Using metaphors in advertising.
In this blog, we’ll be looking at using metaphors in advertising.
At Partisan Advertising, we believe there are five tenets upon which effective and memorable advertising campaigns can be built and how they can be used for the betterment of your advertising. They are:
Humour, testimonial, metaphor, analogy, and demonstration.
Metaphors are the kings of advertising and can be a compelling option to explore when creating effective advertising campaigns.
What you’re doing is taking two dissimilar things and putting them together based on something they have in common. For example, drawing a comparison between a condom and a motorcycle helmet. They're very different in terms of size, how they’re made, and what they’re made from, but they both offer protection where and when it matters most.
Some messages can be clear and simple (like the condom example), but sometimes, a better and more unique impression can be made using very different elements, like an eel and a car (figure it out).
We often test products and brands based on what we can see, feel, hear, touch, and taste but there’s something more at play that creates a strong association with the brand and I call that the “smile factor”. This is the reality that there are a lot of other benefits that brands can offer that our five senses can’t describe – subconscious messages with deeper meanings and emotions which influence our decisions to make a purchase.
And this is where the metaphor comes into play.
Metaphors come in two varieties: pure metaphor and fused metaphor.
What is a pure metaphor?
This metaphor represents a completely different thing from your product; it is used to stand in for the product or the feelings we get from it. Here is one example:
Sofia is a newly established bank. Banks are boring and often their advertising is even worse. This ad seems to have no connection to banking, but it’s packed with associations: the visual tells the story that the bank is new but it is smart and knowledgeable in all things banking despite its age.
What is a fused metaphor?
This is when you take the product and something unique about it and combine it with something else. Here’s a great example that needs no explanation:
How we use metaphors:
We look for pairs to parallel.
We mix the product’s symbols with imagery that is somehow related to the product.
We work in terms of addition or substitution.
We start putting the product into formats to help make connections and create images:
“It’s like a ____.”
“It’s like a ____ for your ____.”
“Think of it as a _______.”
“If it were a ____, it would be a _____.”
If our first ideas are too clichéd, we don’t lose hope. We’re prepared to hold out for the second, third, or 20th comparison. Metaphors will start pouring out and the originality will come.
The brilliance in using metaphors lies within how we spark a connection between the product or service to the audience. Ultimately, metaphors are tools for communication whereby using one means your audience will better understand the purpose of why they can make use of your product/business.