Robert McKee in Storynomics summarize’s GE’s brilliant story about “Owen.” The mega-company needed to hire thousands of new programmers, but wasn’t exactly known for big software development projects. They needed to grab programmers’ attention, and they needed to do it fast.
Enter fictional Owen. McKee tells the story about the story.
GE’s protagonist: a young graduate engineer who got a job at GE. The campaign “What’s the matter with Owen?” captures how Owen’s friends and family react to the news.
In one spot, his parents, excited that he’ll be working at GE, give him his grandfather’s sledgehammer. Owen has to explain that he won’t be building machines, he’ll be writing the code that lets them talk with one another.
In another, he shares news of his new job with the group of friends at a picnic table. Another friend announces that he is just taken a job at a fictional company called “Zazzies.” Zazzies offers an app where you put fruit hats and pictures of animals. His friends are big Zazzie fans and are thrilled and distracted by the second announcement. “I’ll be helping turbines power cities,” Owen protests. “I just put a turban on a cat,” his friend counters. “I can make hospitals run more efficiently,” Owen offers. “It’s not a competition,” a friend chimes in.
This is great stuff. Don’t be afraid of injecting humor into your marketing materials. Your readers don’t need a Laff Riot, but a touch of humor (or more, depending on the content), focuses positive attention.