While scrolling through the various swipe-files found on the internet, I came across something especially within the automotive sector. This sector has a high potential of creative competition among their rivals. Some of them take it to the next level by directly ‘attacking’ them in a way or so. This made me think as a copywriter: these guys really do take competition in a creative level.
A swipe-file is basically a collection of advertisements that were used or experimented upon by various companies and creators. The main purpose of a swipe-file is for learners to understand the psychology used in order to drive traffic and convert them to sales. For copywriters, a swipe-file is more like a portfolio or a space for experimentation and improvisation. While there is no single person who coined the term swipe-file or invented it, marketers in the past ‘created’ it by keeping an archive of their advertisements which later became popularised and emphasised by experts such as David Ogilvy, Gary Bencivenga, and so on.
Coming back to the topic of creative competition, one such ad became viral in social media platforms where the big-dogs of car manufacturers, such as Mercedes-Benz, BMW, and so on, copied the same ad but implied their own brand. The original ad showed an Audi SUV (Sports Utility Vehicle) creating the Audi logo by burn-out (creating lines with spinning wheels of the car) and a statement that said, ‘Bet you can’t do this.’ This template became a hit in the social media platforms, and in printed ads, that other car companies started to create their logo and hit the same tagline. A direct punch to the face of their competitors. The Mercedes and Audi ‘ad war’ has been going on for decades. One ad shows a trailer with several cars being transported. At first, it seems all normal. But upon closer inspection, we can find the hidden aspect of war. The trailer has the Mercedes logo slapped on it while the cars are all BMWs. The tagline reads, ‘A Mercedes can also bring driving pleasure.’ This would be a ping-pong effect of roundhouse kicks between the two companies.
Does this ‘ad war’ actually bring harm to anyone or any of the participating companies? The answer to this is purely psychological. As mentioned before, swipe-files are used to understand how to convince customers in a psychological way to buy that specific product. In the case of ‘ad wars’, it is the same but taken another notch above. It does not necessarily mean that a typical war is going to happen, like what is found in the political world. But this war is going to affect sales and performance. And this is why instead of ‘ad war’, I have taken the audacity to call it creative competition.
Another form of creative competition that can be found through advertisements is the way how a product is modified according to the needs of the consumers. This can be found in an ad by Crest showcasing their competitor Colgate. In the ad, there were two halves of an apple. One of them was white and had a white mist signalling fresh breath while the other has become reddish and had a greenish mist showcasing a bad odour. Underneath the apples, there was the logo of Crest and the top text read, ‘The Whitening Test: Only one passed the glow test – guess who?’ This is an ‘ad war’ but it kept the consumer’s need in mind (glowing teeth and fresh breath) instead of just white teeth.
As a learning copywriter, I find these creative competition (or ‘ad wars’) really amusing. This is because we are accustomed to the normal and boring ads while these are the ones that keep the fun factor of marketing alive. If more companies lean towards these sorts of advertisements, the world of marketing would have a competition of its own. And, trust me, ads would be something not to be skipped but studied and have an autopsy done on.
The writer is a Sub-Editor, Daily Times of Bangladesh
