Forgettable Is the Real Problem
Not Good. Not Bad. Just Forgettable: What Super Bowl Commercials Can Teach Us About Leasing
If you watched last night’s Super Bowl, you saw a ton of commercials. Big budgets. Big names. High expectations. But as the game ended and the buzz died down, how many ads do you still remember?
Some did hit hard. From Lay’s touching story about a father and daughter potato farming legacy that literally had people on social sharing emotional reactions, to Lady Gaga’s heartfelt Mister Rogers remix reminding us kindness matters, these spots didn’t just show a product, they made you feel something.
Others? They were loud, funny, or weird and vanished from memory almost immediately. A gorilla could have replaced half of them and we might not notice.
That pattern feels eerily familiar to what we’re seeing in leasing.
You Don’t Lose People Because You’re Bad
You lose them because you’re forgettable.
Just like commercials, hundreds of them, most leasing tours aren’t bad. They’re just… fine. Polite. Predictable. Safe. And when nothing sticks, prospects leave thinking about the next place that did leave a mark.
In advertising, the spots that resonate aren’t the ones that fill airtime or drop celebrities on top of jokes. The memorable ones tap into emotion, nostalgia, or an experience that mirrors something real and human:
A family story that feels like your own
A message about kindness when the world feels divided
A visual that evokes pride, belonging, or shared memories
That’s why we still remember the classics ads like Budweiser’s Clydesdales, Apple’s 1984, “Whassup?” even decades later. They weren’t just ads. They were moments.
Leasing Is the Same
Prospects don’t remember scripts. They remember how you made them feel.
Did they feel understood?
Did something you said spark excitement?
Did you tap into a personal story or need they didn’t even voice yet?
Or did your tour feel like another checklist on their screen?
If a leasing conversation doesn’t create a moment something shared, something felt, something distinct then it’s just background noise. That’s forgettable.
From “Nice” to Unforgettable
Last night’s strongest commercials didn’t rely on spectacle alone , they tapped into connection:
They told a story
They stirred an emotion
They made people think or smile or remember something deeper
Your leasing tours should do the same.
When you shift from guide to experience creator, you stop being one of many and start being the one they remember.
The Real Challenge
Like the Super Bowl ads that still get talked about days later, your goal isn’t to be okay.
Your goal is to be memorable.
Not just polite. Not just efficient.
Unforgettable.
That’s where the magic happens.