On the second evening, I asked myself 'why is persuasion so difficult?
And what does one have to do to set people on fire?'. As it is, 90 per cent of the TVCs are about happy happy people, very lifestyle-oriented, and in some cases just plain slapstick. Many are filled with wall-to-wall dialogue (feeling like a power-point presentation), endless words that build or explain the case, and then bang: product/logo.
Why is it so hard to tell a good story that moves people and engages their emotions with the brand? Because the people you're talking to already have their own set of parameters and experiences. While you're trying to persuade them, they're arguing with you in their heads (the power-point syndrome). If you do succeed in persuading them, you have done so only on an intellectual basis. It's not good enough because people are not inspired to act by reasoning alone - and it's here the power of emotion can communicate and lift the brand idea to a different level.
Here in Indonesia, the cultural richness is astonishing. The art of wayang (shadow puppets) story-telling goes back hundreds of years and across several generations (just as the wayang performances too can go on for days). Tapping into Indonesian heritage in brand building could be the key for marketers. A-well-told-story is based on life. Think back to your mother or father telling you stories as you sat in their lap. I'm sure all of us remember Little Red Riding Hood (no bullet points there from what I remember), a story based on the struggle between expectation and reality in all its nastiness.
So there I was on the second evening, bored of seeing nothing but positive, happy, shiny commercials (probably 500 of them). Nothing but upbeat, hypothetical images (or dialogue) actually works against a brand because it engenders distrust within the people you're trying to convince. The great irony of existence is that what makes life worth living does not come from the rosy side. We'd all love nothing but the rosy side but life will not allow it. The energy to live comes from the dark side. It comes from everything that makes us suffer. As we struggle against these negative powers, we're forced to live more deeply, more fully. Like wayang puppet stories you know who is who, good versus bad. By recognising the dark side, the story becomes more convincing, more realistic for those watching.
The emotional link to a brand comes from life and our experience of it so far. Good and bad. Childhood. Humanity. The list goes on. It's also linked to our heritage. A well-told story (short or long) that answers the question "do I believe this?", will definitely move people, awaken them and perhaps even entertain.