A few days ago I wrote about Starbucks’ new advertising campaign. At least one of the new ads addresses the issue of price—warning that “paying less for your coffee comes with a price.” Since writing that I have noticed that a Stella Artois campaign makes a similar warning, “Perfection has its price.”
Starbucks' new ad campaign warns that cheaper coffee comes with a price.
A Stella Artois ad campaign that has been running for a few years claims that "perfection has its price."
As for the two approaches, I find the Starbucks ad to be much more effective. First of all, it is running in newspapers, and the headline is followed by a story of what separates them from their competition–with topics including their use of fair-trade beans. So, if the headline catches your eye, you can read on to find out why they claim that cheaper coffee has its price. And it actually makes me pause and consider paying $4 for a cup of coffee.
But the Stella ad is a billboard, so you only see the headline. The focus here, then, is on the “perfection” claim–a broad claim with nothing to substantiate it. It certainly doesn’t make me want to buy the beer. Rather, it only makes me wonder, “how much more expensive is the beer than its competitors?”
What do you think? Which campaign is more effective?
No related posts.
Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.
June 8th, 2009 at 6:49 pm
[...] Starbucks vs. Stella: Two beverage companies warn against paying less [...]