Love Bug

I'm not sure if there's something in the water, but agencies around the country seem to be similarly infected with a need to show their clients how much people love them and their products. Today's New York Times highlights ads for Subaru, Honda, Nissan, Blackberry and others who are all on the love train. It never ceases to amaze me how an industry so full of self-professed original thinkers regularly end up at the same solution at the same time. Especially when it's a solution that seems to be so shallow and ineffective.

I know it's important to connect with consumers at an emotional level, but people won't fall in love with you because you tell them to. They fall in love with you because you fill a need at both rational and emotional level. Think of the most successful launch of the past few years, the iPhone. The ads focus on the products and what they can do for people with a personality that is charming. The same with the Mac v. PC ads. Basically it's as simple as this: Give me a reason to fall in love with your product and do it in a way that's interesting.