Saturday, July 25, 2009

Display Ads: Sound or No Sound

I got involved in a really stupid conversation yesterday about whether sound had a positive or negative impact on online advertising. I took the stance that sound in itself means nothing and it's all about how that sound is used. Obviously if you're talking about in-banner video then it's pretty essential, but beyond that, what does it do for actual engagement in non-video ads?

My point seemed to be lost on my co-conversationists so I said I'd find them examples to show my point.

Consider the following two ads. The first uses sound as its main engagement. The call to action is to engage and create sound. The second, however, is driven by a complete absence of sound. IMHO both are good, low weight, eye-catching ads. They serve there purpose and 'get the job done'. The creative is simple but hard-working. What impact does sound have? Well a great deal, but both by its presence and absence.



4 comments:

Dan said...

Great Post mate, I would rather an advert online not to have any sound. The actions of the ad should speak volumes and it dosen't need noise.

Christian Hughes said...

Cheers Dan - I know where you're coming from, the visual impact of an ad should be enough to capture and engage its audience, however, I think that with the progression of technology and increasing penetration of broadband (not to mention the ever increasing speeds that broadband is offering) requires a mind shift and a realisation that what we've been doing on tv for so long, can be done just as well online.

I'd like nothing more then to create a "tv ad" for online.

nicola-t said...

Hmm... I see what you mean Christian but I'd have to go with Dan to be honest. Not least of all because I generally wouldn't have the sound on on my computer so any sound element is lost by me.

Come to think of it, the reason I don't turn on the sound on my computer is because I don't like the random noise that shouts at me from websites...

The first ad is a fair use of the technology but all I remember of it now is that it had something to do with rock and that it didn't sound anything like a tambourine. It felt a bit gimmicky, using sound because you can use sound. I don't believe that it added anything to the ad.

I do remember that the second one was about a brand of sound proof glass though. So if we're going on recall alone...

What you say about doing a tv ad online is interesting but the question is, would the consumer accept it? After all, online is a completely different kind of interaction. Everything a person does online is a conscious choice, TV is a far more passive medium. You need to shout a bit on TV for someone to opt in to your message.

Anyway, I'll leave it there - I could probably talk about media comparisons and advertising all day...

GavinJC said...

That doesnt sound like a tamborine!