Today we delve a little deeper into Metlife’s ad, My Dad’s Story: Dream for my Child to understand the significance of emotional storytelling and the impact it can hold on the audience.
Watch the ad here!
Brief.
Keeping in mind the brand’s vision to “navigate life together,” Metlife has always been mindful in how they reflect this value in effect without being too preachy.
In the words of Ralph Brunner, Chief Marketing Officer for MetLife in Asia, “’My Dad’s Story’ demonstrates MetLife’s deep empathy for parents who make tremendous sacrifices to ensure a bright future for their children.”
Narrative.
Any of us who keeps up with the advertising industry knows now that Thai life insurance commercials are synonymous with evoking emotions that leave you sobbing and contemplating about life for a long time after; and MetLife did not hold back in this campaign to deliver precisely this.
Never outright selling its policy but instead underlining the little gestures that make life beautiful, with this ad, the brand continued to stand tall by its reputation of weaving a narrative so emotionally impactful and relatable that almost a decade later, the message still resonates with us.
Direction.
Directed by the same mastermind who was behind award-winning ads, Unsung Hero and Giving, My Dad’s Story is the work of Thanonchai Sornsriwichai. This ad does not break out of Sornsriwichai’s widely recognised pattern of reaching his audience through mere detail and mundanity of life, as is evident by the familial relationships built and the tenderness with which they are handled.
Here are Sornsriwichai's other award-winning ads:
Do you see the pattern?
Impact.
This ad triggered a tidal wave of interest in the audience and reached over 300 million people. The video was shared nearly 1.5 million times on social media, finishing 11th place in the global ranking and making it the top-performing social media campaign in the history of the life insurance industry. It is also one of the most shared ads of 2015.. Many people have also done reaction videos on this ad, expressing their deepest compassion for the same. A largely successful commercial, indeed!
Tout ensemble, My Dad’s Story: Dream for my Child remains an iconic ad we all remember fondly!