Advertising Experts Share Secrets

An old man sits, bored, in a nursing home.

As he walks out the door, a striking silver Volkswagen Jetta with a young, attractive man behind the wheel pulls up outside the nursing home.

The old man hobbles into the car and says, “To Vegas, baby” and the car speeds away.

According to Volkswagen advertisers who spoke to around 35 students at Loker Coffeehouse last night, this is just one example of an ad that successfully sells a product.

The Volkswagen advertisers joined account managers from McDonald’s in the discussion panel, titled “What Makes a Great Ad.”

The three speakers—who currently work at advertising companies Arnold Worldwide and Leo Burnett—told students some of their strategies for local ad campaigns.

According to the Volkwagen ad experts, Michael Shonkoff and Tony Cregler ’96, the creative teams try to connect with the drivers, instead of talking about the car.

“In this business, you are trying to sell something. Advertising is art with a purpose,” Cregler said.

Shonkoff traced the evolution of Volkswagen—from a family car to a car that also appeals to a younger market— through its ad campaigns.

When the Passat was introduced as a family car, for instance, the commercial clips showed adults grappling with the difficulties of family and children.

When the Jetta was redesigned, Volkswagen became more luxurious and more expensive, Shonkoff said.

The ads aimed to reflect the idea that the car was worth the money and targeted potential buyers with the slogan: Drivers wanted.

Janelle James ’00, an account manager for McDonald’s ads, praised the advertising industry.

“I love my job, you are constantly asking yourself about how you should better position the product—whether it be cars or apple pies—in the market,” she said.

James said the major strategy in McDonald’s ads is coming up with advertising partnerships that appeal to people’s personal interests—like ad campaigns with the Boston Globe, Disney On Ice and the circus.

“We are trying to get people to come to McDonald’s not because it is the closest restaurant, but because they like our products,” James said.

She said McDonald’s tries to have an ad for every occasion, including Valentine’s Day, the Fourth of July and the first day of spring.

“It is all about appealing to the people,” James said.

According to students, the panel— organized by the Advertising Club and the Psychonomist—gave them a unique opportunity to take a pre-professional look at advertising.

“It is great that the clubs organize such events. They offer the kind of exposure and connections in the advertising industry that are missing at Harvard,” said Ping Huang ’06.