What can you learn from Intel’s new ads?

: Image by Getty Images via Daylife

Before I begin praising Intel’s new ads, let’s talk about the challenge they face:

How do you tell a brand story about something that is nearly impossible to see?

Our agency works with a number of technology companies and we frequently face the task of differentiating among similar technologies, products and services. This is an industry that has a serious addiction to speeds and feeds — everything is smaller, faster, lighter and better. Or it’s scalable, flexible and interoperable. (I cringe as I type this — I’ve used all of these words.) Basically, if you can add an “er” or “ble” to the end of a word, it’s a tech industry staple.

Just look at the words used to describe a new software launch by a recognized industry player: “Customers and partners worldwide are taking advantage of the power of choice, and deploying fast, flexible and affordable XXX solutions across on-premise, partner-hosted and XXX online deployment models.”

And it’s not Just the technology industry. John Furgurson at the Brand Insight Blog notes in a fantastic post that the golfing industry suffers from similar addictions.

That’s what makes Intel’s new advertising campaign so refreshing. In a recent commercial, they poke fun at the “smaller, better, faster” aspect, holding a press conference to introduce the world’s smallest chip – but someone has dropped it and caused everyone in the room to begin hunting as if looking for a lost contact lens.

In another commercial, an Intel engineer enters a coffee room and ripples of excitement roll across the other employees who suddenly find themselves sharing the room with greatness. The tagline is perfect: “Our rock stars aren’t like your rock stars.”

In both cases, Intel recognizes what makes it’s brand story different — how a usually unseen element (chips, engineers) can lead to greatness and strong customer benefits. And a little humor doesn’t hurt.