US Mint advertising

[nwcs]

Anyone see the US Mint advertising campaign this weekend? If so, what did you think of it? I thought it was a good idea but way too short.

 

The ad was basically a parody of pharmaceutical commercials with the cure for numismatics being the US Mint.

[Zoins]

I just saw it

.

 

They are right in that coins are "extremely habit forming."

[BillJones]

My wife thinks that ad makes us look like fools or perhaps people with a mental disorder. I agree. I think it presents a rather silly image of the hobby.

[Revenant]

My wife thinks that ad makes us look like fools or perhaps people with a mental disorder. I agree. I think it presents a rather silly image of the hobby.

 

That was always my general impression of the ad. I also felt like I was being talked down to based on the guy's tone of voice.

 

That and modern U.S. Mint releases are not the equal to what was made some decades ago.

[Keleum]

What kind of commercials should the mint do? Are they planning to do something to promote circ coins, like the new dollar.

[mazorj-migration]

That's a reprise of a similar theme they had a while ago on TV. It was okay/cute the first time as an attention-getter, but now they need to move on the next marketing phase. They're trying to promote the concept of collecting but that diffuses the focus away from the mint. There are far more existing coins being collected and traded than what's in the mint catalog at any given moment. It's like trying to get people to buy a new Ford by promoting the concept of driving. They need to do more to promote their specific products.

 

You can do both at the same time. Imagine a scene where a kid excitedly helps grandpa open the latest arrival from the mint - lots of wide-eyed anticipation and smiles for the emotional hook. You first set the scene with the child and adult placing the order on the mint website to emphasize how easy it is to get their products. ("So easy, a child could do it!") Be sure to show actual products on the computer screen as they are being sent to the shopping cart. Cut to the kid running in with a package from the mailbox, and then as it's being opened, show plenty of close-ups of the ordered products to showcase them again. Add some quick cuts of "collector activity" - examining with a magnifier, inserting coins into folders, etc. and voila! you've promoted both the hobby and the mint's offerings.

 

Hokey? Sure, but that's what sells stuff. I have plenty more ideas, but someone is going to have to pony up some cash if they want them.

 

 

 

 

 

[nwcs]

The positive thing I take away is that they are actually promoting the hobby. Even though it's a silly ad, it can have a nice positive impact.

[pendragon1998]

My wife thinks that ad makes us look like fools or perhaps people with a mental disorder. I agree. I think it presents a rather silly image of the hobby.

 

That was always my general impression of the ad. I also felt like I was being talked down to based on the guy's tone of voice.

 

That and modern U.S. Mint releases are not the equal to what was made some decades ago.

 

That's absolutely true - I hate those ads.

 

They should take a page from coffee commercials - they don't advertise that their product is the solution for people who drag themselves out of bed like hungover groundhogs - nor do they promote the fact that their product is beloved by the jittery, overworked office worker with the caffeine-withdrawl shakes. They make their product look luscious and yummy.

 

Why doesn't the mint emphasize the decadent nature of gold, silver, and platinum like the jewelery commercials? Or point out the patriotic, historical themes of much of our coinage?

 

As it is, the mint's ads make us look like nerds needing a Star Trek fix (and I am a nerd who needs an occasional Star Trek fix, so I know how bad that can look)

[bsshog40]

There are alot of these commercials out lately. More than I have seen in the past years by far. I think it's another way of advertising to people to take the time to look at your coins. We have had quite a few changes in coins and currency in the last 8 years. I think it's just a reminder to get familiar with money again. I passed off a Sac at a store the other day and the cashier had to examine the coin to see what it was. This is a dollar that's been around for 8 years. There are alot of people just not that much aware of the changes in our money. The mint, I beleive is just trying to heighten peoples awareness. JMO

[mazorj-migration]

My wife thinks that ad makes us look like fools or perhaps people with a mental disorder. I agree. I think it presents a rather silly image of the hobby.

 

That was always my general impression of the ad. I also felt like I was being talked down to based on the guy's tone of voice.

 

That and modern U.S. Mint releases are not the equal to what was made some decades ago.

 

That's absolutely true - I hate those ads.

 

They should take a page from coffee commercials - they don't advertise that their product is the solution for people who drag themselves out of bed like hungover groundhogs - nor do they promote the fact that their product is beloved by the jittery, overworked office worker with the caffeine-withdrawl shakes. They make their product look luscious and yummy.

 

Why doesn't the mint emphasize the decadent nature of gold, silver, and platinum like the jewelery commercials? Or point out the patriotic, historical themes of much of our coinage?

 

As it is, the mint's ads make us look like nerds needing a Star Trek fix (and I am a nerd who needs an occasional Star Trek fix, so I know how bad that can look)

 

 

Right on!

 

 

Part of the problem is that bureaucrats almost always are uncomfortable, and feel both real and imagined constrictions, when it comes to advertising. They don't want to offend anyone, which rules out edgy or really focused ads that might work. OTOH, they have come to realize that the hokey ads and public service announcements of earlier eras - like the 1950s classics on "Duck and Cover" and combatting urban blight - are so laughable that they are immediately consigned to the viewer's YGBSM* file. So my guess is that in this one, they wanted to get away from the blatantly hokey and the ad agency sold them on the "slightly absurdist" genre of ad that has worked very well elsewhere but is not very effective for the mint.

 

* For purposes of spooning the site's net nanny, YGBSM means "You've got to be spoofing me."

 

 

[Zoins]

At least we know what the US Mint thinks of ultra-modern NCLT collectors!