The Sympathy Behind a Good Ad

Over time, ads have gone from risque, to safe, to daring, and back to risque, all within in a number of years. Whether it be an ad shown during a Super Bowl commercial that had the image of a man punching a glasses-sporting koala because he "needed a new job" that made us laugh while also intrigued us because of the "What the heck" factor, or the more recent Cheerio's commercial that showed a young boy discussing the possibility that the mother's (assumed) deceased mother is "eating breakfast with them" because that's what the two of them used to do in her own youth. Commercials have been known to draw our interest, intrigue our curiosity, and more often than not, pull at our heart strings in the best and worst ways possible.

For me, the ads that have stood out among the rest as of lately have been ads for Subaru car company. The ones that stood out most are listed below.

Subaru: Best Friend

Subaru: First Day of School

In the first ad, the rural setting ads a realistic effect. Aside from the brand new and seemingly spotless car that is sitting off-centered, you assume that it is a fairly day-to-day sort of scenery. Then, the camera cuts to the driver of the car, who is smiling at his passenger seat as cheerful and uplifting music plays quietly in the background. As the commercial goes on, you witness a puppy, who is first seen staring curiously out of the window, and that same puppy steadily grows, as does the driver of the Subaru. This commercial particularly caught my interest because, as a child, I was gifted with a puppy for Christmas and I have since, watched her as she grew and as I grew into the person that I am today. Now, the image that this ad was going for was that "Grow old with our Subaru because they'll last that long" but the message was partially overplayed by the story of the owner and the dog, and the two of them growing old together.

The second ad is the one that truly tugged at those heart strings of mine. The initial image is nostalgic and the music is encouragingly cheery, however, this is canceled out by the young girl's worried expression which is then soothed by the father's encouraging squeeze of the hand before she boards the bus to what we believe is her first full day of school. Now, this is the part that I was lost at, when the father climbs in the car and is driving next to the bus, he eventually catches up and sees that his daughter is in fact having a good time already and the last line of the ad is, "I'm protective, that's why I got a Subaru." But this doesn't serve much purpose to me other than the idea that one could keep up a good speed with a Subaru, or did it have to do with the safety of the interior? I mean, his daughter was on a bus, he's the one speeding... However, if you don't look at it like this, and you see the story for what it is, I can see why Subaru's sales have gone up since the release of this nostalgic and enticing commercials.

There are many other ads of this sort that can be found on Subaru's YouTube channel that provide the same sort of emotional feeling... I believe that this series of ads is not only effective, but it is also something that one could reference when it comes to explaining just why they chose to make a certain purchase, in this case, that purchase being a Subaru vehicle.

Lastly, if you want thirty seconds of a "feel good moment", I suggest watching these commercials. However, if you're not prepared to get misty eyed, I suggest cat videos instead.