Adwatch 06.05.09

Saturday, May 30,2009, 9:20:24 PM Click:

Marketing's unique weekly analysis of advertisement recall in association with tns Q Which of the following TV commercials do you remember seeing recently?

Confused.com

This ad's high level of recall may have more to do with quantity than quality

Andy Nairn

Executive planning director, MCBD

I'm confused by Confused.com. This week's chart-topper appears to break every rule of good communication going. How can this be? Let's start with the various problems before asking whether they actually matter in the real world.

For starters, the ad contains too many messages. In 30 seconds, we are told that Confused.com's website has changed, that it covers sectors such as energy, not just car insurance, that it is easy to use, and that it can save you money. While the ad's strapline tells us that 'The choice is clear', the result of all this clutter is anything but.

Next, the commercial demonstrates little consumer insight. Yes, people are shown in the advertising, but there is little sense of the broader role the site plays in their lives.

Related to this point, there is no attempt to engage viewers. This is a mistake in today's media landscape, where advertisers must reward consumers for interrupting the content in which they are really interested.

On top of this, the commercial feels very old-fashioned. The mixture of hand-held footage, plentiful screen shots and testimonials on ease of use feels like something from 10 years ago, when brands had to reassure nervous consumers about the scary new world of the internet. Today, a user-friendly interface is simply assumed as a given.

Lastly, the advertising is not particularly well-branded. It's true that the brand name is featured two or three times, but beyond this, a quick look at the website itself confirms that there are no distinctive design cues, no brand vehicle, no ownable strapline, and no big idea that can be taken through the line.

Now here's the key question: does any of this really matter? No doubt the campaign's creators would say it doesn't, since the ad is sitting proudly atop the league, but I'd argue this has more to do with heavy media spend than intrinsic effectiveness. This suggests a rather inefficient model, at a time when we all need to make our budgets work as hard as possible.

It also leaves Confused.com vulnerable to the strange appeal of a certain meerkat, the unlikely hero of Comparethemarket.com's campaign. Famous, modern, engaging and well-branded, the furry foreigner has achieved genuine cultural impact in a way that is far more likely to create advocacy than Confused.com's prosaic efforts.

In other words, while Confused, com has bought itself a certain amount of impact, this week's trophy should really go to a rascally rodent.