The Domino Effect
A ‘Domino Effect’ is a widely used metaphor for a chain reaction caused by one event that produces a series of continous actions until the last piece falls into place or is knocked down. The metaphoric analogy can be used to convey either a negative or a positive message.
Depicted as a positive visual metaphor it can be a compelling way to communicate a progressive brand proposition or a call to action.
1. Dove and Twitter, Dominoes
The campaign is based on Dove’s research about self-esteem and social media. They found that women sent over 5million negative tweets about beauty and body image over a period of one year. Women are also 50 percent more likely to say something negative on social media about themselves than something positive.
As part of their #SpeakBeautiful campaign Dove teemed up with Twitter to launch a commercial about generating positive messages.
The SpeakBeautiful hashtag was used more than 168,000 times and the commercial generated 800 million social media impressions.
Some female sociologists thought however, that the campaign was invasive, condescending and patronising. A view clearly not shared by thousands upon thousands of women who were inspired by the message and felt it was personally uplifting.
2. Sony Bravia, Domino City
Advertising Agency: Bates141, Singapore
Directed by Nic Finlayson, this spectacular commercial was filmed on location in the Indian states of Rajastan and Uttar Pradesh. The soundtrack features original music composed by Song Zu, Singapore.
3. The New Original MINI, Chain Reaction
Advertising Agency: Heimat, Berlin
Directed by the Paris based Pleix Collective this commercial uses a domino effect as a compelling visual metaphor for the technological advancement of MINI through the ages to the point of a successful progression to creating ‘A New Original’.
4. Toyota Hybrid, Dominoes
Advertising Agency: DentsuBos, Canada
Directed by Michelle Dougherty with skillfully planned computer aided images, this commercial uses a visual metaphor of falling dominoes as an effective analogy to communicate the advantages of their hybrid automotive technology.
5. Honda Accord, The Cog
Advertising Agency: Wieden+Kennedy, London
Directed by Antoine Bardou-Jacquet, the commercial is regarded as one of the most groundbreaking and influential of recent years.
Rube Goldberg designed the installations and it took 606 takes before the perfect chain reaction outcome was finally achieved on film without any computer manipulation.
The commercial received more awards from the television and advertising industry than any commercial in the history of Advertising Communication.