Advertising That Fails To Make The Grade29 Dec
As an expert in your industry, someone who strives for perfection and high standards, perhaps you can relate to the frustration of seeing work that is sub par, or worse yet, work that blemishes the credibility of your trade.
For me, one such example was a television commercial by Burlington Coat Factory.
The creative team framed this in a “Devil Wears Prada” attempt, with a condescending boss interacting with a young employee.
The boss walks in, tosses her coat to the employee and asks, “Where are we on the fall fashion event?”
The employee begins modeling different outfits and at the end, the boss asks the employee “How do you afford all those fashions on what I pay you?”
What?
When did “update me on a corporate event” become “show me your new wardrobe”?
These are two different concepts that never do end up tying in together.
Takeaway points to consider:
1 – Run your campaign by someone who has no idea what message you’re attempting to convey to see if they understand it
2 – Don’t get so caught up in a theme that your message loses its relevance
3 – A bad campaign is NOT better than no campaign. A bad ad raises bad brand awareness. Make sure your business only puts out materials that make sense and trigger a desired response.
(Originally published December 7, 2007 in Ricci’s publication – The Marketers Gazette)
2 Responses to “Advertising That Fails To Make The Grade”
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Ricci,
We’ve tried all sorts of advertising and nothing seems to be pulling in the customers. How can we change this?
Mary Charron
Hi Mary – I took a look at your site and the objective of the site seems disjointed. Think about why people drink certain wines. Experience, taste, social aspects, emotional connection – memories of events, dates, etc. The site could benefit from some warmth and connection to the product. The most prominent facet of your website’s homepage is an event – but if someone knows nothing about your wine…what would compel them to dig for more information?
…and noting a discount on the homepage seems desperate. If a potential customer wants to learn about your wine, a discount is off-putting. Cheap wine can be found anywhere. Quality wine from a quality maker is a more valuable commodity. Don’t de-value your product because some past marketing attempts have failed. Chin up and stay at it!