Where Will AI Go Next?
I started a TikTok and Youtube Shorts channel for 2 things. First, I wanted a creative outlet for my obsession – golf. And second, I was interested in doing an educational experiment. I wanted to dive deeper into how TikTok and Youtube Shorts works.
It seems so different from my current social media platforms (Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn). These engagements are mostly based on my current connections/friends/followers. But with TikTok and Youtube Shorts, I’m having to rely on the algorithm that it assigns for my posts. Starting out with 0 followers or following, I put my content out there (2 times a day for 2 weeks) and watched what would happen.
Interestingly, my posts became pretty popular right away. I got a couple of posts with around 20,000+ views and a couple of 35,000+ views and even 135,000+ views…the rest were less than 1000. Mind you, these were perfect strangers and I have no idea where and how my posts got shown in their feed. Doing some more digging, it seems that the built-in AI would intelligently analyze my audience, their demographics, their retention rate, their likes, their comments, their shares, their saves, and determine if they should continue to show my content to more people or slow it down. The bottom line, they used AI to do all the work.
Last week, I received a couple of copyright violations from the PGA Tour. They didn’t like some of the b-roll videos I captured from their youtube. They shut down those posts right away and sent me an option to appeal their decision. I used a “Fair Use” copyright Act of 1976 disclaimer letting them know that I was using their media for teaching, researching, commenting, or news reporting purposes to appeal. They still rejected my appeal and removed my videos.
So, who are they? AI. Who found the violation on my content? AI.
The biggest takeaway from my simple experiment is: AI is at work. Doing exactly what it is programmed to do. So, what’s next? Where do we go from here?
In 1997, the chess computer Deep Blue (created by IBM) beat the reigning world champion Garry Kasparov. AI uses its raw processing power to analyze a number of possible positions far beyond the capabilities of human beings. It was able to look at 200 million positions per second.
Last year, AlphaZero, an AI developed by Google, took it to the next level. Instead of learning derived from human experience, it played itself over and over, reinventing the history of chess through millions of self-played games and learning the behavior and patterns that led to a win. It no longer plays like a typical AI doing what it’s programmed to do – it started to play more like a human. It’s learning very analogously to how humans learn, and it’s able to do it much quicker and much better. The AI approach to the game is starting to border on creativity and intuition.
So, what’s next for AI? No one really knows for sure. The technology is moving forward, but hopefully, we are also moving with caution. When Kasparov lost his second chess match against the IBM Deep Blue, he described the computer as playing “like a god for one moment.” Afterward, he said, “I’m a human being. When I see something that is well beyond my understanding, I am afraid.”
For me, I embrace the challenge. I am excited about the future and the opportunities that it will bring. I am excited about the technology and the solutions that it will provide. I am excited to learn more and grow in the education and experimentation of it all.
But most of all, I am excited to see how it can help me get more views and engagement on my golf TikTok and Youtube Shorts channel.
What ChatGPT Cannot Do
For the last couple of weeks. I’ve introduced you to ChatGPT and the awesome technology that really can make our lives easier. Check out what it is here and how it can help you here.
But have you ever wondered what ChatGPT or any other AI currently available are NOT able to do?
I thought about this for a long time and tried to dig deep and reflect on my own life. The pivotal moments that changed the course of my life, as well as the aha moments that motivated me into action. There were heartbreaking moments that brought me to my knees and moments of complete failure that strengthened the core of my being. There were dark moments of pain that broke me. These sacred and intimate moments of my life wrapped together to define me in some way.
And I get to share all that through a story. Stories are what separates ChatGPT from humans. They don’t have any stories to tell. I guess they can make one up…but they don’t have a story to tell that’s deep, personal or life-altering. Because, they’re not us. You are the only you. I am the only me.
I talk a lot about marketing because I have a marketing company. And I believe the core of all marketing is storytelling. We do what we do because there’s a story to tell. And stories connect us on an emotional level, which is ultimately what creates a sense of loyalty to a brand. Stories communicate our value, our mission and even our purpose in a way that resonates with other human beings. It’s our own personal stories that we get to tell. It’s personal, and it’s beautiful.
One of my biggest rules in communication is: “You have to mean the words.” No matter how accurately AI can mimic us, they can’t mean it. They can’t even truly understand what “meaning” means – that’s what makes us human.
So, take that ChatGPT. I know it’s not a competition but it’s good to know what we can truly offer our customers in a very genuine way. Our stories.
That’s my story. I meant every word.
Let’s Do A ChatGPT Marketing Experiment
Do you remember what I said about ChatGPT last week? Specifically, I asked ChatGPT whether or not they plan to overthrow humans, and ChatGPT assured me, “AI technology can create amazing opportunities, enhance productivity and free up humans to do more complex and creative tasks that require critical thinking.”
Okay, that sounds pretty good. So, let’s test it out. What can it really do for me? Especially when it comes to marketing for my business?
First, you have to understand ChatGPT responses. If you ask a generic question, it will give you a generic answer. It kinda goes by your vibe. So, the key to getting the results that you are looking for is to be as specific as you can, down to the intricate detail. It’s all about the prompts.
So, let’s try our very first experiment. First, go to https://chat.openai.com and create an account. Then, on the blank field below where it says “Send a message…” write out this prompt:
“I want you to act like an analyst/auditor. I want you to perform an analysis of <Your Brand> with the following top 5 competitors <Competitors>. I need you to assess the difference and similarities between <Your Brand> and <Competitors>. I need you to focus on pricing, market position, branding and messaging. Research the difference and similarities. Present all the information in a detailed report that includes charts, graphs, and tables. Based on all the information, let me know how <Your Brand> can improve and actionable steps we can take to make <Your Brand> better than <Competitors>.
You’ll be blown away by the result. Make sure you keep hitting the “Please Continue” option on the upper right corner, and it’ll keep expanding and diving deeper.
Let’s now try this one.
“I want you to act like a social media manager. I need you to create a social media post for the following platforms <platforms>. This post needs to promote <Your Brand> and it needs to highlight our competitive edge. I need you to focus on making it aesthetically pleasing, on brand, eye-catching, and a little click-baited. I need you to capture the attention of current followers and new ones. I want this post to be creative, unique, and have some witty fun. Include the appropriate hashtags so that the post gets visibility. Also based on this post, I want you to create a content calendar with the same parameters. I need 5 posts per week for a month. All the posts should utilize varying verticals.”
I just tried out this prompt for BOS Media Group and I was pleasantly surprised.
So, there you go. I hope this sparks many more ideas for your prompts as you continue to utilize AI technology to create amazing opportunities, enhance productivity and free up yourself to do more complex and creative tasks that require critical thinking.
If that last sentence sounds familiar, it’s because I gave Hanju the rest of the day off. Don’t worry, BOS Media is in good hands.
Let’s Chat About ChatGPT
By now, you’ve probably heard some chat around the water cooler, or around the dinner table, or just in casual conversations about ChatGPT.
The way I heard it was from someone I met at a party who is doing his PhD and currently working as a TA grading papers for his 70+ students. He said due to the large class size, he doesn’t know the students and their writing styles well, so he’s grading them solely on the paper’s insightfulness, creativity and how the students address, understands and provides solutions for underlying issues….as how every paper should be graded.
The problem is that he predicts around 30% of the papers turned in are written by AI. And the bigger problem is that he cannot tell which is written by AI and which is written by the student. It’s just not possible to tell anymore.
Crazy, right? Let’s step back for a minute and start from the very beginning. What is ChatGPT?
ChatGPT is an advanced language model developed by OpenAI, which is a type of artificial intelligence (AI) that can have conversations with users. It uses deep learning techniques and is trained on a large amount of text data from the internet. Just like talking to a friend, you can input questions or prompts, and ChatGPT generates responses in real-time. It’s often used in applications like chatbots, virtual assistants, and customer service agents. ChatGPT can provide helpful and contextually relevant answers, making it a powerful tool for interactive conversations and communication tasks.
See that paragraph I just wrote about ChatGPT? I didn’t write it. Hahaha. I asked ChatGPT to write it for me. In fact, when I asked ChatGPT to tell me about ChatGPT, it gave me 7 detailed paragraphs. That was way too long, so I told ChatGPT to condense it to 1 paragraph and that was the end result. Oh, and I also told it to answer it like I was in 8th grade because the initial result got too technical. Not bad right? PLUS one more thing I haven’t tried yet, but if you have a certain style of writing, I heard you can actually train it to start sounding like you.
I’m not gonna lie, this new technology I am learning about got me a bit excited, a lot curious and even somewhat concerned. How will it reshape the digital marketing world? How will it reshape content creation? How will it reshape our jobs or businesses? How will it reshape our day-to-day tasks? How will it reshape society? I have so many questions.
Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI even warned that the technology comes with real dangers as well. He said “We’ve got to be careful here, I think people should be happy that we are a little bit scared of this, but despite the dangers, it could also be the greatest technology humanity has yet developed.”
But here’s the thing: I just asked ChatGPT if they are taking over humans and it assured me that AI technology can create amazing opportunities, enhance productivity and free up humans to do more complex and creative tasks that require critical thinking. Oh good. I am relieved.
I would love to dive deeper into ChatGPT and discuss more on how we can use this technology to be used as a valuable tool for us. Let’s discuss more on what it can do to help save us time, effort, in streamlining our tasks and providing convenience in our personal and professional life.
Stay tuned!
Here’s Your Challenge
| Finally, the day you’ve all been waiting for. (Right?) This is the finale of our recent series and there’s a CALL TO ACTION that I’ve been hinting to you about. For those of you reading this for the first time, here’s a quick summary. We’ve been talking about the psychology of success and happiness and I’ve shared some insights on…
And as promised, here’s the challenge… taking all those theoretical concepts and putting them into action! But before I get into the details, a few thoughts on why you should take on this challenge. If you are like most people, you’ve started many things to get from point A to point B but quit in the process. For example, “I want to lose weight so I will start a diet.” You quit because it got too hard when someone suggested beer/pizza/ice cream night. Another example: “I want to wake up early and start every morning with a good run.” One day it rains and your 5-day streak is broken and now you can’t even remember where your running shoes are. Or, how about this one? “I am going to journal everyday.” But you realized your drawer is full of colorful journals that are 1/4 way filled and the rest are blank pages. You somewhere, somehow, stopped and never went back to finish it. Most people lack the discipline and willpower to do what they set out to do. Most people don’t do what they say they are going to do. Most people don’t execute consistently. But imagine this: what would it be worth to you if you could create within yourself the following skills to get it done?
Read those bullet points again and think to yourself, what kind of a person would I be if I had all these skills in my life? Well, you know what these skills will equal? They equal MENTAL TOUGHNESS. I believe if you possess these skills in your life, you will be on your way to living bigger. Guaranteed! So, here’s the million-dollar question. How do I possess these skills in my life? Answer: Do hard things. What hard things? These specific hard things. For 75 straight days. Follow this program. Zero deviations, zero compromises. You cannot tailor this program to your liking or to your convenience. You have to follow it. And if you miss a day or miss a minute, you have to start over from day 1. Cool? Cool. The 75 Hard Challenge was created in 2019 by entrepreneur Andy Frisella, a podcaster and CEO of the supplement company 1st Phorm. 75 Hard is not a trendy fitness challenge, but a “transformative mental toughness program.” This will be the hardest thing you’ve ever done and once you complete it, you’ll say to yourself, this is the greatest thing I have ever done. But before you jump in and begin, listen to this podcast describing the program and what you are getting yourself into and once you make your decision to start, go to this page and sign up. There are hundreds and thousands of people doing it with you. You can also hashtag #75hard and hear their stories, their challenges, their questions, and even their answers. Why are we doing this? Because in order to gain the skills of mental toughness, you have to intentionally put yourself in uncomfortable places. 75 days, 0 deviations, 0 compromises, 100% pure awesomeness. Are you ready? 75 Hard Challenge:
Okay, are you ready for this? This is not the next thing…this is THE thing. Reply back and let me know you are in! |
Do Hard Things
Okay, okay, I get it. If you’ve been following our latest series, it’s filled with a lot of advice that’s easy to say or write about, but a little tougher to live out.
“The secret sauce of being awesome is Believing.” You’ve got to have confidence, you must believe in yourself, also expect great things, and for heaven sake, get out of suckville…blah blah blah. That all sounds good, but how do you do it?
How in the world do you gain that confidence? Do you just wake up one day and say, “I got this”? Do you just walk out the front door thinking, “I am awesome”? Do you put on a cape, fly out the window and save the world through the sheer force of your belief?
Well, maybe some of you can. But for me, it takes a lot of convincing. I’ve always struggled with low self-esteem and self-doubt, and in a constant battle in my head trying to overcome my own limiting beliefs… I guess I’ve always been a mess. Something had to change.
Just recently I shared this story about my triumphant and courageous exit from a previous job that almost destroyed my soul (just being over-dramatic here). But what I didn’t share was what happened after. I was starting my career all over in a new place. I had to rebuild a network and establish credibility with people who didn’t know or care about what I had done in the past. Looking back, it was one of the most challenging times of my life. I needed a breakthrough. Bad.
In the midst of feeling sorry for myself, I was helping my brother-in-law find a new office manager for his architectural firm and I came across a resume. Something jumped out at me. Like it was screaming at me. On the Extracurricular section of her resume, she wrote: LA Marathon, Boston Marathon…and immediately I thought to myself: he needs to hire her, because…if she can run a marathon, if she can overcome the agonizing pain of 26.2 miles and if she can withstand the mental and emotional challenges of everything that requires…SHE CAN DO ANYTHING!
And Bingo. That’s just the epiphany I needed for myself. For my own breakthrough, I needed to do hard things.
I needed to run a marathon.
Mind you, I’d never run more than 3 miles before in my life. But, I printed out the training schedule and followed it everyday. I slowly worked my way up to being able to run 20 miles without stopping. Some runs were in the heat of summer, but I was determined. This was my breakthrough moment, and when the day arrived, I was ready. I couldn’t believe it.
I remember vividly, March 6, 2005, LA Marathon XX. I’ll never forget getting to mile 20 and thinking there is no possible way I could finish. I was physically and mentally exhausted. Everything hurt. But weirdly, something deep within me didn’t want to give up. So I looked down at my feet and just concentrated on putting my one foot past the other….over and over again until I eventually saw a glimpse of the finish line. Then I remember running past the finish line with both of my hands high in the air, tears streaming down my face, thinking to myself, “I did it! I did it!”
There was still something about this accomplishment that I didn’t quite understand. Yes, it was empowering. And yes, it was a physical and mental victory. And yes, it was a way of overcoming my own doubts and fears. But back to the resume that gave me the original epiphany – what I remember most about that moment was thinking to myself, “I just ran a marathon – I CAN DO ANYTHING!”
How do you gain confidence? How do you learn to believe? How do you expect great things? Do hard things. Keep doing hard things. Keep breaking your own barriers. Keep surprising yourself. For me, since then, I’ve ran (7) full marathons, (2) 200 mile relays and over 50 half marathons. I want to keep doing hard things….I want to be addicted to doing hard things.
Are you with me? Our series comes to an end next week, and we can’t just end the series without a Call to Action, right? So, I’ll be introducing an awesome challenge that we can all do together. It will help us grow. It will help us out of suckville, it will help us beam with belief and confidence…we are gonna do hard things together. Are you ready?
Can’t wait to share more next week!
The Secret Sauce Of Success
If reading the subject line inspired you to open this email as fast as possible, you probably have just one question burning in your mind: “What is the secret sauce of success??”
What if I told you the answer could be encapsulated in one word with seven letters?
BELIEVE.
Why is believing so important? I am glad you asked. But first, a story.
When I was in high school playing on the golf team, a new superstar joined our team midseason. We lived on the same street and we became awesome friends!! I was still struggling with my game at the time but he wasn’t. He’d been playing since he could walk – his dad was a pro at the golf course that they owned, and he lived, loved, and breathed golf…and on top of that, he was just super talented.
What intrigued me most about his game wasn’t his ability to hit it long or his perfect follow through or even his incredible good looks. But, what I remember to this very day is his confidence on the course. For instance, a 10-foot putt on the last hole to win the match? No problem. Right in the center of the cup. During our high school tournament on hole number 1, driving a fairway with a lake on the left while our entire team, their entire team, and the coaches were watching, he would blast one out there…right down the middle…long and straight…with so much sureness. Me? On that hole? During that tournament? I put 2 balls in the water.
So, what did he have that I didn’t? Well, for one, he had CONFIDENCE. He believed in himself. He believed that he had the ability to do what was set before him and he believed that he had the ability to do it well.
A renowned behavioral geneticist named Robert Plomin did a study 20 years ago. He took 15,000 sets of twins and followed them from birth into adulthood. In light of their identical DNA, he wanted to take a closer look at the element of confidence. So the twins had been given a standard IQ test at age seven and again at age nine. They were also tested academically in math, writing and science. Then, they were asked to rate how confident they were about each of the subjects. After much cross-referencing by the research team, they were surprised by their finding.
So, what did they find?
The students’ self-perceived ability was a significant predictor of achievement. It was even more important than their IQ. What? Our perceived ability and our realistic sense of feeling secure actually overrides our IQ. It doesn’t matter how smart you really are…it doesn’t matter how great and talented you are…it’s the fact that you believe in yourself that helps you achieve success.
So, knowing the importance of “BELIEVE,” how do I learn to start believing in myself? I would love to give you some of my thoughts on how we can achieve the confidence to expand a bit more on our series this month. So, stay tuned.
If you haven’t been following, we are talking about the mental/psychology of success and happiness. Here are the last two topics that we addressed:
We can be our own biggest cheerleaders or our biggest critics. It’s not just about “thinking positive” – your level of belief is a real thing that is either helping you or hurting you right now. And the difference between the two will make all the difference in the world.
Don’t stop believin!!
When A Joy Becomes A Burden
Let me know if you can relate.
At some point in your entrepreneur journey, or somewhere in your professional career path, you lose the joy of it all. I mean like gone. Like you can barely get out of bed to go to work, and once you get enough courage to get in the shower, you stand still with your head down with the water coming down over your face and you can’t muster up any energy to even give a crap. Maybe not to that extreme, but I think it happens to everyone. And, there’s nothing you can do to prevent it from happening. I know this because it happened to me.
For 15 straight years into my career, everything went right. I was told by Tim (our VP of Human Resources) that in all of his experience, he’s never seen anyone like me advance so rapidly in an organization. I went from an Intro Design Engineer to a Mid Manager to an Upper Managing Position with a nice big office and a personal secretary. That was the dream back then. So, was I ecstatic? No. My wife would say to me, “I think you are slowly dying inside.” And she was right.
According to Dr. Bhrett McCabe, author of Break Free from Suckville, there are 3 phases that lead you to Suckville. And for reference, Suckville is where people get stuck. For athletes, they stop winning. For creatives, they stop creating. And for all of us, it is a place where we no longer find any joy, motivation nor purpose in what we are doing. So, how did we get here?
Phase 1: Joy. When it was fun. Do you remember when you were learning something new? Learning a sport, learning how to paint, learning a new video game, learning how to build. You couldn’t be stopped. You didn’t mind spending extra hours to figure it out. Especially if you found yourself being good at it. Mastering the skill was exhilarating and the winning was just the icing on the cake. I can do this forever. During this phase, hard work produces proportional results. The pursuit of competence and the mastery in your craft drives your focus.
Phase 2: Job. Then it becomes a job. Good things come to an end. Joy dims. Entitlements begin to foster during this phase. Expectations start to emerge. Over time, the rewards lose their shine. You want more. The relationship you had with your craft while you were learning it changes. Practice becomes a task rather than a training ground to keep improving. Mistakes become magnified. People’s feedback becomes a personal attack.
Phase 3: Burden. Now, it’s a burden. When does this happen? It occurs when the rewards you receive from doing what you used to love to do no longer outweigh the sacrifices you must make to perform at your best. You start to focus more on the struggles rather than the benefits that it used to bring. What started as fun has broken you down with disappointment, frustration, and exhaustion. Your performances no longer validate your worth.
But, here’s the good news. Suckville is a temporary place. It’s where you stay for a bit to regroup, refocus and recalibrate. It’s a place where you learn to see from a different perspective, learn to be grateful about the process, and learn to persevere. It’s where you break free, where you understand more of who you are, what you are made of and what you are willing to do to escape. It’s where you reach deep into your soul and say to yourself, I got this. I want to live. I want to find joy again.
For me, it took a courageous decision to write out my resignation and quit at the top of my game knowing it was a game I didn’t want to play anymore. And I started again from the bottom in a new place, in a new role, finding joy in learning..mastering a new skill with exhilaration and focus. That’s where I am today. Am I in fear of phase 2 and phase 3 around the corner? Not as much as before. Seems like it’s easier the second time around. Bring it on, haha. And how will it be different next time around? Well, for one, I am doing a lot of work within. I am learning to be mentally tough and learning to be more aware of and staying in the phase I am in now.
I would love to hear your story as well. We are all in this together. Right? Email me back. Let’s chat.
How Not To Suck
Here’s an interesting thought. Picture an elite athlete who has reached the pinnacle of his or her success. They’ve accomplished the feat that most humans can’t even imagine to dream. Wouldn’t you think they’d now be completely free from the fear of failing, the sting of criticism and judgment, and ultimately have the power to rise above all the annoying hassles of life?
I mean, shouldn’t their continuous success and legendary status erase all doubt? Well, not according to a study that was done. Even with the fame and fortune that come with being a champion in their sport, success does not create happiness. The research and evidence suggest that even an Olympic gold medal does not protect you from the struggle.
Let’s deep dive into the research done in 1995 by a group of nerdy psychologists led by Thomas Gilvovich from Cornell University. They specifically studied silver medal winners vs. bronze medal winners. Surprisingly enough, the bronze medal winner appeared happier than those winning the silver. What the what? Why? It doesn’t make any sense.
The answer? One word. Expectations.
For Olympic athletes, they start off with such a low probability of winning a gold in an event that only happens once every four years, leading to life-changing possibilities… and added pressure. So for silver medalists, it means you lost to the winner. You are not the best, but the second best. You are the most successful loser.
Can you imagine missing the gold by .005 seconds? Feeling like just one more rep, one more hour of work, one less indulgent in-and-out double double with cheese fries could have made the difference. It can be devastating and hard to accept second place and move on without torturing yourself with “if only I could have…”
But for the bronze medalist? You are walking away with something. You get to stand on the podium. While you missed the ultimate goal of winning, the struggle to get there was worth it. Why? Expectations.
I am starting a new series this month. Let’s discuss and unpack the mental/psychology of success and happiness. Let’s look at high achievers and the rise and fall of highly motivated individuals with huge expectations of themselves. And for funzies, let’s do a challenge at the end of the series to help us do hard things and grow.
If you are asking what does this have to do with Marketing, Entrepreneurship, Business…etc…my answer to that is, everything. It all starts with you, so let’s all grow and learn together this month.
Back to managing our expectations. I believe there’s a way to set healthy, realistic and specifically-tailored goals that won’t lead to disappointment or frustration but keeps us challenged and motivated. It could be us directing our attention to process rather than outcome; it could be learning to embrace our failures; it could be practicing self-compassion and/or seeking support and help.
Please be ready to share your own thoughts and any wisdom you’ve found through the struggles – we’re all in this together! Not to overhype it, but this could end up being the beginning of the most important month of our lives. Or maybe to set the right expectations, let’s try to make it the 3rd most important month of our lives and be happy with that.
What Would You Say About Your Business In 60 Seconds?
Are you one of those people who fast-forward through commercials? I live with a person who does that (I won’t mention any names). But this person also listens to podcasts or YouTube videos at 1.5x or 2.0x the normal speed. She just wants the facts and she wants them as soon as possible.
But, back to commercials. If it’s a commercial I haven’t seen before or a commercial I want to see again, I’ll take over the remote and watch it like a normal show or a movie…with my full emotional attention and at the normal speed that it was intended to be experienced. But why such an obsession with watching commercials? Let’s think about that for a second.
If you were given an unlimited amount of money to spend and allowed 60 seconds to tell a story about your business that could influence behavior or create an emotional connection with your audience, what would you do?
I’ll tell you what I would do. I would first gather the most creative people I know. We would spend hours and hours defining the objective. Once that’s set, we would start brainstorming some outside-the-box ideas. Then, we would develop a script and create a storyboard along with other visual aids to help communicate the concept. We would then pitch the concept to everyone we know to make sure it aligns with our vision, brand, and goal. We would continue to revise and tweak the idea, and that would lead to even more ideas. This would go on and on until everyone is in agreement. Not only in agreement but beyond excited about the project.
Then the real work begins. Let’s talk about pre-production which includes selecting a location, casting actors or spokespersons, scheduling..yada yada yada. Then the actual production where we start filming. Lights, camera…action!! Now the post-production, where everything comes together…finalizing the commercial, adding the music, sounds, and special effects. Then finally, the distribution to our target audience through different platforms – TV, streaming video, social media, and all advertising channels. Are you exhausted?
What’s my point? The point is that thousands of hours were spent crafting this perfect idea and millions of dollars were spent making it and distributing it. And if all that time, money, and energy were condensed into a magical 60 seconds, do you think it’ll be good? It better be. It better be the most thought-provoking 60 seconds of my life. And it better make me cry! When that happens, I am not going to miss it nor watch it at 1.5x the speed. I am going to grab my popcorn, sit in my comfy chair with my fuzzy socks and give it my complete focus, with a Kleenex box on my lap.
Well, obviously, not every commercial will live up to that standard, no matter how much money they spent or the effort they put in. But once in a while, one will rise up and win my heart. And if you are following the “My Favorite” series this month, I am pleased to announce my Favorite Commercial of the Year – I love it so much that it’s earned this award two years in a row.
Here’s the Toyota Super Bowl Commercial.
You might be wondering… “What does this have to do with Toyota??” That’s actually the part I like the most.
At BOS Media, we always say the best marketing is about MAKING SOMEONE ELSE THE HERO. People don’t connect with companies who talk about how great they are – the key is for your customers to feel like they’re the great ones.
The commercial ends with the line: “We believe there is hope and strength in all of us.” That’s the message Toyota spent all that time and effort to deliver in their 60 seconds. This is bigger than a marketing slogan – it’s a true story, and ultimately it’s the reason we’re talking about Toyota for two years in a row.
Here’s to finding a story that will touch the hearts of our customers and help them be the hero in 2023. “It might not be easy, but it’ll be amazing.”
