Three Content Takeaways from the newest HBO Commercials

Last night I put on a YouTube video for my three-year-old daughter. I set this scene because anyone who has parented a three-year-old (or who has even been around a three-year-old) knows that these dears are not known for patience. So the last thing you want to do while waiting for a video to load is view a paid advertisement any longer than necessary. That five-second window you have to sit through before you can hit “Skip Ad” usually feels like an eternity (even if you don’t have a three-year-old next to you squealing, “I don’t want to watch ‘dis! Why are we watching ‘dis?”).

So that’s why it is noteworthy that while we waited for the video to play, she and I sat through an entire advertisement — viewing it a whopping 40 seconds past the coveted “Skip Ad” appearance.

What was this piece of wizardry? It was HBO’s new ad campaign called "It’s What Connects Us."

T.J. Miller, dressed as Silicon Valley’s Erlich Bachman silently walks into the frame, but before he does or says anything, the promo cuts to Thomas Haden Church and Sarah Jessica Parker’s characters from Divorce as they awkwardly walk into a new frame and stand next to one another. Then a second later, Silicon Valley’s Richard Hendricks is in the middle of the frame, assumingly to out-awkward the bunch. By this point, the “Skip Ad” button is up, but then Erlich Bachman is back blowing out a puff of weed. And now there’s Delores from Westworld. And you’re already eight seconds in. Oh, wait there’s Cersei from Game of Thrones — and... you’re hooked.

You remain hooked as characters from more of HBO’s original programming — including Sesame Street, hence the three-year-old being along for the ride — come on screen, sometimes for barely half a second, saying variations of “Ahhhh,” while in character.  

It goes on for dozens of characters and culminates in the screen panning out to all the stars making the “Ahhhh” sound that plays over the iconic static that appears before each episode of HBO’s original programming airs.

What makes this spot so compelling? How did it cut through the clutter of modern life to get me to watch nearly a minute of this voluntarily?

It makes use of suspense – In today’s gimme-gimme-instant-gratification world, where you know there is endless competition vying for your audience’s attention, it’s understandable that most people want to play it safe. The long-game approach scares you. You want results you can measure now. But this campaign takes a chance. It depends on audience participation. HBO shows are known for their freedom, their shocking moments, and their memorable characters that have redefined television. The excitement of not knowing what to expect next has a large hand in record numbers tuning into the networks each week. As a viewer, I know this, so even in this commercial spot, I wanted to see what they were doing and why.

It’s clever, creative, entertaining content – Not many things can get me to sit through an advertisement these days. If this promo listed all the ways HBO was creative or unique or legendary, I would’ve had my cursor hovering over the “Skip Ad” button. This spot didn’t do that. In fact, it didn’t have any words other than “Ahhhh,” at all really (except for what Hodor utters). All it included was the original characters making that noise and left it up to the audience to understand what such an advertisement implied (that HBO is so creative, unique, and legendary that it has such creative, unique, and legendary characters that you just watched all of them saying, “Ahhhh” for nearly a minute. God, they are geniuses, and we should all bow to them.). Like the best content marketing out there, it wasn’t marketing at all. It was merely entertaining. 

It’s proof that quality is often worth the price tag – Granted this is HBO and not a small business — and sure there were probably number crunchers behind the scenes who didn’t understand why the network should pay an ensemble cast to say the word “Ahhhh” — but the bottom line is HBO ponied up the cash to have its highest paid actors en masse to put together some funny, quirky ad spots. HBO knows that their advertising money is better spent creating something compelling and innovative, and brand building that people will watch rather than something stock, forgettable, and clichéd that people will skip. This goes for most businesses. Save where you can, but spend when it matters.

I will never hear the opening to an HBO show the same ever again, which is a goal all advertising campaigns should be so lucky to achieve.

Aubrey Collins is the director of marketing and communications at MediaTree, a supplier of branded digital entertainment cards. She fell in love with the promotional products industry in 2011 at her first PPAI Expo. She shares her perspective on everything from the industry, what parenting continues to teach her about business, to what marketing campaigns make her cry on her blog. Connect with her on Twitter or email her atacollins@mediatreegroup.com.