close
close

Calm’s silent TV ad on election night proves to be a big hit

Posted on by Pranco
Calm’s silent TV ad on election night proves to be a big hit

Calm’s silent TV ad on election night proves to be a big hit
The Calm app offers therapeutic sounds, music and stories. (Image courtesy, image from The Desk)

Mental fitness service Calm is being praised for a 30-second spot that ran on several channels during their election night, but had little to do with politics.

The spot, called “Ad Space of Silence,” featured just that: 30 seconds of total silence, which the company said was intended to give viewers of the election night coverage a mental break.

The spot was featured on a number of channels, including CNN, ABC News and Comedy Central, during their Election Night specials. It was not clear how much Calm spent on advertising inventory, but it proved to be highly effective, with viewers and advertising strategists praising the spot for showing decorum and humanity during what was otherwise a hectic night.

“We know that election day (and week) brings a lot of noise – from breaking news to election results and political ads,” a Calm spokesperson said in a statement. “We wanted to meet people where they were with a real-time moment of calm, through an unexpected 15- to 30-second silent ad break between updates and alerts.”

In an interview with trade magazine Business insiderAccording to Wharton School marketing professor Americus Reed, the spot was highly effective because consumers were met with the right message at the right time.

“It’s a very good idea to step in at a time when solving a problem with Calm’s value proposition will resonate with a large part of the country,” Reed said.

Will Poskett, the founder of strategy agency Defiant, told Adweek that the spot made Calm “the most culturally relevant brand of the election,” while Sol Marketing founder and CEO Deb Gabor said it “showed respect for humanity” during what was otherwise a contentious election cycle.

News viewers reacted accordingly.

“The Calm app buying 30 seconds of ad space for silence tonight is the best thing that happened tonight,” Tennessee resident Anthony Heggie wrote on Xthe platform formerly known as Twitter.

Kathleen Lucente, the founder of Texas-based Red Fan Communications, said the Calm app commercial gave her “30 seconds of peace,” indicating that the overall goal of the spot had been achieved.