{"id":13465,"date":"2010-09-27T13:00:09","date_gmt":"2010-09-27T18:00:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/?p=13465"},"modified":"2010-09-27T06:28:07","modified_gmt":"2010-09-27T11:28:07","slug":"give-us-this-day-our-daily-one-of-a-kind-world-famous-awesome-magic-brand-bread","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/2010\/09\/give-us-this-day-our-daily-one-of-a-kind-world-famous-awesome-magic-brand-bread\/","title":{"rendered":"Give us this day our Daily, One-of-a-Kind, World-Famous, Awesome Magic Brand Bread"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Adrienne Cardon [Adrienne sent me the following submission.]<\/em><\/p>\n

I was just a Beehive when those rosy, soft around the edges Homefront commercials<\/a> rolled out on late-night television. These iconic spots featured families in motion, well-coifed moms and busy pops who metamorphosed from 90\u2019s corporate dads to storyteller\/ballplayer dads in 30 seconds.<\/p>\n

Family, isn\u2019t it about time? asked the ads. They were a bit schmaltzy, they were a bit dewy, they were a bit, well backlit. But here\u2019s much forgotten takeaway \u2013 they were effective.<\/p>\n

This little tagline, this bookend to each commercial was extremely successful. Little by little, public perceptions started to change. People started to pair the word \u201cMormon\u201d with the word \u201cFamily.\u201d Congratulations, branding team. Mission(ary) accomplished.<\/p>\n

So, seeing the newest efforts is a bit puzzling to me, because the takeaway word I\u2019m hearing this time around is \u201csame.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m an artist.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m a surfer.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m a fashion designer.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m a public relations manager.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201c . . . . . and, I\u2019m a Mormon.\u201d<\/p>\n

Of course, there is no official tagline to these spots, but the implied one I hear with the fade to black is: \u201cMormons. We\u2019re just like you.\u201d<\/p>\n

Or perhaps \u201cMormons. We\u2019re cool.\u201d<\/p>\n

Or more pessimistically: \u201cMormons \u2013 we\u2019re not as weird as you think.\u201d And it\u2019s said in a normal, 30-year-old female voice (not in a Lloyd D. Newell voice).<\/p>\n

The Mormon in me sees these slick new ads, is affirmed and excited by what feels like a big step in the right direction, and says \u201cYeah! We are normal!\u201d<\/p>\n

The creative director in me sees this and says \u201cheh?\u201d<\/p>\n

This messaging strategy goes against everything I have learned in ad school (yes, BYU ad school, I was an early Ad lab<\/a> alum) and also everything I have learned from working at some of the biggest<\/a> and most-hyped<\/a> ad agencies.<\/p>\n

Advertising 101: Same will get you no where.<\/p>\n

Differentiate. Differentiate. Differentiate. In branding, the message should not be \u201dwe\u2019re just like you,\u201d A) because this is never entirely true, and B) because this is a fundamentally bad way to brand.<\/p>\n

This principle in marketing-speak is called Unique Selling Proposition. It layman\u2019s terms: What is the thing that makes your brand better than every other brand?<\/p>\n

I\u2019m an advertiser. I work better in metaphor.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s say you own a bakery. You have the invented a new bread recipe \u2013 what is easily the best bread recipe in the world. It\u2019s packed full of fiber and whole grains, it\u2019s nearly universally delicious, it\u2019s inexpensive, eating it actually makes you lose weight \u2013 you may even say this bread is magic. You ask an ad agency to market it for you, your Awesome Magic Bread.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s time for the pitch and you hear the following:<\/p>\n

\u201cBuy Awesome Magic Brand Bread: It\u2019s regular tasting, it\u2019s sliced, you can even use it to make grilled cheese sandwiches! Awesome Magic Brand Bread is just like your bread!\u201d<\/p>\n

You know what that sounds like to a consumer? \u201cIf it\u2019s just like my bread, why on earth do I need yours? I\u2019ll keep using mine.\u201d<\/p>\n

Such a reductive message! If it\u2019s exactly the same, there is no reason for any consumer to take action. Wouldn\u2019t you grab your ad man (or woman!) by the throat, and say \u201cTell people how different my bread is! Tell them how much better it is!?\u201d<\/p>\n

The new \u201cMormons are regular people\u201d ads suffer from the same issue. We have such a rich gospel, a gospel makes us different than others, even in spite of the similar hobbies and opinions we may share with those not of our faith.<\/p>\n

So why not put the emphasis on \u201cMormon\u201d in our advertising, instead of on \u201cskateboarder?\u201d<\/p>\n

The fundamental problem it seems (the very problem these ads – I think – are trying to address) is that people still have misconceptions about Mormons. They still don\u2019t know what the word \u201cMormon\u201d means. \u201cSurfer?\u201d They know what that means. \u201cFashion designer?\u201d They know what that means. But \u201cMormon?\u201d Nope. And these ads are not really doing anything to further define the most important word in the equation.<\/p>\n

In the same way that the cutesy Homefront ads told people that \u201cFamily\u201d was important to us, can\u2019t our latest outreaches do the same by pushing phrases like \u201cModern Revelation\u201d \u201cModern Prophet\u201d \u201cTithing\u201d and \u201cWord of Wisdom?\u201d A former advertising professor of mine points out that this is what the \u201cTruth Restored\u201d campaign attempted in a semi-whitewashed way. The results weren\u2019t so great. The strategy was right. The execution missed the mark. There weren\u2019t specifics. It wasn\u2019t memorable.<\/p>\n

Advertising 201: Make it memorable.<\/p>\n

We believe God talks through a modern-day prophet. We believe God has a body. We believe in baptizing the dead. Pretty weird? Maybe. Pretty provocative? Perhaps. Memorable? Definitely. And when it comes to branding, if you can get people to remember your message, to form an association, you\u2019re more than halfway there.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s not to say these newest ads are without value, but I do think that they suffer from an unfortunate decrescendo. All the focus is up front, and \u201cMormon\u201d is still as diluted and undefined as it ever was. The Unique Selling Proposition is simply not there.<\/p>\n

What if we were to get over our fear and do something like this?<\/p>\n

My name is Adrienne Cardon.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m a copywriter.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m a jewelry designer.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m a cheese-of-the-month club member.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m a big fan of the movie Spinal Tap.<\/p>\n

And I believe that God talks to our prophet Thomas S. Monson the same way that he talked to Moses thousands of years ago.<\/p>\n

And I am a Mormon.<\/p>\n

The time for insecurity is over. We cannot be afraid that people will hear phrases like \u201cModern Revelation\u201d and tune out. As a Mormon I wonder, \u201cWhy hide something so glorious?\u201d As an advertiser I wonder \u201cWhy hide something so memorable?\u201d<\/p>\n

So let\u2019s be memorable. If we put these messaging strategies to work, people will at least know what it is we believe, whether or not they choose to buy it. Help people understand who Mormons are by defining them by their most uniquely Mormon characteristics – their Mormon beliefs.<\/p>\n

I think it\u2019s about time.<\/p>\n

Bio:<\/h3>\n

Adrienne Aggen Cardon started her advertising career at Crispin, Porter + Bogusky working as as copywriter, moved to Ogilvy and Mather NYC for 2 years, and is currently the Creative Director of advertising at BYU Broadcasting. She is married to filmmaker Jared Cardon and belongs to a Cheese of the Month Club.<\/em><\/p>\n

\"Enhanced<\/a>