The “Wimp “ Factor Isn’t Working.
When you devise a dramatic situation to illustrate the
quality you are promoting in the product you sell, it should demonstrate that
quality in a positive way. If the quality is “aggressive”, the worst thing that
can happen is your situation actually demonstrates the opposite.
In this Lexus commercial, where a neighbor tries to help a
girl whose plumbing is flooding her apartment, he takes off his shirt to help
stop up the water leak. As this is happening, her man comes home and glares at
this guy as though he caught him in bed with the girl, instead of noticing the
flooded floor, the effort of both of them to stop the water, and pitching in to
help them. The neighbor, instead of staying to explain, acts as if the man was
right in his assumptions. He runs out of the building and jumps into his car to
escape. What courage! What aggressiveness! The voice over, then tries to imply
that the car has those same qualities of “aggressiveness.” What “aggressiveness”?
Where was the neighbor running to? His Mom? He lives across the hall! will he
move? What a wimp!
I can’t imagine, in the presentation to the client, that some
“aggressive” underling doesn’t stand up to point out all these questions. I
guess there are wimps everywhere.
