Let’s face it, sometimes the marketing business can be a Royal Pain. You offered them Plan A, B and C. Plan A was too expensive, Plan B didn’t move them, and Plan C doesn’t move you. You only included it to give them another choice, and that’s the one they’re looking at, unless you can come up with Plan D.
But you’re out of ideas. Where to turn? How about the telly? Yes, there’s a supermarket of thousands of marketing ideas, some clever, some so jaw droppingly dumb that you laugh out loud. But you have a leg up on the poor defenseless consumer. You see this stuff all the time.
The best ad ever in the USA was a National Lampoon parody featuring a big eyed dog with a gun pointed at its head. The cover read “Buy this magazine or we’ll shoot this dog.”
But that’s the essence of advertising, isn’t it? Create an arresting image and provide a provocative call to action.
Which brings us to the current advertising craze, kids. Yes, the little ones are babbling away in every ad from discount brokerages to mobile phone services. At first, it’s cute and then it’s annoying. The kid craze tells me a few things about the current marketing scene.
Who’s in Charge?
The economy is not doing so well. The TV people are looking to make a connection and they can’t do it with the product, pricing, or tekkiness, so they’re taking us hostage with kids…and families. Looking for that common denominator–everyone has a family, right?
Generally, I’d have no problem with it, especially if the product was a kid product like a bicycle, or chicken noodle soup. But mobile phone service? Their product is faster, which is good because Grandma is slow. Tell me Pugsly, what would you do to make Grandma faster?
“Tape a cheetah to her back.” Oh, good, now we’re laughing at poor old Granny.
But, it might be effective, and that’s what matters. After all, parents are always taking orders from their kids, just like cats are said to manipulate their owners.
Anyway, this is what marketing scientists call “content analysis.” You watch it, but not as a consumer, but as a marketer. How does it relate to the product you’re trying to sell?
Would a talking cat move the needle? And, if so, would that distract from trying to sell the product’s benefits and features?
You can tape these ads and imagine your product being advertised instead of the one in the advert. Does it work? Does it suggest other approaches?
Has it reached the annoyance level yet? Maybe, but if you’re trolling for ideas, it certainly beats staring into space.
