A “Problemotional” Review of 2023’s Best B2B Video Ads: MILLUM
Millum artfully targets the restaurant industry in this B2B video ad, using contrasting imagery and a dramatic tone to highlight the hidden challenges behind running a successful culinary business. While it starts with the allure of delicious food, it quickly reveals the often chaotic reality restaurant owners and managers face.
Let’s dissect the ad using the familiar PESO framework:
P: Problem/Pain
The Illusion of Simplicity: The ad opens with beautifully crafted dishes and the line, “It’s easy to believe that running a restaurant is all about good taste.” This sets up the common misconception that success in the restaurant world solely depends on culinary skills and delicious food.
The Unseen Battles: They swiftly transitions to a darker and more chaotic tone, highlighting the behind-the-scenes struggles: managing inventory, negotiating prices, dealing with waste and compliance issues, endless paperwork, and staffing challenges.
The Emotional Toll: The visuals become increasingly bleak – a scarecrow in a desolate field, a chef buried under a mountain of produce, a restaurant worker with a weary expression. This effectively conveys the exhaustion, stress, and feeling of being overwhelmed that often accompany running a restaurant.
E: Emotion
Initial Allure, Then Harsh Reality: The ad’s opening scenes evoke a sense of pleasure and indulgence, associated with fine dining. This quickly shifts to a feeling of unease and anxiety as the reality of the restaurant business sets in.
Empathy and Understanding: The ad effectively uses visual storytelling to create empathy for those working in the demanding restaurant industry. The exhausted expressions, the frantic movements, and the claustrophobic settings all speak to the relentless pressure and challenges they face.
A Glimmer of Hope: While the ad doesn’t shy away from the tough reality, it ends with a subtle sense of hope. The sudden appearance of a clean, organized office environment suggests that there’s a way to escape the chaos and regain control.
S: Solution
Simplifying the Complexities: It introduces Millum as Norway’s largest purchasing system for hotels, restaurants, and canteens. It’s presented as a solution that streamlines the backend operations of a restaurant, allowing owners and managers to focus on the things that truly matter.
Taking Control with Centralized Management: The ad implies that Millum provides a central platform to manage inventory, purchasing, staffing, and other operational tasks. This offers a sense of order and efficiency, contrasting sharply with the chaos depicted earlier.
From Stress to Success: The ad subtly suggests that Millum can help restaurant businesses achieve greater success by freeing up time and resources. This allows them to focus on delivering exceptional customer experiences and building a thriving business.
O: Outcome
Time for What Matters: The ad emphasizes the outcome of using Millum: saving time. By streamlining tedious tasks and automating processes, restaurant owners and managers can spend more time on the things that truly matter: their passion for food, their customers, and the overall success of their business.
A More Relaxed and Enjoyable Experience: The ad implicitly suggests that Millum can transform the stressful reality of restaurant management into a more relaxed and enjoyable experience. The final scene of a woman calmly working at her desk, contrasted with the previous chaos, visually represents this shift.
Empowering Culinary Creativity: By taking care of the backend operations, Millum allows restaurant professionals to focus on their culinary creativity and passion for food. This creates a more positive and fulfilling work environment, leading to greater innovation and success.
Overall:
Millum’s ad taps into the emotional roller coaster of running a restaurant, offering a solution that promises to bring order, efficiency, and ultimately, more time to focus on the joy of creating memorable dining experiences. They find the recipe for restaurant success (beyond the ingredients) all whilst delivering us an exemplary B2B video ad.
