Anatomy of an Ad #1: Great Harvest Bread Co.
Posted by: admin in advertising, marketing, media, tags: car dealer ads, Great Harvest Bread Company, hard sell, sleazy pitchman, televisionAnatomy of an Ad is a new feature here on the mediablog, where we’ll deconstruct ads and discuss what works – and what doesn’t. Future editions will appear as we see ads worth discussing.
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I love bread. Especially fresh-baked bread. While the Bible says “man cannot live by bread alone,” I can come pretty close. My favorite bakery is the Great Harvest Bread Company, which opened not too long ago here in Amarillo. If you read up on Great Harvest, they’ll tell you the reason their bread is better is that they grind their own flour, fresh each day, which keeps the bread fresher, longer. In my own experience, this has proven to be true – their bread does not go stale as quickly as other baker’s bread. Frankly, I don’t care how they do it – I just love the way their bread tastes. They have a great product, and compelling presentation (free samples!) and a story that resonates in tune with their product. They seem to have a thorough understanding of their market, their appeal, and how to communicate that to the public.
That’s why you could have knocked me over with a feather when I saw a spot for Great Harvest on TV the other night, as they aired what has to be the worst, most ill-conceived TV spot in the history of franchise operations.
Bad local television commercials are not new, nor are they unique. You have but to turn on the TV a wait a few minutes to see a commercial for a local automobile dealership that is the very epitome of bad advertising. But the ad I saw for Great Harvest was not a locally-produced ad – at least it was not produced here, far as I can tell. Ironically, they chose to pattern their ad after a stereotypical used car ad, complete with a sleazy, fast-talking pitchman, graphics that continually assaulted the eye, and an over-the-top concept that was as confusing as it was inappropriate.
The spot’s conceit was that they attempted to transpose the concept of trading in your old car for a shiny new one, to trading in your supermarket-bought bread for one from Great Harvest. No money down! No credit? Bad credit? No problem! (I kid you not.)
So let’s ask ourselves, who spends money on “designer” breads, when they can buy something at the supermarket for half the price? Well, gourmets, those with discretionary income, and those that like the cachet associated with purchasing a hand-made product.
Now let’s ask, who do the automobile ads that scream at you appeal to? Nobody I can think of, but in particular, they most certainly do NOT appeal to the core demographic of Great Harvest – those that appreciate good bread and are willing to pay extra to get it.
I’m sure that this idea must have looked funny on paper. It probably appealed to the Great Harvest bigwigs, as a way to buck convention, and do something unexpected. Unfortunately, I think they picked what is possibly the worst way to think outside the box, and in the process have damaged their image.
Image is fairly nebulous concept. It’s one part P.R., one part advertising, and one part personal experience. It takes a lot of work to build a brand’s image. It takes only a few seconds (29 1/2 of them, to be precise) to put a dent in a carefully crafted brand image.
Now one ad won’t scare me away from Great Harvest, but I can’t help but to think that their ad not only didn’t do them any good (assuming they were trolling for new customers), and it probably didn’t scare away current customers. But every time you dent, blur, or diminish your brand, you’re working at cross-purposes to your goals of using your brand to build your business.
So the next time you come up with what sounds like a clever idea that you’re dying to try, think about how that idea my affect your brand. That’s food…for thought.
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