I always tell clients that “you” is the most important pronoun in advertising — and by “you” I mean the customer. If it’s not about the customer, it’s not going to connect on any level.

This TV campaign for Sprint/Nextel makes this notion supremely evident. The series of thirty second spots (see them below) manages to:

1. Highlight their target audiences as unflinching heroes in order to emotionally connect with them.

2. Demonstrate the product as an efficient communication tool that helps users get things done.

3. Continue branding the audible “chirp” for which they’re so well known. (Though admittedly annoying, the chirp, in this case, adds rhythm to the spot that helps move it along swiftly.)

4. Uses smart humor that further connects with the target audience. (Check out the last shot of the runway in Roadies.)

5. Uses topical, typically problematic scenarios like congressional process (usually slow) and airline travel (usually painful) being remedied by the target audiences’ personality types coupled with product benefits.

6. Makes the idea feel bigger than life through flawless casting, direction, colorization, sound design, and editing.

Moreover, Sprint/Nextel chose the people they wanted to sell to and spoke to them directly. I can’t imagine one firefighter or roadie saying, “You know, that’s really not me.”

Try making your target audience the hero of your advertising. Just answer the Sprint/Nextel question, “What would it be like if [INSERT YOUR TARGET AUDIENCE HERE] ran the world?

Thoughts? Comments? More examples of hero advertising? Love to hear about them, or perhaps even help you create your own.

Hope you’re well, and thanks for stopping in.