Ad of the Week: Mayo Clinic – Road Trip

This week, I chose an ad several team members sent to me as a possibility. And for good reason. It is emotional storytelling at it’s finest – simple, understated story arch, without shoehorning in a brand value proposition. The visuals and music tell a powerful story everyone can relate to, without a narrator or even any dialogue.

The spot is part of a series for the Mayo Clinic. Each spot revolves around the need for someone to get answers to a health issue and traveling to the Mayo clinic for answers. We don’t know what the medical issue is or the person’s backstory, yet each is a powerful telling of one of the scariest times in our lives.

Of all the spots, the one titled Mayo Clinic – Road Trip is the best. It’s a father and son traveling across the country to get to the Mayo clinic. Obviously one of them has a serious health issue. You can see it in their faces, in the fact they can’t sleep and go out for some one-on-one basketball in the middle of the night. You can feel the son’s anguish as they stop by a river bank and he screams into the wilderness. You’re not even sure which one of them has the health issue – other than perhaps the clue of the dad having a quick cough after their midnight basketball game.

Eventually they arrive at the Mayo clinic and we’re told in simple supers that “When it’s time to find answers, you know where to go.” Cut to Mayo Clinic logo. I love the simple way they let the story unfold for the viewer.  And as a parent who at one time was searching for answers no one could seem to find at the time, it really connected with me. I think most of us have someone in our lives who connects us to this story as well.

 

I hope you enjoyed it. If you have your own comment or a suggestion for a future ad of the week, drop us a line in the comment section or through our social media channels.

Mike McClure, always seeking good stories