Does humility sell?

Have you seen the new GM TV commercial?  They use images of people failing, falling down, losing.  You see Popeye sinking to the bottom of the ocean.  Evil Knievel crashing after a big jump.  You see the boys from Delta Tau Chi in "Animal House" down after getting kicked out of school by Dean Wormer.  Then, you see these people pick themselves up, (Popeye eats his spinach, for example) dust themselves off and turn things around.


Finally, at the end the graphic says, "We all fall down.  Thank you for helping us get back up."

My first reaction was that I was impressed with their humility.  The bailout of the auto companies was obviously a very tenuous situation.  Some say that this message might have been too little, too late.


Regardless of how you feel about GM overall, I think that this was the right way to go.  Earlier ads had GM CEO Ed Whitacre boasting that they had paid back their loan ahead of schedule.  This claim wasn't exactly true and caused a bit of a backlash for some.  This ad doesn't talk about the bailout per se.  It doesn't boast.  It doesn't even sell product.  It just shows images that we are all familiar with.  Our familiarity with these images gives us a positive feeling because we know how all these scenarios play out.  We know that Truman defeated Dewey, not the other way around.


So, when we get to the end of the commercial, (which is a :60, by the way) it has a "tugging at the heart strings" effect when they simply say, "Thanks."


I'm surprised that I haven't seen this commercial used more -- especially in this season of Thanksgiving.


Sometimes you don't have to sell a product.  Remember, advertising is about creating an emotion.  People make purchases -- especially automobile purchases -- based on emotion.


Think about your business.  What are you thankful for?  How can you use humility to create a positive emotional experience for your current and potential customers?


Nobody feels good about buying from someone who pounds their chest and says their the best.


Try being humble and see how it works.