Direct response television advertisers should try animation, especially to communicate difficult or unexciting ideas.
Marla Hoskins, president of the Response Shop Inc., yesterday cited the case of freecreditreport.com, a company for which her agency recently ran a DRTV effort with stick figures drawn by noted animation studio Klasky and Csupo–the artists who drew the characters in the TV series “The Simpsons.”
“These studios all have commercial divisions,” she said.
The commercial drew more than 8,000 calls the first week it was on, and lifted response levels by 35% over the firm’s previous DRTV campaigns, Hoskins said.
Animation is much less expensive than using on-camera celebrities or voice-overs–which can cost anywhere from $50,000 to several hundred thousand dollars. Animation can also help spark interest in difficult to understand and “low interest” products or services like personal credit reports.
Response Shop tried animation using stick figures to try to soften the message: Some people may feel ashamed about their histories because they may show a pattern of bad credit. “The stick figure told the story in a safe environment.” Hoskins said.
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