feel something while watching the commercial, and not just mindlessly state at the TV screen while the person narrating the commercial annoyingly rambles on. In the dog commercial, Chevrolet captured the entire relationship of a woman with her dog, allowing us to feel the pain and heartbreak of the situation. In the other commercial, Chevrolet allowed us to feel the pain of the boy and the father feel with their mother gone, but warms our hearts when the roses are put in the back of the truck, bringing a part of their mother with them to their new home. Although these commercials are very enjoyable, and I could rewatch them over and over again in my free time, I don’t think they are particularly effective in convince viewers to buy their products. I actually feel they are less effective than traditional commercials, because the actual product has such a minor role in the commercial as a whole. A boy and father moving, and a young woman with a sick dog does nothing to convince me to buy Chevrolet cars in the future. The overall story barely mentioned the Chevrolet car, and even though the appealing stories of the commercials did feature these vehicles, it didn’t do anything to show why a Chevrolet car is better than any other ordinary car. For example, what if a Toyota pickup truck, or a Subaru SUV was used in the commercials? Does the brand of the car actually mean anything in the storyline of the commercial?

If the commercial talked about its low cost, efficient gas mileage, quiet road noise, large amounts of interior space, or unique technological features, it would have been significantly more convincing to a viewer looking to buy a car. Obviously, these commercials are much more boring to watch, but they’re more effective than Lovemarks commercials.