Tuesday, October 13, 2009

“Wassup” with Ads in Current Economy?

There have been recent reports in business pubs that ads are missing the mark. Microsoft had used Jerry Seinfeld and young kids in its ads, but the company is disappointed with those ads and will soon spend a ton of money to create new campaigns. Another company in the news, Cadillac, will also allocate a large budget toward advertising and is searching for a new agency. So, as the question is, “wassup” with ads?

First and foremost, consumers demand creativity in ads. Apple’s TV ads have taken a simple concept of Apple vs. Microsoft and carried that theme throughout countless scenarios with actors expertly portraying Bill Gates and Steve Jobs as they highlight basic differences between PC’s and Mac’s. The spots are clever and funny – and more importantly, memorable.

To repeat, the elements of good ads are creativity, cleverness, and humor – these elements allow an ad to become memorable. If you remember the ad, you will probably remember the product or service being promoted. And, if you remember the product or service, you may buy it. The most memorable ad I recall was a billboard in San Francisco for J&B scotch: “Ingle Ells, Ingle Ells. The holidays aren’t the same with J&B.” And, remember when everyone was asking “Wassup?” after the 2001 Super Bowl? How many times did you repeat that phrase? Budweiser is legendary as a result of its memorable Super Bowl television ads featuring a number of unique characters including Clydesdale horses, Dalmatians, and talking frogs.

The same creativity demonstrated in TV ads must be applied toward all forms of advertising (online, print, billboards, direct mail, etc.) – because consumers deserve creative ads to enhance and energize the brand-buying experience during these challenging economic times.

No comments:

Post a Comment

Thank you for your comment!