When it comes to journalism, The New York Times is a bastion of all things proper. The legendary news source has also long provided an excellent place for advertisers to reach an educated, engaged audience. Imagine if your brand could advertise on the front page, right under the paper’s name, basically appearing as the lead, above-the-fold article? Lunacy, of course. And yet, that is apparently virtually possible, as shown by this morning’s NYT email:
Now, I know this ad for cheap-razor-blade-brand Harry’s doesn’t have quite the same impact as it would in the printed paper. However, seeing this at the top of my NYT email – one of the few non-business-related emails I open daily – stopped me in my tracks. “How smart these Harry’s folks are about branding,” I thought. And subtly creeping into my brain was this thought: “Is there an article in the Times about them?” Of course, I quickly awoke from that fog, but for a split second it was there – and that did more than catch my attention; it helped elevate the brand.
This is a clear branding differentiator against their Dollar Shave Club competitor, whose “dirty blade” campaign may be clever, but it’s gross. I’ve seen it online. I’ve seen it on TV. I’ve even blogged about it. But I haven’t been motivated to purchase because, down deep, it doesn’t align with those emotional triggers that great brands succeed in pulling, over and over again.
While I get that Dollar Shave Club offers cheapness, their ads make me feel gross. Harry’s campaigns look and feel clean. Add to that smart ad placement in reputable sources like The New York Times – including this morning’s in-boxed execution that launched this post – plus the promise of having it all at an inexpensive price point… Well, the next thing I’ll be writing is an email to my husband, suggesting we give Harry’s a try. Well done, gents.
~ Denise Blasevick, @AdvertGirl & CEO, The S3 Agency
