"Like Spider-Man senses danger with his Spider-Sense, I get tingles when I'm in the presence of marketing greatness. It was set off when I was working with Amazon in Seattle a few weeks ago. I was in one of its mega studios running workshops with its killer in-house creatives and planners when global marketing VP Claudine Cheever and head of global planning Christopher Marchegiani cornered me, triggering my heightened super marketing senses. They were grinning."
"They were keen to re-run my favorite Christmas ad from 2023, Joy Ride, the one with the sledding grannies that almost everyone loved. But first, they wanted to test it to see if it would still work. Two years after it excelled in testing and ran all Christmas, once again, it scored 5.9 with fresh audiences. I was so proud."
"Originally, they got pushback when making the ad because the sledding cushion featured wasn't even available in all the markets where it aired. How can Amazon increase sales if the featured pillow isn't even available? Decades of marketing research by the likes of Les Binet, Peter Field, Orlando Wood and, well, myself ( honks own horn) across all media channels conclude the same thing: emotional tugs trump rational pushes [editor's note: quite the tongue-twister]."
Amazon retested its 2023 'Joy Ride' Christmas ad and found it again scored 5.9 with fresh audiences. The ad features sledding grannies and previously performed exceptionally in testing. Amazon's global marketing leaders chose to re-run the creative after verifying its effectiveness. The decision reflects core principles of modern marketing effectiveness, including the power of emotional storytelling and distinctiveness. Teams received early pushback because the featured product was not available in all markets, but decades of research show emotional appeals outperform purely rational selling. Distinctive, story-driven ads capture attention, build positive brand memories, and support long-term growth.
Read at The Drum
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