Art of Persuasion: Does The State Farm “Jake” Commercial Have It?

The secret of all effective advertising is not the creation of new and tricky words and pictures, but one of putting familiar words and pictures into new relationships. Awesome quote from the master Leo Burnett. I have to admit. I found the State Farm ‘Jake’ commercial funny for a while.

But after a while, watching 3–5 times per day on TV, not so much. Even as a 30-second spot, it can get annoying. But as a commercial, what does it influence target customers to do? Does it contribute to the art of persuasion? What do you think?

Have you seen this commercial? Does it persuade you in any meaningful way? Here is a link to the ad, in case you have not seen it: Check out our thoughts on creative marketing.

In marketing or advertising, you need to create information that your customers find interesting and worth talking about and remembering. This advertisement certainly grabs your attention and has some entertaining value, don’t you think? But does it influence any action? Does it even create good company awareness? Let’s evaluate this commercial for its marketing strategy effectiveness and the art of persuasion:

Be relevant to your target market

Keep in mind that one message does not fit all. It starts with knowing your target market. Here the target markets are Gen Y’s and upper-end millennials. The ad is written for the young family adult. But how can the message be relevant when…