After reading Jessi Hilton’s blog regarding Super Bowl commercials I remembered how great the golden retriever Budweiser commercial was!

Now what do puppies and beers have in common? Absolutely nothing. But everyone loves a cute puppy, and this immediately engages the viewers. The commercial is a heartfelt and dramatic story of a small golden retriever puppy who befriended a Clydesdale in a rural farm town.

The emotional song “Let Her Go” by Passenger added to the commercial’s story and helped capture viewers’ attention through familiarity because the song was a top hit at the time of the Superbowl.

The main reason this advertisement was so successful to me and apparently Jessi and others was because it had the ability to immediately engage the viewer. Typically when commercials come on I pay little interest to them and resort to my phone for entertainment during the two minute break, however, when I saw the cute little puppy I couldn’t turn away from the TV screen. The puppy and horse companionship along with the music captured my attention and I was honestly curious and interested in watching the story unfold. The moment the story climaxed and captured the viewer’s highest level of interest was the same moment Budweiser strategically revealed their image. This left a lasting impression on me.

I believe in today’s time-poor society, viewers need to be engaged immediately in a commercial or else they will move their attention onto their phones or other things. Budweiser was able to achieve this and the ad received praise and recognition from many of the viewers. My advice to advertisement campaigns is to focus on some of the seven principles of consumer behaviour to capture your target consumers’ attention. Consistency, commitment, authority, scarcity, reciprocity, social validation and liking are seven categories which can strategically influence your viewers and potential customers. Read more about these 7 principles in the chapter summary HERE and good luck in creating your next ad!