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“Unprecedented,” “extraordinary,” and “we're all in this together”: Does advertising really need to be so tedious in challenging times?

Vlad Demsar, Sean Sands, Colin Campbell and Leyland Pitt

Business Horizons, 2021, vol. 64, issue 4, 415-424

Abstract: As government-mandated lockdowns and steep declines in trade set in because of the COVID-19 pandemic, a common theme became apparent in the advertising of the time: It was all the same. Regardless of the product category or brand personality, many ads were remarkably similar. They began with melancholy music, voiceovers reminding the audience that the brand is here for them, and referred to these times as “unprecedented” and “extraordinary.” Ads reassured viewers that “together, we can get through this.” In this installment of Marketing & Technology, we articulate the problem of advertising sameness and explore how and why it likely arises during a time of crisis. We then discuss why advertising uniformity is a problem and present a series of strategic, media, and creative considerations—taking into account the constraints of a crisis— to help marketing professionals produce more effective advertising in the context of a disaster.

Keywords: Advertising; COVID-19; Crisis communication; Ad uniformity (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:bushor:v:64:y:2021:i:4:p:415-424

DOI: 10.1016/j.bushor.2021.02.007

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