Why Inbound Video Ads Should Use First-Person Angles

Visual experience advertisements

A growing trend in video ads, especially for tech products, is the use of a first-person camera angle to allow the viewer to feel the experience. The majority of these styles of video ads do away with voiceovers and spokespeople, allowing the experience to do the talking. As a marketing strategy, these ads are extremely effective because of their ability to deliver an experience to the audience.

The Purpose of First-Person Ads

The whole strategy behind using a first-person view in a video ad is to give the audience a first-hand view of what it is like to experience the product. These ads cut past all of the buzzwords and fluff, showing the end user exactly what they are getting. The second part of the strategy is making the experience in the ad memorable, so the audience will be motivated to use the product. The first-person camera angle captures the attention of the audience, but they will also remember the music choice and the sparing use of simple text.

Major Brands That Use This Strategy

Here are some examples of brands that have led the way with this style of video ads. They all use many of the same elements, with the primary focus being the product interface and the background music. Only one of these ads incorporates any voice-over and it is only for the very last few seconds of the ad. All of these ads do a great job of displaying the experiences you can have with their products, which invites the audience to want to have those experiences as well.

Apple

Apple has been running these types of ads for quite a while now, the last time they used a spokesperson was in the old Mac vs. PC ads. Now, nearly all of their ads run in this style or incorporate a first-person angle. They really let their products speak for themselves.

Google

Google has been pushing the Chrome web browser more and more with video ads, and the first-person view is logical for them. Chrome lives on the screens of devices, so why not just use that screen for the ads?

Samsung

Samsung, like its competitor Apple, uses a first-person angle in almost every device advertisement. Especially since these devices are handheld, the viewer gets a hands-on experience through the video.

GoPro

Like Chrome, GoPro is another product that makes logical sense to use this style. Every GoPro video ad should be shot using a GoPro camera, using a different camera to show someone using a GoPro would be a little redundant.

Not every product will be suited for first-person ads, for some the first-person angle won’t be able to capture the full experience of a product. But for a large portion of consumer products this style is a great way to give the audience a true and immersive experience of what it is like to use the product.

Part of the reason these ads work, is the mindset of consumers today. Flashy over-the-top video ads don’t hold the same weight anymore. People what to know when they are going to get when they take a product out of box. For this reason, there are product unboxing videos posted by consumers on YouTube for nearly any product you can think of. Since this is what people are looking for, you can let your next video ad unbox your product for them.