Marketing Brilliance from a Clown

An emotional journey every ad should strive to achieve

My assistant, Christin, watched this video many times and she gets emotional each and every time. Puddles has become a new favourite. When the judges give their feedback, they perfectly summarize why this act was successful.

Judge #1 - Howie Mandel: "You have so much talent, you are so original. This is such a surprise. It's so exciting. This is amazing!"

Judge #2 - Heidi Klum: "Puddles, it was very unexpected, very original, very different and I want to see more."

Judge #3 - Mel B.: "I thought I'd seen just about everything on this show, and then you came along, and I'm like, Oh! my gosh!, and I loved it!"

Judge#4 - I never, ever, want to know who you are Puddles. No, I mean this, because I have a real problem with clowns, but you may have turned me. What I love about you... this is originality at its best and that's why I love you so."

This video contains the ingredients necessary for a great marketing campaign.

First, Puddles is sad and a clown, and clowns are usually happy and cheerful
Second, he can't talk so he can't tell you why he is sad. It leads us to believe that Puddles was a mime of sorts.
Third, he surprised everyone with his booming signing voice after we thought he couldn't talk. 
Fourth, when the judges are giving him feedback, he gets overwhelmed with tears of joy. He is so thankful. We feel what he feels and we tear up right along with him.

By the end, everyone watching is completely in love with Puddles and you want to see more. Puddles captures your heart and convinces the mind with a series of emotions: intrigue, surprise, delight, and love. He is a perfect example of what a great advertising should be: original, unexpected, different, changes perceptions, tells a story, creates emotional attachment in the heart and convinces the mind. It's superglue.

You can add sad music to convey sadness and elicit emotions, but nothing compares to the impact of an emotional journey to solidify a relationship between a customer and a cause, a product or a company.

Does your advertising possess any emotional superglue?

Morty Silber, CEO

Mad Strategies Inc.
a Wizard of Ads Partner