Our Connection to Ads

February 24, 2009

Forgive me for a moment. I don’t want you to think I love every ad that hits the streets these days. Ha! That would be critical suicide!

But seriously. I love these ads.

I really love these ads. Not for the copy, which is good, but not great. Not for the design, a style of which I’m a huge fan, though New Belgium does it so much better. I’m even a little sad that they didn’t bother to really connect with the consumer over the seemingly unpronounceable name (it’s Toe-ga-TEE) until you reach the Web site.

I love these ads because they’re for The Togwotee Trail, an area of the country that I’m incredibly familiar with and that is as much a part of my family history as my genealogy and my male-pattern baldness.

I have a connection with Togwotee. It’s the mountain that leads into Jackson, Wyoming, where my grandparents grew up, where my great great great grandfather Uncle Nick traveled as a member of the Pony Express, settling later in the valley that would later become one of the most renowned skiing towns in the nation. It’s the gateway to the Tetons and a palate cleanser after the beauty of Wind River Canyon.

There are hundreds of stops along the way. There are hundreds of areas I could feel such nostalgic longing for. But it’s Togwotee that always tops my list. Not Buffalo, Wyoming. Not Wall Drug. Togwotee.

Successful brands can garner this same reaction. You might have a connection with Coke. Or Apple. Maybe you shop at OfficeMax because you have had a great experience in the past. Perhaps you’re like me, in love with one area of the country, or one can’t-live-without service, and no matter what they say, it’s the feeling behind the brand that keeps you coming back.

The feeling of the brand. The things that matter outside of advertising. Service. Respect. Style. The small things that make a brand successful.

Though I have no connection with the area aside from using it as a pass-through to my family, the feeling that the mountain trail gives is unmistakable. These ads aren’t selling the road. They’re showing us the feeling of the road. And they’re reminding those of us who love the road just how important it is to our lives.

That’s what a great brand offers.

(Click images to see them larger. Via Ads of the World.)

By Corey

Filed Under Advertising, Marketing, Design, Criticism, The Process

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