#advertising #FamousPeople ##products #services #EffectiveAdvertising
Actor Matthew McConaughey sits in a laundromat in a light blue suit.
Turns out, he’s advertising for Salesforce.
First, why would a famous actor be in a laundromat? Second, why would he have a light blue suit on to do laundry? Third, what does laundry have to do with Salesforce?
This ad is memorable because McConaughey is in it. But, months or years later, will anyone remember what he was advertising?
Advertising is not exact science. But the goal of every ad is to sell the product or service that bought the time or space.
When the ad overwhelms the desired message, is it effective?
Many of us can remember popular ads from decades ago. Many of those memorable ads have jingles that include the product’s or service’s name. For example, “Winston tastes good like (as) a cigarette should.”
Other ads, like McConaughey’s, are memorable for who is in them. For example, the late Charlie Daniels walks into a restaurant that has a strolling violinist. He grabs the violin and bow from him, plays one of his patented fiddle riffs, shreds the bow in the process and gives him back the instrument saying, “that’s how it’s done, son.
It was a memorable ad, but does anyone remember the product or service Daniels was advertising?
The Daniels ad had a side educational benefit in showing the difference between a violin and a fiddle.
One has to presume that someone among the advertising company is monitoring whether ads are driving business.
It’s just hard to know how effective such ads can be.
The ad creators have to find the sweet spot in having a memorable ad that doesn’t make anyone forget the product or service being advertised.
It helps to have well-known spokespeople. But, they should be in a context that makes sense for the product or service being advertised.
McConaughey’s laundromat scene doesn’t seem to be the right context for Salesforce.
The myriad athletes, and former athletes, who advertise for Subway present excellent context for selling subs. Subs go well with watching games on TV.
In short, effective advertising is subjective. One person’s great idea may fall flat on the next person.
Marketing and advertising professionals make a living thinking of effective ways to advertise Product X or Service Y.
It helps to find a way to compel someone to watch, while having the product’s or service’s name and purpose remembered.
Also, one has to figure out which ads won’t get muted, or forwarded past, with clicker-happy viewers.
Most of us appreciate advertisers sponsoring our favorite shows, or helping keep our newspapers, magazines, Web sites and podcasts financially viable.
It helps when viewers can remember the product or service advertised, long after the ad has stopped airing.
Peter
Tag Archives: advertising
TODAY’S ADS: DO THEY MAKE YOU WANT TO BUY?
#ads #advertising #marketing #BuyingDecisions #AdsAndTheEconomy
There are some TV ads of the past that were so good, you remember them to this day, but don’t remember what they were advertising.
If you look at today’s insurance ads on TV, for example, you can remember the company name, but do they make you want to buy the insurance?
Insurance is something most people buy based on the best deal, and/or the appropriate coverage. Sometimes, over time, as insurance companies raise premiums, one shops around. If one doesn’t want to bother shopping around, he or she stays with the same company – higher premiums and all.
It’s hard to conceive one choosing an insurance company based on a TV ad. One can pass judgment on the entertainment value of the ads, but they are hardly persuasive in terms of you buying what they are selling.
Cigarette companies, when they were allowed to advertise on TV, also had entertaining ads. So did automakers. But it would be hard to believe that either of those entities could correlate purchases with ads.
Marketing is a tough business. Marketers first aim for name recognition for the client, and cute ads can achieve that.
But just because one knows a company’s name doesn’t mean he or she buys the product(s) they are selling.
Most of us buy based on price and result, which, together, equal value. We learn that one company’s products may not fit everyone.
Most of us do our own research when looking for a car, or insurance policy etc. Sometimes, one goes to a specific agent, or dealer, who help him or her decide which product would best suit him or her. Do the TV ads get people through those agents’ doors? Perhaps some. But most of us, if we go through an agent or dealer, choose that person based on local knowledge, or a friend’s recommendation.
However, advertising is large part of the overall economy. So many businesses depend on companies wanting to advertise.
Yet, in the case of many ads we all see, it’s tough to envision them translating into sales for the company that bought the ad.
Many of us love to buy things. Most of us hate to be sold things.
Some products are bought because people are shown the value, and they see it.
No fancy ad. No big-time pitch. No convincing. No coercion.
Person X has a product, shows it to Person Y. Person X would love Person Y to see the value in the product, then buy. But, Person X doesn’t care if Person Y doesn’t see the value, or doesn’t believe it’s for him or her. Person X knows that if he or she keeps looking, they will find the right people.
So, the next time you watch, or read, an ad, ask yourself: is it making me want to buy what they are selling? Chances are, if you NEED or WANT what they are selling, you’ll not buy based on the ad alone. But if it gets you to do research whether that product or service is right for you, then the ad was a success.
Know, too, that the show or publication that featured that ad is benefiting from that ad being there. If you enjoy the show, or publication, be thankful for those ads.
Peter