Let’s talk about conversation.

Make the Logo Bigger found this MSN spot from last year, and at a minimum it’s thought provoking. Happily, it’s also pretty entertaining and very nicely done, I thought.

Here are the thoughts it provoked for me. How many brands are in my life? I don’t really have the time to count them all. Under what circumstances would I engage in a conversation with one?

When I have a complaint
When I need support
When I have a suggestion
To express gratitude

Any of these have to reflect exceptional circumstances because if the threshold for engaging in conversation were lower, I’d be conversing with brands all day.

Human nature being what it is, I’d guess we’re more likely to devote time to a conversation with a brand when it fails to meet expectations. I’m going to take the time to solve whatever problem is presented by my purchase failing to function as expected, but if it’s working for me, I really have nothing to say to the brand. Expressing gratitude or offering a suggestion calls for some level of concern for others and altruism, which can seem like luxuries when we’re in the midst of solving a problem.

So I wonder if in some cases less conversation with the brand is an indicator that things are actually going well — that the advertising accurately expresses the promise that the brand delivers, that quality is controlled, that support functions smoothly.

The death of advertising as we’ve known it is a favorite theme, and there’s no denying the dramatic changes over the decades — consumer empowerment, word-of-mouth and social networks, the internet as a portal to whatever brand experience you care to craft. The shelf life of snake oil is down to about a week, I’d guess, and thank goodness. But as a consumer, I still want to know what a brand thinks it is. If they express that to me well in advertising, and my experience proves them right, then I may not have a chat with them directly, but they could easily come up in my conversation with others. Suddenly I’m a volunteer brand advocate — if conversation happens to drift that way.

So though some say the ad agency is dead, I’m more prone to agree with Valeria Maltoni at the Conversation Agent (yes, I see the irony.) She maintains that the ad agency model is broken and lists ten conditions to support the case. Thankfully, there’s a difference between broken and dead.

It’s interesting that what is considered a creative industry would be slow to change, but much of that is because the processes remain complex, though technology is riding (or wandering, in some cases) to the rescue.

Could it advertising ever be as simple as this? Tell a credible story. Tell is consistently, memorably and perfectly for the brand. End of conversation.