Archives 9/1/2006
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Blog 10/15/2006 9:14pm - Yea, but the message is clear I often complain that the ad industry as a whole lost it's way some time ago. "Someone" a long time ago complained that consumers were tuning out. Perhaps they were, or maybe they were not. No one really proved it, they merely made a guess, and the rest of the industry believed them. The advertising world got scared and ran. It ran hard and fast by dropping the most important part of advertising, and concentrating instead on fluff, creativity, cool visuals, lots of editing, in other words it joined the MTV generation. I often look at old commercial spots from the 50's, 60's, and 70's thanks to Ira Gallen. Spend an hour looking at those ads and you will see ads that give a clear message- they sell a product or service. Fast forward to what you see on TV today in the form of ads and it looks like Mel Brookes was given a job at an agency. Spots today are all about being funny, or being cool, or being the first to use some sort of special effect or other eye-stimulating gimmick. And what was given up for this? Selling the product. Basically most spots today are about anything but what has always effectively sold a product or service -a simple message. I know, you think I'm harsh. Of course not every commercial is bad, but many campaigns sure are. Examples are such as the latest Jeep campaign which has animals mistaking Jeeps for road kill, or a meal. Or how about Dr. Z. That campaign needs an ambulance. Or how about the Gap's long term attitude of acting cool. Too bad the company hasn't sold enough clothing to get it out of the stinker in ten years. Yet they pour tons of money into these campaigns because someone "thinks' abstract branding is a guarantee for success. How many times have I heard how history is the key to the future? Lot's. Everyone says to see what the future holds, you have to look at the past. The advertising industry needs to learn this. Someone ought to buy one of Ira Gallen's greatest hits commercial videos from the old days of advertising. Sure they will see old spots, mostly in black and white. Spots where women's hair curls up at the end like Marlo Thomas in "That Girl". And spots where men are white and wear wool suits and hats. Ok, the style is old. Fashion has changed, as has political correctness, but one thing they will see that has never changed, universal truth. What's universal truth? It is a way of communicating an idea that anyone in any culture can understand, regardless of what language they speak. In simplest terms, like those universal signs for men and women that tell you which bathroom to go into. If you spent any time watching old TV spots you'll notice you actually remember the message. You might even sign the jingle. Odds are good, you'd know what the product does. In fact watch one of Ira's tapes, then watch TV from today and then tomorrow tell me which one you remember most? And that brings me to what I realized is actually one of the most effective genres of advertising out there, pharmaceutical advertising. You think I'm kidding? Of course your response is how annoying those ads are. How could I possibly say they are effective? Ask your doctor! No that is not a joke. Ask! If you do, he will be mad. Mad because every patient that comes in says they saw some drug advertised on TV and want to know how to get it. Advertising doesn't get any more effective than that. Those ads, which are regulated must follow a simple rule; tell us what the drug is and what it does. And that is what they do. If it wasn't for regulations, some of those ads might end up like the rest of advertising, images, colors, music, but no clear message. It's what the industry calls an "award winning ad", but awards and success are two different animals in advertising. Advertising with a message is not a new idea. Watch any of the old commercials I told you about and you'll see they do the same thing. They give a simple but effective message. They actually are effective like pharmaceutical ads. WAIT A MINUTE! The Kaiser Family Foundation in Menlo Park found that 70% of adults learn little or nothing from such ads about the health condition in question. In addition, almost 60 percent of adults say they learn little or nothing about the drug itself. But...here comes the important part. The same survey finds that one third of respondents have asked their doctor about prescription drugs they saw advertised, and 40% of those same respondents say they plan to talk with their doctor about the health condition cited in the ad. WOW!!!! Talk about ROI! Is there any better form of advertising.. a simple message and a call to action? But what about the fact that the survey above found that 70% of adults learn little or nothing from such ads and 60% of adults say they learn little or nothing about the drug itself? Who says you are going to be able to teach that much in 30 seconds. The message in those ads is clear. The idea of the spots is to get you to ask more. They introduce the drug, and say "ask your doctor". It's a simple message, and it works. PERIOD! Now if only much of the rest of the advertising world could figure out how to make a simple, but effective message too. It might justify the millions of dollars wasted on horrendous campaigns. People are more sophisticated you say? I say ask your doctor. He'll tell you those spots work too well. Sophistication not necessary, just a good message. Come to think of it, the fact that anyone you speak to will tell you those ads are annoying means they got through. Comments (0) Add a comment |