Marketing Lesson from Darth Vader

The Nielsen Company recently released their lists of best-liked and most-recalled ads from the 2011 Super Bowl. The winner for best-liked was the Little Darth Vader commercial, however it did not rank in the top 10 most-recalled.  The most-recalled list is important because it measures a person’s recall of the brand represented in the commercial.

So, did Volkswagen make a mistake?  Would it have been better for them to produce a commercial that focused more on the product than the entertainment value?  My professional marketing opinion: it depends on who’s asking.  Here are my details:

If you are a large corporation with millions of dollars to produce a commercial and buy a spot during the Super Bowl, here is my answer:  No, they didn’t make a mistake. I think Volkswagen did a good thing with this commercial.  Everyone is raving about it and every time I see it mentioned on TV or written up in an article the word “Volkswagen” or “Passat” or both are used.   Don’t discount the power of the free publicity that surrounds what people consider the most liked commercial during the Super Bowl.  The buzz factor was well worth it. The video had 13 million views on YouTube before the Super Bowl and is now over 23 million.  This kind of draw is because the entertainment value is so high.

If you are a small business and can’t afford something big like a national spot on the Super Bowl to create a publicity whirlwind, you might want to consider leaving your focus on the product and being clear about your brand.  If you are like most small business, your marketing dollars are limited.  You can be creative, just make sure you are adding a good dose of your brand.

If you haven’t seen it yet, Volkswagen has posted a video about the making of the force that is very funny too.  Here it is for your viewing pleasure:

For both top 10 lists and a nice set up for viewing each commercial, see this AdAge article.