Poetry In Motion

WHY COCA-COLA, UNDER ARMOUR AND MORE HAVE TAPPED POETS TO WRITE COPY FOR THEIR ADS. 

- Kristina Monllos

On Super Bowl Sunday, Coca- Cola debuted a new spot in the fourth quarter featuring an inclusive message in the form of an original poem for the brand by poet and Wieden + Kennedy copywriter Becca Wadlinger. Earlier this month, Microsoft rolled out a 60-second ad featuring Academy Award winner Common reciting a poem about the power and possibility of artificial intelligence. In August, A+E Networks unveiled a new brand campaign using an interactive film about storytelling and America with a poem by National Poetry Slam champion IN-Q. Those are just a few of the brands that have employed a burgeoning creative trend: using poetry to make a campaign stand out and give people a more personal connection to a brand.

”We are now seeing poetry used in commercial storytelling because viewers are wise to conventional advertising and are bombarded by it, so they have developed ways to filter it out,” said David Blackburn, an editor at postproduction house PS260. “Poetry is more entertaining than most ad copy , and viewers are inclined to respond to a lifestyle or feeling rather than a hard sell. They are also more open to subscribe to that brand when responding to the emotional and human connection brought about by a poem. ”