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August 29, 2003
Here’s yet another example of rebranding done wrong. Timex has a new advertising
campaign with a new slogan: “Life Keeps Ticking,” an empty, irrelevant, flaccid
tagline that probably survived focus groups largely on the strength of the word
“ticking” related to Timex. Here’s a spot-on critique, from the Chicago
(IL) Sun-Times:
Advertising
copywriter blog link
The thing is, the Timex branding strength wasn’t in the ticking. It was in
the licking. Timex didn’t need a new slogan, and that sums up the problem with
the new advertising push.
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August 26, 2003
Does creativity in advertising affect effectiveness positively or negatively? Here’s
an advertising outsider’s rant from the Seattle (Washington) Post-Intelligencer:
Advertising
copywriter blog link
His argument runs somewhat astray when he tries to apply retail results (or the lack thereof) to non-retail advertising. For example, his comment about the classic Volkswagen print ads:
But even the most clever of ads can’t make people buy a product that, over the long term, they decide they’re not wild about -- like a noisy, uncomfortable, erratically heated car eclipsed by Japanese imports.
Ah, but they did. Those very ads helped fend off increasing competition from increasingly superior products, extending the product life long past any reasonable expectation and culminating in a branding success that continues to this day. Here’s more:
The most effective ads are usually not those that are cutting-edge, award-winning or memorable. Don’t think so? This paper runs one of the most effective pieces of print advertising every week -- the grocery store flier. The average consumer would have a hard time remembering what last week’s flier looked like, let alone one from a decade ago. But you can bet that a lot of average consumers sit down with that ad every week, poring over it and saying, “That looks like a good price on hamburger” or “We’re running low on paper towels.”
The fact is, average consumers remember very well - practically on an instinctive level - what their preferred grocery store’s flyer looks like. They go straight for it, tossing the others into the recycling bin without a second glance. That’s branding. As for those paper towels, part of the buying decision may hinge on what brand paper towels are on sale. Finally, there are significant strategic and tactical differences between advertising groceries, a survival-level need that must be endlessly replenished, and advertising automobiles.
There are many ways besides direct sales for an ad to be effective: building the brand,
creating good will, defending market share, and influencing a targeted audience to name
but four. Focusing on sales is as good an example of marketing myopia as focusing on
advertising awards. Advertising awards and advertising effectiveness are not linked, but
neither are they exclusive; furthermore, nothing in advertising is automatic. It’s
all the result of plain old hard work.
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August 25, 2003
TiVo puts viewers in control of television programming, or at least that’s the hook.
Now, the viewing patterns of TiVo users will be made available to advertisers - the very
industry TiVo subscribers might be trying to dodge. Or are they? Here’s the article,
from MediaPost:
Advertising
copywriter blog link
The new information seems to indicate that high-rated, high-CPM television shows are no
advertising bargain. This advertising copywriter has a different perspective . The higher
the creative standard in the advertising environment, the higher the creative standard
must be in the advertising itself in order to grab attention and deliver a coherent
marketing message. It used to be a cliché that the best stuff on television was the ads.
Not so any more. Most television commercials fall far short of the programming, and that
dismal lack of quality brings down the averages in both viewership and effectiveness.
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August 21, 2003
A great rant about the appropriation of real-life social injustice in the name of
advertising and fashion, from AlterNet.org:
Advertising
copywriter blog link
The irony here, of poverty-chic being affordable only to those with money to spend on
the Fake Thing, has long been a part of fashion and fashion advertising. Heck, Levi’s
was probably one of the first working-class brands to make the transition into pop
culture, and that was pre-Internet and even pre-television.
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August 20, 2003
The wine industry is promoting the category with a $500,000 generic advertising campaign,
according to this article from the Walla Walla (Washington) Union-Bulletin:
Advertising
copywriter blog link
The ads might be “fun,” but the advertising slogan (“Wine. Since 6,000
B.C.”) lacks a compelling reason to buy and seems at odds with the advertising
objective, reaching out to a younger market. Still, it could be effective, if backed by
enough spending to maintain frequency. The question is, will the Wine Market Council have
the stick-to-it-iveness to make it work?
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August 18, 2003
The top advertising executive in charge of more than $1 billion in media buying for
Chrysler has resigned, according to this article in Ad Age (Quick Find ID AAO92W):
Advertising
copywriter blog link
Horrid actual quote from the article:
Chrysler Group spokesman Dave Elshoff declined comment on “human resource issues at a supplier.”
Aaargh! A person manages more than $1 billion in corporate tactical assets, and that
is how Chrysler views the relationship? With that attitude, it’s no wonder Chrysler
is in deep trouble.
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August 14, 2003
Here’s what happened in my hometown when Chevrolet turned a vacant downtown lot into
a very active building site for a truck commercial. Scroll down to the second vignette,
titled “Too good to be true,” from the San Diego Union-Tribune:
Advertising
copywriter blog link
The sudden appearance of a partially completed building befuddled nearby construction
workers, startled passers-by, and angered ironworker’s union representatives. It went
up overnight, and vanished over a weekend, leaving us yokels to comment on the wonder that
is modern advertising.
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August 13, 2003
Posted today but dated tomorrow because it’s already tomorrow in New Zealand, is this
rant defending advertising concepts against overanalysis and increased reliance on
technological implementation instead of creative thinking:
Advertising
copywriter blog link
Great advertising concepts are great advertising concepts. They may not resolve or even
acknowledge all the business issues a client faces, nor should they. That is the only way
to ensure that they do resolve the issues related to advertising.
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August 11, 2003
My advertising copywriter blog is playing catch-up, since I just returned from a week-long
camping trip. So, I was spending time in the woods with my family instead of sitting here
getting all worked up about the ad biz. Still, I was delighted - delighted - to
come home to this article in my own hometown paper, the San Diego Union-Tribune,
about those unsung heroes of urban outdoor advertising, sign spinners:
Advertising
copywriter blog link
Sign spinning symbolizes what has become my personal definition of advertising: Performance Art, with ROI. Key statistic: some real estate developers report that up to 75% of their walk-in traffic comes from “human directionals.” Here is why sign spinners deliver an effective advertising message:
Hey, those techniques might just work for all advertising media. Someone
should try it. Uh-oh, I’m back less than a day, and I’m already regaining my
cynicism about the state of advertising creative.
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August 10, 2003
Okay, the big news this weekend is that Arnold Schwarzenegger is now running for governor
of California. Here’s a good media analysis from the Los Angeles (CA) Times,
via the Detroit (MI) News:
Advertising
copywriter blog link
Will the Schwarzenegger brand be powerful enough to take office? Will Arnold have to resort to speaking to the issues? As an advertising copywriter and a native Californian, I must say that I’m looking forward to this recall election in an ashamed-yet-intrigued-enough-to-be-excited sort of way. When the gloves come off and the ads are protected by the First Amendment, that’s when things will get interesting. Not clever or strategically savvy, I don’t think, but the upcoming 100-way slug-fest promises to be at least tactically interesting.
Okay, here’s just enough substance to justify this blog entry. Entertainment programs can cover Schwarzenegger and exclude other candidates because they are exempt from equal time requirements - the Federal Commununications Commission (FCC) considers them newscasts, so their coverage can be based on “newsworthiness.” On the other hand, the FCC also ruled (back in 1966, when Ronald Reagan ran for governor of California) that stations that aired movies that included a political candidate were subject to Federal equal time rules. So, movies are subject to equal time rules, but entertainment programs are not, an ideal situation for celebrity candidates.
Here’s another thought: will the California governor’s race spell the end of
the reality show? After all, it doesn’t get much better (or worse) than this.
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August 8, 2003
This should be news to no copywriter who takes a craftsmanlike approach to creating
advertising (nor media planners who think strategically about placing those ads). But, a
recent study by the University of Michigan shows that sex and violence, both in the
advertising environment and in the ads themselves, diminish brand recall:
Advertising
copywriter blog link
When will advertisers learn? Here’s a key passage from the article, just to give an idea about what’s at stake in terms of advertising and branding ROI:
“The researchers found that brand recall was 17 per cent higher for participants who saw a neutral program than for those who saw a violent program, and 21 per cent higher for participants who saw a neutral program than for those who saw a sexual program. They also found that violent ads were 20 per cent less memorable than the sexual ads and 18 per cent less memorable than the neutral ads.”
In other words, use sex or violence in your ads and you have to increase reach or
frequency by 18-20% to compensate for that “creative” indulgence. That’s a
huge chunk of an advertising budget. On the other hand, it also means that advertising
copywriters who create ads without relying on the crutch of borrowing interest
through sexual or violent themes actually extend the value of an ad budget by 18-20%. Woo
hoo! That probably means I should adjust my rates upward.
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August 7, 2003
Some advertising icons, especially self-consciously young creations like the Gibson guitar
used by Apple iTunes, are ripe for parody. Here’s an article from the Washington Post
about how a rival company co-opted the iTunes guitar:
Advertising
copywriter blog link
This advertising copywriter holds that a Gibson guitar is an iconic symbol of Gibson,
not of Apple. Using someone else’s product as your own advertising icon seems
ingenuous at best. Creatively speaking, this is strictly borrowed interest.
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August 1, 2003
What follows is a terrific rant by Stefano Hatfield in the Guardian (UK), about the
fallacy of attempting to turn minor celebrities into fast food advertising icons:
Advertising
copywriter blog link
I think this trend reflects advertising becoming entertainment instead of salesmanship.
As a result, the advertising industry is filling with copywriters and art directors who
are averse to getting their hands dirty in the trenches. You know, actually going out and
eating and peoplewatching at KFC or McDonald’s or whatever account for which
they’re developing ad concepts. Instead, they sit in their wonderfully creative
offices, eating, drinking, talking - and selling - amongst themselves.
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Backwards in time to July 2003
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Why should you hire me as your advertising copywriter? | FAQ
Advertising strategy and other lies
An advertising copywriter’s bookshelf:
recommended books
Brands and branding: a white paper
Do you make these mistakes in
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Free (yes, free) advertising copywriting
resources
Four ad copy traps that ensnare even
experienced copywriters
How to
become an advertising copywriter
How to write a brochure: advice from an advertising copywriter
How to write better ads
Long John Silver on writing ads
More career advice: what’s it like being
an advertising copywriter?
Napoleon’s advice to entrepreneurs,
Part I: starting the enterprise
Napoleon’s advice to entrepreneurs,
Part II: the entrepreneurial character
Napoleon’s advice to entrepreneurs,
Part III: growing the enterprise
The economy (and what to do about it)
The Tightwad
Marketing project
Advertising copywriting
mentorship
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Awards & honors | Curriculum vitae | Services
Phone and fax: (619) 465-6100
John Kuraoka, freelance advertising copywriter
6877 Barker Way
San Diego, California
92119-1301