GE's Own Fairytale "Love Story"

A little while ago, a curious commercial came on the television, interrupting my weekly ritualistic viewing of Lost. Normally, I’d simply pick up my TiVo remote and fast forward through the annoying ads, but something struck me about this 47 second spot. At the time, I couldn’t tell you what the ad was for, but almost 3 months later, this commercial has stuck with me.

This television commercial is for none other than GE’s Healthcare Re-Imagined Campaign. You wouldn’t know that, however, until the 41st second of this commercial. Instead of shamelessly plugging a product for over three quarters of a minute, GE opted to tell a simple love story with their time, creating a truly memorable advertisement.

GE’s ad has a definitive beginning, middle and end. Of course, it’s a straightforward and familiar story, but a complete story nonetheless. In the very beginning, the audience is introduced to a boy in what is assumed to be rural China. From here, we see a cliché story play out: Boy sees Girl. Girl sees Boy. Boy tries to impress Girl, but ends up hurting himself in the process.

But wait! There’s a twist to this story. In the end, Boy is treated by Girl in the local hospital, allowing for the star-crossed lovers-from-afar to finally unite. And, in the last few seconds, some plain text and a familiar voice over reminds the viewers that this happy ending is brought to you by GE’s Healthcare.

This commercial isn’t meant to show its audience the specific benefits of GE’s Healthcare. In fact, it says very little about medicine and medical treatment. Instead, it tries to have the audience feeling good by the time this advertising spot is over, making this a perfect example of affective marketing in action.

While attempting to create an ad that forges an emotional connection with its viewers, GE used some traditional Hollywood tricks to create a fake world that’s glossy and pristine. Both the boy and the girl are attractive people. They’re well groomed and well dressed. While their story plays out, soothing soft pop music plays in the background, providing the perfect soundtrack to what is a dreamy love story. Even the village that surrounds them is very clean and strangely American; from personal experience, I know that rural Chinese villages aren’t that picturesque. This is what many people want to see. They don’t want to watch footage of gritty Chinese life with average people and no back-up music. The pleasant stuff is what’s selling the emotion and ultimately selling GE.

In every way imaginable, GE is carefully crafting an image that Americans want to see. Not only is everything strangely perfect, but it supports many American stereotypes of Chinese life. From the outdoor wok food vendor to the out-of-place goat in the hospital, this commercial feeds its audience stereotypical images that Hollywood has shown the public many times before.

In both story and presentation, GE’s “Love Story” isn’t breaking any new ground. On the contrary, it relies on old, trusted forms of storytelling and a story that's part of America's master narrative. And yet, despite the tired subject material and compilation, this commercial still manages to make people from all sorts of backgrounds to let out a collective “Aww,” proving that these used themes are still effective. Viewers want to see a young, attractive couple fall in love. And if those viewers can associate young love with GE’s Healthcare, that’s all the better for General Electric.

In many ways, GE’s “Love Story” is a quintessential example of affective marketing. In 47 seconds, the viewer is supposed to bond with the couple, bond with their story and eventually bond with the brand that’s being sold. After watching the reactions of a number of people I’ve shared this commercial with, this ad seems to be hugely successful; I’ve yet to hear a negative response to GE’s feel-good marketing campaign.

In the coming months, it will be interesting to see if GE continues to sell their “Re-Imagined Healthcare” in a similar fashion. However, whether GE’s future ads succeed or fail, “Love Story” has already effectively created an emotion bridge with thousands of people around the globe. And, in 47 seconds, that’s a pretty amazing accomplishment.