TV Ads vs Online Video Ads: What’s the Difference?
Yesterday, I was teaching a class of aspiring online marketers. My job was to help them understand the video side of things. So we got to discussing how to optimise your video for online platforms. Especially, the major ones such as YouTube, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. You could add Snapchat too, but I have almost no experience with it.
It occurred there’s one major difference between TV video ads and online video ads. And if you approach the development of your online video ad the same way you would a TV ad you are missing out on a huge advantage online platforms can give you if you know how to use them.
I’ll tell what what I think the major difference is later, but first – this is what we discussed:
Making your Videos Relatable
This is not as easy as it might sound. But it’s something I’ve been thinking a lot about in the last year or so. So it was good to discuss it yesterday.
First, we tried to think up some ideas for making a relatable video for a coffee brand. My opening suggestion was: as a coffee drinker, I can’t function until I have my first coffee in the morning. This isn’t an idea for an advert, but simply a way to start thinking in terms relating the product to everyday life.
Why is this a challenge?
Instinctively, when we are asked to come up with an idea, I believe we start to think abstractly. In other words, we distance ourselves from the subject. We image ourselves as creators or artists who have been asked to create an impressive work of art that people can admire (and ultimately help sell coffee, in our exercise).
We are video “sculptors” and we see the final sculpture as something separate to ourselves. And this is generally how TV adverts are made.
But online advertising works very differently and that’s why adverts designed for online consumption should be developed differently.
What does it mean then to make a video relatable?
Well, it depends a lot on who your advert is trying to get the attention of. In that sense, online ads are similar to TV ads. Know your target audience.
For our coffee drinkers, we had a lot of suggestions (like mine) related to waking up in the morning. The advert would go along as something like: shots of guy in bed, struggling to wake up, has a coffee – BOOM – he’s a wake and ready to take on the world.
But again, although this is closer to being relatable, it’s still quite similar to what we would imagine a TV ad might look like.
So how do we go one step further and make even more relatable online videos?
Case study: “Millie Bobby Brown Drops Some Knowledge” advert for Converse
We looked at and discussed this YouTube advert for Converse. The video has over 6 million views and is considered a success for the company.
Be under no illusion, this is a scripted advert. But the impression created is one of informality. As watchers, we are placed in the scene, standing just behind Millie’s chair – overhearing her conversation.
We are given the feeling of intimacy. Millie stumbles over her lines as if she’s only just now thinking up what to say. Well, she’s an actress. It’s her job to be convincing and to make her lines feel spontaneous. But I believe this goes one step further than we might have gone with a TV advert.
There’s one take in the whole advert, which helps also to increase the sense this is real and authentic. A cut in the shot would make us more aware this is a video and we are not actually standing behind Millie listening to a personal conversation. Of course, consciously we know this is not real – if we were to step back and rationalise. But the feeling we are given is that it is real.
Notice also that the make-up artist is almost invisible in the shot. His head is framed out and when he talks we can hardly hear him. Why?
Because the more visible/audible he is in the shot, the less we would feel ourselves to be in the scene. Again, Millie needs someone to talk to. But the ad makers want us to feel like she’s talking to us.
You have 3 seconds
They say that online you have about 3 seconds to get people’s attention. So notice also in the video example above there’s no intro, they simply cut directly into the conversation. And what’s the first thing Millie says?
She asks a question. And the reason for this is to add an extra hook.
When developing your online ad, Google and others recommend that you “front load” your advert. This means have something at the beginning which grabs people’s attention. They talk about a “punch in the face”.
So what’s the difference between TV and Online video?
The difference is that traditional TV watchers were passive whereas online users are not. Actually, that’s not true. As online users we are passive, but in a different way.
But here’s the most important thing you need to know:
When you buy a TV ad spot, you are buying a set audience figure. That TV ad spot will cost you related to the viewing figures for the show that’s on at the time. In other words, you pay $X and you get X watchers.
Now it’s up to your advert makers to make a cool ad that converts as many of those watchers into sales.
Online videos work differently
When you put your advert online you do not get X number of watchers for $X money.
Why?
Because the X = how many people Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Google, Instagram algorithms show your video to.
Let’s take YouTube as an example. YouTube promotes your video depending on how many viewers stay watching your video.
We all know about videos going viral. That’s nothing new. But still many ad makers do not understand what forces are at work when a video gets pushed up the Google or Facebook ranks.
Essentially: a video can drive views to itself simply by effective construction
Yes. An online video can drive views to itself whereas a TV video relies on a static viewing figure.
That’s how the major online platforms work. They want to recommend the best (most popular) content to their users. They’ve spent millions developing algorithms that do this as effectively as possible.
They’re not perfect by any means. And of course they are constantly working on them to improve them. But if you ignore the algorithms you are missing out on the opportunity that they provide. And those who employ strategies to gain the most from them will get ahead of you.
The line between advertising and real life is blurring
One interesting thing… I asked the students if they liked the advert. No one admitted to liking it. Several students disliked it. Indeed, the advert has 26,000 up thumbs and almost 10,000 down thumbs.
One student said she felt cheated because she didn’t know it was an advert until the end.
Which is a very revealing. And here’s why…
(aside note: that “and here’s why” is a common online trick to keep you watching and reading, hehe)
If the YouTube algorithm has to choose between a video which is watched until the end and one which is isn’t, it will probably choose the first. The algorithm doesn’t care whether the viewer felt cheated at the end or not (yet, but I’m sure they’ll be working on it).
Therefore, the prime objective of the online video maker is to keep their audience stuck to the screen. Announcing the example video as a Converse advert at the start would mean more people switching away. So they trick you into watching it, because that tricks the algorithm into promoting the video more.
Case study: “Dear Casey Neistat — From the CEO of Patreon”
I’ve talked about this video before. But it’s a great example of how to use YouTube algorithms so I’ve used it during the lesson and I’ll mention it again here.
Specifically, the start of the video. Within 3 seconds he’s launched into his pitch to Casey Neistat (major YouTube vlogger and influencer). He tells us he’s the CEO of major crowdfunding platform PATREON.
Then: “But actually this is not a Patreon video”.
So he claims this is not an advert for Patreon (of course it is, it even has Patreon in the title). For the above reasons – he doesn’t want us to click away.
Then: “This is just me and you”.
He wants us to feel like this is an intimate moment, an authentic moment, he wants us to feel like this is real, like we have been invited into Jack’s house to hang out with him. He wants us to feel this video is spontaneous, like he literally just had a crazy idea and he just HAD to tell us about it (because we’re his best buddies).
Jack then goes through a whole series of punchy edits and hooks to keep us glued to the screen for as long as possible. First, he says he has an idea but doesn’t tell us what it is. Then he has something in a bag – we have to keep watching to see what it is.
It’s an envelope with “this is it” written on it.
But what is it? We’ll have to keep watching to find out.
And while he’s talking he opening that letter so we keep watching… and then he doesn’t tell us. He keeps stringing us along, playing a game with us.
And now you know why. Because he wants to keep as many people as possible watching as long as possible to persuade YouTube’s algorithms to choose his video over someone else’s.
So that’s why online videos work very differently to traditional TV video adverts.
To sum up:
- use methods to keep people watching as long as possible – hooks
- use methods to make people feel the video is real and authentic – not an advert
So when we are designing our online ads to be more relatable, what we mean is we need to create a feeling of these things:
- intimacy
- reality (not fake)
- authenticity
- not an advert (ie fake)
- spontaneity
All these things give the impression of something (or someone) being genuine. ie: trustworthy.
Listen to my recent “Make Tomorrow Today” interview:
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