How The Advertising Industry Thinks
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How the ad industry thinks Eric Reiss IA Summit 25 March 2007 Las Vegas, Nevada A politically incorrect review
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This presentation takes a closer look at what ad agencies consider “good” advertising, how they interpret “concept,” and why the web designer's notion of “proof of concept” is completely nonsensical in the world of advertising. I examine some successful campaigns and some award-winning campaigns -- these are not necessarily the same thing -- and explain why these are admired by so-called “creatives” at ad agencies. I also explore why advertising creatives despise web types in general and usability folks in particular. You’ll discover why stuff that “works” on screen doesn’t work in print ads -- and vice versa. And I dispel some of the popular myths about advertising, such as “all advertising is good advertising.”
Transcript of How The Advertising Industry Thinks
How the ad industry thinks
Eric ReissIA Summit
25 March 2007Las Vegas, Nevada
A politically incorrect review
Jacques Séguéla
“Don’t tell my mother I work inan advertising agency. She thinksI play piano in a whorehouse.”
Jacques Séguéla
Big Al’s Brothel(one flight up)
ad· ver· tiseverb
1 : inform, notify2 : to call public attention to esp. in order to sell
A brief history of advertising
where the best cloth is woven to your desires,a whole gold coin is offered”
“For the return of my slave to the shop of Haputhe Weaver,
A brief history of advertising
Tactical Strategic
Technical issues
Business issues1996
Tactical Strategic
Technical issues
Business issues1999
Tactical Strategic
Technical issues
Business issues1999
Tactical Strategic
Technical issues
Business issues20042005-6
Business analysts understand the boxes.
But only we understand the arrows.
We can’t expect ad agencies to understand how we thinkuntil we understand how they think
Three ways that guaranteewe lose our place at the table
Insisting we invented user research
Misunderstanding “concept”
Humiliating established art directors
We all know that Jakob invented user testing...
1925
John Caples
1932 >
“Accept nothing as true aboutwhat works best in advertisinguntil it has been scientificallytested.”
John Caples
OK. But we really understand research, don’t we?
1908
Claude Hopkins
1930 >
“Talk to the people who are goingto buy your product. This is thefirst step in any successful campaign”
Claude Hopkins
Well, B.J. taught us about trustbuilding ...
1960
1962 >1983 >
David Ogilvy
“What really decides consumersto buy or not to buy is the contentof your advertising, not its form.”
David Ogilvy
A few other advertising legends ...
Rosser Reeves
“Find the USP.”
Leo Burnett
“Find the drama.”
Bill Bernbach
“Tell the story”
Meet the Mattel See ’n Say
problem ?
Jeez, Eric, what’s the
Awareness
Interest
Desire
Action
AIDA
“The secret of all effective originalityin advertising is not the creation ofnew and tricky words and pictures,but one of putting familiar wordsand pictures into new relationships.”
Leo Burnett
but one of putting familiar wordsand pictures into new relationships.”
Winter landscape(see ’n say)
Scene of the crime(effective juxtaposition)
What makes the See ’n Say the lowest form of advertising?
It relies on an eyecatching irrelevancy!
The Australian tourist board understandswhat the chamber of commerce doesn’t
Forcing a see ’n say
See ’n Say is acceptable for illustrations
(but only just)
See ’n Say is fine for logos
(because they are icons)
Babies, boobs, and beagles
(the three not-so-secret weapons of bad advertising)
For art’s sake...
Tell the story
Find the drama
Photo courtesy of Mark Hurst
Apogee – a lesson learned ... and forgotton
Before(see ‘n say)
After(elegant)
“We don’t need no stinking ad agency”
Back tosee ‘n say
Boring doesn’t sell
The ad agencies don’t always get it right either
“Too clever” “This is funny!”
“Do you want fine writing?Or do you want your goddamnsales to go up?”
Rosser Reeves
Let’s turn to the concept of concept
In advertising, concept represents the big idea
In the web world, concept represents ... er ...
In advertising, there is only one proof of concept
Crap B2B
Effective B2B
Now entering the mind of the art director
Boring bluecorporate color
Modern color.And a graphic swish
Yin and Yang?Hmm…
Wildly differentcustomers…
Let’s kill a myth
“All advertisingis good advertising.”
They
Think of the advertiser as a person ...
Now consider this:
Do you befriend liars?
Do you admire fools?
Do you trust strangers?
Do you respect incompetence?
Fact:
A Milwaukee brewer found out sales fell among target audiences that could remember their advertising.
1972
Popular tag(second-largest brewer in USA)
1982
Crap concept(sales decline in
all markets)
1984
Out of business
Thanks!
Eric Reiss can (usually) be found at:
The FatDUX Group ApSStrandøre 152100 CopenhagenDenmark
Office: (+45) 39 29 67 77Mobil: (+45) 20 12 88 44Twitter: [email protected]
