In advertising, as well as in User Experience, there’s a concept of memorability. In the case of advertising, it’s more about whether the viewer remembers your brand (as opposed to UE where’s it’s whether they remember how to use or do something). Back in the day, one of the most successful campaigns was for Charmin. You remember Mr. Whipple? He was the grocer who chastised patrons with “Please don’t squeeze the Charmin!” How about the old lady at Wendy’s asking “Where’s the Beef?” More recently, there has been “HEAD ON. Apply directly to the forehead. HEAD ON.” All annoying, yet effective, no?

Well, there seems to be a new trend – ‘Brand cheerleading’ and psychological trickery. Interestingly enough, the campaigns in question are both for meat. The first campaign is for Hillshire Farms – a very effective one since I remembered immediately what the brand was. One ad in this campaign shows a woman at her desk preparing a salad with meat on it. Her coworkers come out of nowhere – one chanting “go meat, meat – go meat, meat” while another chimes in with a cheer “That salad rocks, the best….” And another continues with “that’s crazy girl, I swear, there is so much STUFF in THERE”. Silly, yet cheerful. We all know why cheerleading exists whether we’re used to seeing applied to lunch meat or not. At the end of the commercial the whole office gang (sitting together) cheers “cuz you hungry. you hungry. you’re mama say you hungry! — you say Hillshire, I say Farm. Hillshire. Farm. (pause) GO MEAT!” WHOO HOO – I’m going out and getting me a salad (with meat on it)!

The second product is also a lunch meat product. This time, Oscar Meyer is pitching their Deli-Creation lunches with the same type of commercial - though with more of a psychological twist. Two guys driving the wiener-mobile show up in an office cube-farm with sandwiches and a microwave/backpack (complete with extension cord to the wiener-mobile). The catchy tune (Muzak version of what sounds like ‘we’re having a heat wave’) prompts the lunch-bringers to march while nodding their heads up and down to the beat. The office workers start nodding… I start nodding.  “Yes,”  I say to myself while nodding.  “Oscar Meyer microwavable sandwiches are good.”   In an apparent stroke of good timing, I had just come across an article on how shaking your head up and down while performing a task can increase your conviction that your opinion about that task is correct. SO, if you’re inclined to eat a nice, hot, turkey and cheese sandwich made by Oscar Meyer, your conviction that Oscar Meyer lunch meat is good might be increased. Of course, the study is about YOU nodding your head - not the guys on the commercial - but I dare you to watch it and NOT have the urge to do so.

So now you get the ‘Go Meat’ portion of this post… why the “thank you?” This is another part of an ad I saw that sticks with me and definitely works as far as brand recognition goes. Driving to work one day I saw a billboard for The Closer with Kyra Sedwick. It had a picture of her, the words “The Closer, New Season, TNT, Monday June 18, 9p/8c, THANK YOU.” Thank you? Hmmmm - I don’t get it. Polite, yes… Are they thanking me for reading their ad?? Ok. You’re welcome? Actually, it turns out that the main character (the Closer) says this throughout the show - it’s her ‘tag line’. Of course, I didn’t know this (nor did several people I asked). So if TNT is trying to talk to their current audience, fine. They’ll understand. However, for those of us who are Closer-clueless, this ad is annoying. It IS memorable - but not in a good way. Therefore, I’m not watching the show.

I think I’ll have myself a sandwich instead. GO MEAT! Thank you.