Tasked with creating five advert ideas for a brand of my choice, I've decided to use the car manufacturer, Kia.
Kia produce affordable, but well-built cars ranging from small hatchbacks, to luxury saloons and even 4x4s (kia.co.uk). Below are examples of Kia's current advertising...
The tone in these adverts give the impression of them being as well-built as other manufacturers, as fun to drive as other manufacturers and just as good as other manufacturers; just not as expensive. They try to communicate that they can compete with the likes of Volkswagen, Hyundai and Toyota as being an affordable yet quality car brand.
The taglines of 'Park the Clichés' and 'Scratch the Clichés' are Kia's way of almost hitting out at competing manufacturers' advertising and communicating that their cars are as good as their competitors' - or even better - and don't need abstract, empowering advertising techniques to help them in saying how good their cars are.
The Seven Year warranty that Kia offers on all of their ranges sets them apart from other manufacturers and gives the brand a sense of sureness in themselves and again, communicates that affordable quality premise. This USP can therefore be transferred into my creative ideas...
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My first idea is for a 30 second or 60 second TV or Cinema advert, aiming the brand at predominantly male football fans - and could maybe air during ad-breaks for Champions League games or during International fixtures.
The ad is set at a football stadium during an International Tournament - i.e. the World Cup. Germany are playing South Korea and the game has gone to a penalty shoot-out. The German football team is renowned for their 'efficiency' in penalty shoot-outs - especially in the perceptions of the British public thanks to its coverage and hype by the UK Media - whereas South Korea; not so much. The penalty shoot-out develops, with the Germans missing one, but South Korea score all of theirs clinically and effectively, thus winning the shoot-out. A holding shot of the Kia Optima on a white background (consistent with the current campaign) and a male voice-over (again consistent) reading the following: "The Kia Optima. Almost German in it's efficiency... Park the Clichés" with the stress on the word 'almost'. This is to communicate that South Korean cars (namely Kias) can be even better and even more efficient than German cars such as BMW and Volkswagen, which have attained the reputation of being the most efficient and well-built cars in the world.
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| Brief Storyboard for Kia Penalty Shoot-out TV/Cinema Advert Idea. |
The current Optima campaign also runs with the same 'Park the Clichés' tag-line, but this idea incorporates a more humorous tone and gives the viewer (football fans if shown in ad-breaks of football matches) something they can relate to. There is also a surprise element to the ad, as the viewer doesn't know what the advert is advertising. This, hopefully, will hold the viewers attention more so than an advert that straight away shows the viewer the brand/product/service.
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My second idea is for a different model of the Kia range - the Picanto.
Again, by using the USP of Kia's 7 Year warranty, I can communicate values of high build quality and engineering that can compete with the best car manufacturers. It is also important that with the Picanto model, the idea of it being 'fun' to drive is communicated as this is what can attract its target market of the younger generation.
The ad is print based and follows the 'Modify' technique the 'SCAMPER' model as it presents the Picanto as the well-known children's toy, the Rubik's Cube.
Clearly this a terrible rendering of the car as a Rubik's Cube but you get the idea...
It is hoping to communicate the fact that the Kia Picanto is of high build quality and is actually a complex machine, but is fun to drive at the same time. This can also refer to the Rubik's Cube itself, as this is a comlex mechanism but is considered a toy. The ad could also be considered to have nostalgic links as well and can be related to by adults who grew up during the 1980's - when the Rubik's Cube was at its most popular.
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My third idea again uses the 'Modify' Technique of the SCAMPER Model.
This time however, the USP will be that of the Kia Soul - which has been awarded a 5* Euro NCAP Award, the highest safety rating a car can be bestowed.
The modification can come in the form of changing the metal of the car into a more obviously safer material, such as bubble wrap or cotton wool, in order to clearly demonstrate how safe this car actually is.
Again, apologies for the poor rendering of a car made of bubble wrap...
The real-life situation of a child running into the street is a traditional scenario and therefore wouldn't be particularly shocking to the audience, but it would communicate effectively the USP of the 5* NCAP safety rating that the car has been awarded.
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Going back to the USP of Kia's 7 Year Warranty, my fourth idea has a sort of nostalgic tone to it, but in an alternative sort of way...
Lots of adverts have a nostalgic tone to them and reminisce about the liveliness of the fifties, the 'swingin' sixties' and the punks, mods and rockers of the seventies ...
Some ads now are starting to do the same reminiscing and nostalgic feel with the 1980's and to an extent, the 1990's. Virgin Airlines, John Lewis and Halfords have all done this with recent campaigns.
So what if an advert was to be nostalgic about 2005? My fourth idea is to incorporate major events that happened 7 Years ago in order to show that Kia's 7 Year warranty is actually longer than you think.
Events such as George W. Bush becoming the President, the marriage of Prince Charles and Camilla Parker-Bowles, Tony Blair as the Prime Minister, the bid for the London 2012 Olympics was won, the Live 8 concert, hurricane Katrina and the birth of YouTube - with popular music of that year played over the top. The ad then shows a family purchasing a Kia with a 7-Year warranty.
It then cuts to 2012 - David Cameron in charge, Barack Obama gets a second term, the London Olympics is over, YouTube is ingrained in society, Prince William and Kate Middleton are expecting a child... and yet still the family car is under warranty.
The tagline of 'A lot can happen in Seven Years. At least you'll still have peace of mind.' could be effective in explicitly explaining it to the viewer.
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My fifth and final idea uses the 'Put to other Purposes' technique of the SCAMPER model.
Again, taking the Kia Picanto, and the values that it communicates as being fun to drive, but well-built and robust; I thought it would be effective to show it being used as a toy by a child through the medium of a print advert or on a billboard. Toy cars are one of the most popular things that children play with and it is a well known fact that children can be quite heavy-handed and almost clumsy with them. The ad idea communicates the values of the high build quality that the Kia brand wants to portray, as well as the Picanto possessing the same playful qualities that a toy car does.
