Influx

There are many ways to tell a story, and in the company of today’s advertising clutter, a visually driven narrative can have breakthrough power. Honda U.K. just launched two, animated 30-second spots for their new family-friendly Honda FR-V. Three colorful circles and a rectangle for their dog – simple and abstract, symbolize the family: Marcia, Lola, Tom and Syd.

View the launch spot created by Tandem Films

According to their agency, Wieden & Kennedy, London, the idea emerged from a product attribute: the car has room for three in the front seat, so the families can all sit together. This led to the idea of ‘family togetherness’ and is shown through circles overlaying each other to create more colors. The client brief was to “show the flexibility and versatility of the car and to do it in a human, engaging way.”

Target and Ipod have also been successful at letting visual design drive their advertising. Car brands like VW and Mitsubishi used music to score the messaging, undeniably capturing attention and increasing retention. Today, we need to grab the eyes. Or the ears. Or any of the 5-senses to create a brand experience.

Why don’t more brands think about advertising to the senses? Are we too wedded to sit-com storytelling in the U.S. to take a multi-sensory approach?