Missed Creative Opportunities

Let's talk about missed creative opportunities.

I was watching an episode of Gen V on Amazon Prime Video.

Gen V is a spin-off of The Boys, and both shows are (very, very) dark satires of the superhero genre. Think: "What if super-powered people were created by an evil corporation that's out to rule the world, and most super-powered people only used their powers selfishly for personal gain, fame, and glory?"

Both shows are VERY GRAPHIC.

And by that, I mean these two shows are the King and Queen of R-rated television. There are lots of disturbing scenes that push hedonism to its outer limits. And there's LOTS of violence: more gore than you can believe is even allowed without having someone check your ID first. But if that doesn't bother you, the storylines and satire are both fantastic.

So I'm watching this show, and an ad comes on.

(I haven't chosen to upgrade to Amazon's ad-free option because I've found that, usually, the ad-load is reasonable. Except for when you watch movies... STOP PUTTING ADS IN THE MIDDLE OF FILMS, Amazon! But I digress...)

So I'm watching Gen V, and an ad comes on...

... for OxiClean Stain Remover.

I don't think I've ever been so disappointed with an ad placement in my life.

Why, you ask?

One of the rare "good guys" on Gen V is a woman named Marie Moreau.

And Marie's power is the ability to control blood. She can pull it out of a body, shape it into a weapon, and use it to, well, draw more blood.

Blood.

What product do you use to get blood out of your clothing?

Because I use OxiClean Stain Remover.

And yet, the ad shown during Gen V was a boring, generic ad that I don't even think even MENTIONED the product's ability to remove blood stains.

(I can't tell you for sure, because the ad was highly forgettable.)

If I were to write a complaint to the makers of OxiClean, it might read something like this:

Dear Church & Dwight:

As I'm sure you are aware, you recently advertised your stain remover product during an episode of Gen V, a show where the main characters' power is the ability to control blood...

... and yet the highly forgettable commercial you used to interrupt my show didn't bother to mention how well your product removes blood stains.

PLEASE TRY HARDER!

Sincerely,

David Pullara, on behalf of all marketers against boring, generic ads.

In all seriousness, this feels like a HUGE missed creative opportunity to me.

I know, I know...

1. "David, it's easier to reuse an existing ad."

I know it is. But easier doesn't mean better. More relevant is better!

2. "David, it's too expensive to create an ad JUST to air during two specific shows!"

Maybe. But you know what's REALLY expensive? Spending any money at all on a media placement to show a generic ad that nobody wants to watch, let alone share. Create something GREAT, and the ROI increases dramatically. Remember that "Dollar Shave Club" ad that launched the brand? Exactly!

3. "David, you understand how programmatic advertising works..."

No, I really do. But advertisers CAN place a specific, custom creative ad on Amazon Prime Video. And in this case, it would have made sense to do so.

Developing ads that are hyper-relevant to a specific situation can be more work and more expensive... but it can be done.

And when done well, people will notice.