Recently, I was watching television – which is quite rare in and of itself. I don't remember what show it was, but it was an American network. Instead, I noticed a commercial that aired instead. It was a spot for the American Cancer Society. I thought it was an excellent advertisement, unlike what one usually sees for a non-profit. Let me show you, here is the advertisement courtesy of YouTube.

First of all, I'll say that this is a great commercial. It makes me feel warm and fuzzy and makes me take notice. Some of the comments are quite touching.

WOW...how beautiful!! I would have given anything to have shared just one more birthday with my mother in law who passed away to cancer...please support the American Cancer Society. – 4miamigrl

and

This commercial actually made my cry. – theshankenstein

and

I am a 3 year Cancer survivor, I saw this the first time the other night and it made me teary. Thank you for such a beautiful commercial, I just celebrated mine 3 weeks ago and I tell everyone they really should appreciate every birthday. :))) – TriviaGeek463

Very powerful, but I'm going to put aside all the heartwarming stories and talk about what they did to come up with such a powerful spot. There are two key points I want to mention that the ad agency did here that every business owner and marketer should learn.

Features tell. Benefits sell

The first thing is that the ad agency applied an ancient rule of advertising and marketing. The rule is this, "Features tell. Benefits sell".

Now, it takes a very creative mind to realize what the true benefit really is. Some would argue, and beleive that the main benefit of what the American Cancer Society does is helf fund research for cancer cures and treatments. Well, that's actually a feature.

Some may also think that what the American Cancer Society does is save lives. Well, that's a wonderful thing that they do, but it's also a feature.

The ad agency discovered what the real benefit is, more birthdays. Wow.

Tell a Story

The second thing that the ad agency did, which is an essential part of great marketing and advertising, they told a story. That's right, they actually told many stories. They told stories about the people who's lives were saved by what the American Cancer Society has done.

When you tell a story, what they did was include the viewers and made them part of the advertisement. They told a story that all people can relate to and understand. When you do that the viewer becomes a part of that story. They inadvertently become a cast member in the screen play that has just played out. Not directly, but in their minds. In their minds, the viewer is not seeing the actors on screen, but they are seeing themselves, their mothers, fathers or other relatives who have suffered from cancer.

Discover the true benefit and tell a story that your viewers can relate to. Do those two things, and you have a powerful advertising campaign.

Ciao,

Robert Scozzari RGD