In 1964 Volkswagen released an advert. It was called ‘Snowplough.’
It shows a man in big boots leaving this house. He trudges through the snow in the early morning darkness.
He gets into his Volkswagen car. The car starts immediately. The headlights beam. He drives smoothly through the treacherous conditions.
Then we hear a voiceover. It says…
“Have you ever wondered how the man who drives a snowplough drives to the snowplough? This one drives a Volkswagen. So you can stop wondering.”
The man gets out of his car. He gets into the snowplough. He starts the engine and drives off.
It was an advert that broke the traditional rules of car advertising.
The advert was simple. Nothing to distract from the main message.
The advert was clear. You knew exactly what the main message was. A Volkswagen is reliable.
The advert was differentiated. No other car advert was like it. It was distinct and memorable.
Why are we talking about this? Each year (well, we are onto our sixth year now…) we like to let you know about our year-end awards that break the rules. The Insight Traction Lions.
They are a set of awards that are firmly anchored in the real world.
A world that understands that shoppers spend much less time thinking about our categories and brands than we do. A world in which shoppers get bored much less quickly than we do. A world in which shoppers buy your product not your purpose.
Awards that honour simple, clear and differentiated shopper communication.
Simple. Communication that says less. That uses few words. Short words. Everyday language.
Clear. Communication that is really easy to process. That tells a shopper what a product is. What it does. Why it’s good.
Differentiated. Communication that is distinctive. That shoppers see, remember and can easily act on.
They are awards for brands that zig when everyone else is zagging.
We’ve been posting the winners on Linked In. You may have seen some of them. If not, here is a quick flavour…
There is Mr Muscle Drain Unblocker. They could have told shoppers a lot of things. It has a heavy duty gel formula. It works better than bleach. It’s fast acting. It’s safe for pipes. But they didn’t. Instead they just said, “cheaper than a plumber.” Simple and true.
There is Heinz. Up against a bunch of lower priced competitors. They could go down the rational value message route. But they haven’t. They’ve doubled down on a more emotional route. Saying things like “You know what beanz meanz.” or “It has to be Heinz.” Something that only they can say.
There is Colgate & Listerine. Teaming up to try to close the gap in oral care habits between what consumers should do and what they actually do. “Brush with toothpaste. For 2 minutes twice a day,” “Replace toothbrush. Every 3 months,” “Rinse with mouthwash. For 30 seconds.” Crystal clear.
There is Actimel. They never get bored of talking about “immune support.” Well, they probably do, but they carry on anyway. They know it’s the most important thing they can say. That they can keep saying. Every year they keep talking about immune support we will keep giving them an award.
There is Hendricks. Always daring to be different. In a Duty Free environment where everyone is shouting about price savings they offered something unique. The Hendricks watering can (inside is a normal bottle of Hendricks.) Creating a truly distinctive brand asset. Doing something only Hendricks could do. Exclusively in Duty Free.
So, another year. Another set of Insight Traction Lions.
Recognising simplicity, clarity and differentiation.
Recognising the brands that are prepared to zig when everyone else is zagging.
If you want to see all the winners, send an email to naomi@insight-traction.com and we’ll send you the full Insight Traction Lions deck.
In the meantime we wish you a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.
Speak to you in 2026.
Feel free to forward. Have a great weekend.