Even a television advertisement can melt the heart
The campaign is in a word, actually a few words: Adorable. Iconic. Moving. Sweet. Topical.
I just cried watching a bread advert.
I have been a loaf lover forever but not since I was battling morning sickness have I ever become so moved by complex carbohydrates.
It snuck up on me on Sunday night.
So there I was, cuddled up on the couch watching The Block NZ live on my laptop when it I heard in the background noise involving someone talking about whales and harpoons.
I was concerned I had accidently hit the wrong button and my live stream had switched to another TV channel (The Block isn’t known for its whale saving storylines) and among my sea of tabs open on my computer, I found the Three one to check out what was going on.
There was this table with a GREER BERRY bunch of people sitting around it and a woman saying ‘‘and that’s how come I found myself standing between a harpoon and a whale’’. Odd, I thought, but I soon realised it was actually an elongated advert, with the sweet tunes of Chris Knox’s Not Given Lightly playing in the background.
As I continued to watch, tears welled in my eyes as the camera panned around the table speaking to different Kiwis about certain moments of their lives.
There’s the lady for who sign was their first language due to having two deaf parents, the fluent Te Reo speaker who is of Asian decent, then the clincher, the humble looking man owning up to raising three daughters on his own.
By this stage I’ve lost it. I can feel the emotions whizzing through my body.
‘‘Is this an advert for bread? Oh my God I think they’re advertising bread,’’ I murmured to my husband.
He has absolutely no idea what I’m on about and to be fair, you’ve got to see it to really understand it
It’s a pet peeve of mine when companies invest mega bucks in to an awesome advertising campaign, but I can’t remember the product.
A recent example is the Ostrich wearing a virtual reality headset to the tune of Rocket Man –a favourite advert of my two toddlers.
Great ad, I just have no idea what product it was advertising and I had to look it up.
I can’t imagine the type of failure the executives chalk up that disconnect to, but maybe that was just for me.
Anyway, my guess was that the Kiwi ad that caused all the emotion was selling bread and at the conclusion of the three minute advert, it was confirmed that the latest heart-string, feel-good ad is from those behind the latest Vogel’s campaign ‘‘What do you bring to the table?’’.
It is the brain-child of advertising company, Shine, and a full round of applause to them.
The campaign is in a word, actually a few words: Adorable. Iconic. Moving. Sweet. Topical.
I was enthralled by the advert that felt like a mini movie and an absolute reflection of everything it means to be a Kiwi without the naff Kiwiana paraphernalia.
I couldn’t believe how in just a minute and a half – remembering I came in halfway through – I had such an emotional response.
Instead of feeling slightly dirty about this, I wrote a brief tweet about my experience in the hope that I wasn’t the only person in lala hormonal crying land. Sure enough, others replied or had already tweeted about their reactions.
Later that night as I was getting ready to go to bed, I walked in to the bathroom and told my husband that I was still thinking about it. It followed me around like the ending of a great book. By this stage I think he had really thought I’d lost my mind.
This bloody advert melted my heart faster than a knob of butter on a freshly toasted slice of Vogel’s. It’s not the first time Vogel’s has scored big with me in the advertising realm.
Who could forget the overseas Vogel’s ad featuring the New York burnt toast saga with the tag line ‘‘It was a year ago alright Michael, let it go’’ delivered with a Queens drawl?
If there is something I have enjoyed the most with technology advancements, it has been the change in my media consumption habits and therefore advertising exposure.
The fact that I watch so much of my TV online now means that the old-fashioned ad break is all but a distant memory, and I can’t imagine what it will be viewed as to my kids once they understand a bit more about media.
Already, I have had to talk my two-and-a-half year old through the frustration he was displaying recently when he discovered a preroll video before a Youtube clip of one of his favourite songs.
It took me a while to realise he wasn’t used to advertising as we know it and it’s hard to know exactly what form it will take in the future.
But one thing’s for sure – a really good advert does set the tone of the times and has the ability to cut through whatever medium it uses and straight into feels. Butter and all.