Earlier last week, I was scrolling through my Facebook newsfeed when I came across two very unique video ads for the Ford Fusion.
One was a 30 second clip from a popular Dragonball Z episode.
The other was a scene from a major boss battle in the Playstation game Metal Gear Solid (the Psycho Mantis fight, aka the most infamous battle in video game history).
As you’ll notice, the dialogue had been overdubbed to promote the Ford Fusion.
Both these ads are a part of a larger “overdub” campaign featuring other classic cartoons and video games, such as Sailor Moon and Captain Planet. And if those things don’t mean anything to you, it’s okay. These ads weren’t made for you in the first place.
But for myself—and plenty of other people my age—these ads were both nostalgic AND personal, because when I was in middle school, I would come home every day, watch an hour of Dragonball Z, and then lock myself in my room and played Metal Gear Solid until it was time for supper. They *meant* something to me growing up, and seeing these ads brought back a lot of fond memories. Ford hit that nerve perfectly and they did it by focusing on people like *me* and only me—and it shows. Honestly, if I didn’t absolutely love my Honda Fit, I’d probably be in the market for a Fusion.
This is the type of brilliant, progressive advertising we’re going to see a lot more of as we move into 2017: highly targeted, highly personal, and even a bit esoteric. Businesses are throwing broad appeal out the window and drilling down on very specific groups of people.
Right now, you need to be thinking about how you’re going to bring hyper-personalization into your marketing for the New Year. If you haven’t, WideNet would love to help you get the ball rolling.
