Online ads. They’re everywhere. Nowadays it seems like there’s not a single place we can go to that we won’t be bombarded with ads. As an Advertising major I understand both sides of the tale. Brands have important messages and products that they think would benefit you and have to compete with each other for your attention; on the other hand, as a consumer I understand that sometimes I just want to scroll through Instagram without my feed being 70% ads.
This blog tackles two specific ads from Facebook and Instagram that I encountered in the past week. Read on if you want to find out what the brands intention is, how you fit into their target audience, and if these ads were successful on not.
Adidas
The ad pictured is part of a #HomeTeam campaign put on by Adidas during the COVID-19 epidemic that feature athletes that are quarantined. It encourages people to stay at home, gives them ideas on things to do while at home, and also gives athletes the opportunity to preform since their events were cancelled.
Adidas was focusing on a combination of the Awareness and Conversion part of the consumer journey. They are not selling a product or explaining why consumers should choose them, they are simply spreading awareness about a a campaign that aids public health. However, they are also driving engagement with their hashtag #HOMETEAM.
The purpose of this ad was to drive engagement to their hashtag and bring awareness to the events surrounding it. This ad accomplishes that by displaying a simplistic but effective visual that is typical of a Hero brand like Adidas.
I believe that Adidas caters their content to passionate, athletic, young adults. People are normally more active when they are young and Adidas strives to support people at every level of athleticism. Even though their featured athletes aren’t necessarily young adults, their emphasis on encouraging and supporting their customers aligns with Millennial and Gen Z values.
I think that this ad was successful for Adidas because it not only provided entertainment (other slides showed pro athletes talking to consumers about their day-to-day life during quarantine), a platform for athletes and regular people alike to connect at a time where we can’t physically connect, but it also connected millions of people with their hashtag #HOMETEAM.
Seek Discomfort
Seek Discomfort is a lifestyle brand created by the creators of Yes Theory, a YouTube channel that features content creators that do challenges that they always have to say “yes” to. It’s a brand that I personally love so I was excited to see it pop up on my feed.
This ad by Seek Discomfort focuses on the Conversion part of the consumer journey. They want the consumers to check out their page, visit their store, and buy one of their sweatshirts.
The purpose of this ad was to alert the customers to a restocking of the Seek Discomfort hoodie and they did so by showing the hoodie in the creative. Seek Discomfort fits into the Explorer Brand archetype and even though they don’t really convey that in the creative of this ad, the feeling is still brought through by the text accompanying the ad and by the name of the brand itself.
I think Seek Discomfort caters to young adults that love adventure and travel. The brand represents the Yes Theory approach to life. The brand embodies the idea of opening yourself up to new experiences and saying YES to life. Young adults today are also more likely to put off a typical career for a more adventurous lifestyle.
I think the ad was successful in a few different ways. First, it spreads awareness. People who didn’t know what the brand was now have some idea of wha the brand offers and what it stands for. The ad is also relatable for the target audience and it connects to current events (COVID-19) while still putting out relevant information.
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