Favorite Ads

 

                                          “Favorite Ads”

If you ask anyone what their favorite ad is, you will get many different opinions. A lot of them will talk about things within the ad that appeals to them. Like small animals and cute babies doing cute things.

If you ask what the ad was selling, many will not remember. And if they remembered the category (dog food/diapers), they don’t always get the brand right.

[Note to advertisers: If you don’t want your ad budget going to promote your competitor’s products, design ads that separate your brand away from the others.]

Customer As Jerk

                            

                           Customer As Jerk

Some ads, in order to make a point, lose sight of the hidden messages  the viewer sees. If the viewer is a potential customer of the product, he pictures himself in the spot. If the character using the product is seen as a jerk, he reacts as though he, himself, is being insulted. If the character makes bad judgements or does something stupid, the viewer loses identification with the situation, and along with it, the product.

A recent commercial for Taco Bell Chicken Tacos does just that.

A girl on a walk with her boyfriend runs into her father and a business associate. She introduces the boyfriend who is eating the taco. The father extends his hand to shake, but the boy has his hands full with the product and decides, instead, to kiss the father on the eyebrow, astounding the girl as well as the dad who promptly leaves.

That bad judgement leads to the question of how good is his judgement in buying this product. No one wants to think of themselves as that stupid. And thinking of this spot might discourage them from trying it, rather than inspiring them to try it. 

Demo This.

                                    Demo This.

A "demo" of a product, by its very definition, is something that demonstrates how a product or process works. But the word can be used as a lure to promote a company or its full-line of products, without any "demonstration" of how their "unique method" works. 
I fell for this lure when I decided to brush up on my "school" Spanish. I called a well-advertised product's number for a "free demo CD". 
After a few penetrating questions, I was able to get the salesperson to admit the CD wasn't going to show me a sample of how I would be learning the language, but a sales pitch about all the languages they sell. The call was designed  as a marketing tool to get information about potential customers who would land on lists for mailings and possible phone calls. 
I ended the phone call.

Borrowed Interest

                                    

Borrowed Interest

Whenever you are drawn into an ad by a device that isn’t really organic or connected to the product being sold, you have been tricked by “borrowed interest”. When an advertiser doesn’t think his message isn’t interesting enough to attract your attention, they will use this device. It is a bad choice for them because the device they use to get your attention is by definition more interesting than their message. Which defeats their purpose. You are attracted, but only to the device  (celebrities, sex, pets, shocking words or situations).

And how many of you actually think the celebrity hawking a product isn’t being paid to repeat the words they are saying, and is only doing it for the exposure or money?

Try to become aware of being tricked by different borrowed interests. Ask yourself if you were persuaded to try the product by these means.

E.D.

         E.D. Commercials

It’s no wonder those men in the Cialis commercials have erectile problems. By the time they drag those two bathtubs out to the woods or the seashore, plus all the warm water to fill them, it’s a wonder they’re not candidates for hernia operations.

The chief selling point in all those E.D. commercials is disguised in the medical warning about getting four-hour erections.

Persuasion in Advertising

                              

              Persuasion In Advertising

An advertising message has a lot of competition in a free marketplace. But getting noticed is not the primary purpose of an ad. That’s important, but how it does it is very important. You can be surprised or shocked into being aware of something, but that doesn’t fulfill the purpose of an ad.

The message of an ad is to persuade you to investigate a product or service. That can be difficult in a competitive environment. And, because it is difficult, very many ads take what they think is the easy way: to remember the product by “entertainment”- Music, dancing, pretty women and men. These things can be entertaining, but what about the message of the ad which becomes buried in all that? Who even notices it, let alone remembers it? I can remember the pretty girls, but don’t have a clue what they were standing in front of, or dancing around.

 A persuasive ad is very rare. It will have you thinking about the product if you are a potential customer. Whenever you see a persuasive ad, even if it isn’t aimed at you as a customer, make a note of it. You’ve experienced a rarity. 

Having Fun Beating The Pants Off The Competition

Having Fun Beating The Pants off The Competition

Being Highly competitive in advertising doesn’t have to be serious, nuts and bolts comparisons. It can be fun for both the creators as well as the viewers. There is a campaign for work clothes that is just that. It is a series of cartoon illustrations comparing, in exaggerated situations, the advantages of the product. It is very creative in language as well as the situations themselves. The voice is of a “trucker”. The descriptions of the clothes is also clever: “The Long T “Shirt-The Cure For Plumber’s Butt.”, “Ballroom Jeans- Room To Crouch Without Singing Soprano”, “Unwet Your Pants”. The spots are easy to watch and even encourage the anticipation of the comparison. You’ll remember the commercials and products. That’s the real goal of advertising.

                                         (Deluth Trading Company)