By Alan Coleman on 9 May 2014
We all know videos are pretty much the bee’s knees, the cat’s pyjama’s, and other weird sayings that make little sense to me. But the difference between having a really great video and a pretty bland one is quite simple: the story, or, lack thereof. In fact the key to any kind of great creative campaign is a story. During last year’s amazing sunny summer, one rather fragile afternoon took me to The Zoo, where I was promised that the fresh air and a 99 would cure what ails me. Whilst rambling through the African planes, my bleary eyes and hazy brain spotted a unicorn off in the distance. This sighting then whisked my thoughts off to when I was a young’un being told bedtime stories about unicorns and other magical things. Right now you’re probably thinking; what in the actual f-word has this got to do with anything. Follow me to the next paragraph and you’ll see. 
Stories are Magic
Story telling is at the heart of everything. It's magic, and we as a species are addicted to it. It’s engrained in us from our youth; our parents read us stories from the very moment we can hold any kind of attention. It’s why my brain made out a unicorn off in the distance. My childhood imagination brought me there, and the key to storytelling is imagination. If you can imagine yourself in a situation, your emotions will become radically more real. And if that emotion can be attached to a brand in your campaign, it's an incredibly powerful tool. Companies like Apple and Coca Cola are the masters when it comes to this story-telling method of advertising. They don’t just describe their products to you; their story telling makes us see how our lives would be with their products in it. –Bloody excellent, or so they’ll have us believe. 
A Simple Rule
To tell a great story in your video or campaign, just remember this one simple thing: In the particular lies the universal. –James Joyce. There are pretty much only six basic human emotions, happy, sad, afraid, surprised, angry and disgusted. We all experience the same emotions, and for the most part, we all have very similar experiences. Drawing from your own particular experiences will appeal to the greater audience. Get personal and your audience will happily go along with you. There’s a great quote from East of Eden that goes: “If a story is not about the hearer, he will not listen…” Talk to your audience about your audience. They don’t really care about you. They want to know how you can make their life better or easier. Tell them a story. About a unicorn… or maybe not. But just tell them a story, ok guys. Oh, it turned out that unicorn at The Zoo was just a good-looking rhino. But you too can see a mystical creature with the right margarita / ice-cream combo.
