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February 26, 2004
As consumers, we hate pop-up online advertising. And now, there’s proof that, not
only do we hate pop-up ads, but we hate the websites that thrust them on us. Here’s
the article, from Media Life Magazine (UK):
Advertising
copywriter blog link
Key stats: 60% of the web users in the study said they distrust websites with pop-up
ads. 50% clicked off the pop-up ads before they finished loading – which means no
marketing message delivery at all. Only 2% allowed the ad to load enough to see a complete
company logo. And, 35% of pop-up ads are “ignored completely.” Despite the
strong negative consensus, only 14% of us have a pop-up blocker on our browser, even
though many are available free. Which goes to show that most of us would rather gripe
about a problem than solve it. Nothing new in consumer behavior there.
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February 25, 2004
Branding is a big challenge. Especially if you’re a retailer, because branding goes
so far beyond tangible products. In England, middle-of-the-road department store Marks
& Spencer, once well-known for solid value, is struggling to update its image.
Here’s the article, from the BBC:
Advertising
copywriter blog link
Swap the Marks & Spencer brand name with that of any mid-level department store in
the U.S., and the challenge remains the same. Sears. J.C. Penney. Robinsons-May. One
wonders, though, if any of them would have the guts to try out a concept as daring as
Marks & Spencer’s Lifestore. There’s a lot to get right, all the
way from store location and design, through line buying, right down to the hiring and
training of the sales and support staff. In fact, that last piece – personnel –
is the big one. Regardless of advertising, marketing, or branding, in retail the
most-important message to customers is delivered by the people on the floor.
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February 23, 2004
A television commercial starts with a concept. And, between concept and broadcast, there
stands a lot of hard work. This article, from ESPN, looks at what went into the latest
Adidas commercial featuring a fictional bout (using real footage) between Muhammad Ali and
his daughter Laila:
Advertising
copywriter blog link
The spot was computer-composited but not computer generated, and the
difference shows. Producing it took tools from low-tech (using a drum beat to time
punches, and a tennis ball as a target) to high-tech, plus a lot of human labor in both
research and in physically matching the moves in each shot. Technology gets you only so
far in delivering an advertising concept. Plain, old-fashioned elbow grease gets you the
rest of the way.
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February 20, 2004
“Advertising,” Maurice Saatchi reportedly said, “is a fashion
business.” Okay, what does one make of this article from the Edinburgh (Scotland) Evening
News (via Scotsman.com) about the resurgence of Manly Chest Hair:
Advertising
copywriter blog link
Yup, chest hair is in again, along with manly men. Light brand-oriented
thinking for a Friday: did Georgia-Pacific change the Brawny Man just when he
might have turned fashionable again? For the heck of it, here’s an article from the
Los Angeles (CA) Times (via the St. Paul (MN) Pioneer Press)
dated last month. It’s worth a read both for its insight into the process of creating
a character-based branding icon, and the final paragraph in which author Susan Faludi (Backlash:
The Undeclared War Against American Women, 1991; Stiffed: The Betrayal of the
American Man, 1999) predicts all of this:
Advertising
copywriter blog link
Sometimes, predicting trends is almost too easy.
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February 17, 2004
Skepticism about advertising in all its forms is on the rise with the younger generation.
This article, from MediaPost looks at research about marketing to “echo
boomers” – the 12- to 24-year-old children of the baby boomers:
Advertising
copywriter blog link
Key quote: “This generation is about authenticity, authorship, and autonomy.”
Among media choices, the credibility of television advertising dropped the least, perhaps
because it was lowest to begin with. An interesting finding about the 18-24-year-old
segment: “82 percent are skeptical about the accuracy of the news media.”
That means public relations and event marketing are about to face the same challenges as
advertising. Heads up!
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February 16, 2004
Okay, this is fun. Any copywriter who has worked for a residential developer (which is
basically every copywriter in Southern California) will read this article, from the San
Jose (CA) Mercury News with more than a glimmer of recognition:
Advertising
copywriter blog link
Ahh, naming streets and developments (er, communities). Fun little diversions
from the day-to-day task of creating ads. Not a lot of heavy thinking involved, just
poetic license and list generation, topped off by the tiny thrill of seeing your work on
the map and realizing that you just touched the lives of dozens (on a short street, a
Place or Close or Court) to hundreds (on an Avenue, Street, Way, or, dare one think it, a
Boulevard). Once, I included the names of several agency staffers on a list submitted to a
builder, and I seem to remember that one made the final cut (fortunately for the
residents, not mine). Thing is, those names will outlast my ad work, and yours, and a
whole slew of newly minted brand names as well.
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February 12, 2004
Everything old is new again. Proctor & Gamble’s marketing chief wants more
accountability and innovation in advertising. Here’s the article, from Ad Age
(QwikFIND ID: AAP37J):
Advertising
copywriter blog link
Key no-duh quote: “All marketing should be permission marketing.” Um ... all
marketing is permission marketing. For more than 150 years, people have either
opted in or out of looking at an ad. Furthermore, there have always been multiple opt-ins:
reading the copy, believing the promises, deciding to buy. Even high-level corporate
communication like branding requires opt-in from the consumer side. This is obvious
stuff. And, 20 years ago, the most-junior cub copywriter understood it. It was only
after the new media gurus came in and screwed up the marketing side that suddenly
“permission marketing” became a mantra. Well, that and “interactive
advertising.” (All good advertising is fundamentally interactive.)
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February 11, 2004
This article, from United Press International (UPI) looks at mainstream online
commercials:
Advertising
copywriter blog link
Really, it’s the same old stuff that makes “new media” effective (or
not). Breaking through the clutter. Delivering a relevant message in a way that makes the
product or service personally desirable. Nothing new there. The cool thing about online
media, is the level to which the message can adapt to the needs of each individual
potential customer. At a certain point, we’re no longer talking about online
advertising; we’re talking about individually delivered websites.
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February 10, 2004
Zany, wacky ads are the trend these days. Are they crazy like a fox, or desperately
self-conscious? This article, from the New York Times, looks at sandwich shop
advertising:
Advertising
copywriter blog link
These ads are quirkily self-conscious in a way that, say, Snapple marketing
(see February 9) is not. However, do they stand out within a mass medium to a mass market?
It looks like they do. Do they hit the desired target market? Again, it looks like they
do. Will they make (in Rosser Reeves’ words) “the goddamned sales curve stop
moving down and start moving up?” That remains to be seen. My opinion:
Subway no, because I think the creative (which I personally like, by the way) is aimed at
an older market, which I think may be strategically unsound for long-term growth. Quiznos
yes, because the madness and the market and the message and the opportunity all come
together.
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February 9, 2004
Some companies talk branding. Others simply do it. Here’s a great article about how
Snapple does it, from the folks at Marketing Sherpa:
Advertising
copywriter blog link
What I love about this, is that it proves that creativity isn’t just an essential
part of advertising – it’s an essential part of everyday business, from product
development to promotions to customer service. And, it’s all done with the customer
in mind first, a rare quality in business or advertising these days.
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February 5, 2004
Loch Ness (yes, the one with the monster) launches its first-ever branding initiative.
Here’s the article, from the Press and Journal (Aberdeen, Scotland):
Advertising
copywriter blog link
Research confirmed Loch Ness as one of the top 20 geographical destinations, right up
there with the Alps and the Grand Canyon. This new campaign, however, is not so much a
case of rebranding as branding, since Loch Ness has never before been marketed as a
destination. Also, the reality is that Loch Ness is a brand, marketed or not, and
the new marketing group would be fools to walk away from it.
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February 4, 2004
More than 4,000 brand experts worldwide were surveyed, the votes have been tallied, and
the #1 global brand of 2003 is search engine heavyweight Google. Here’s the article,
from the BBC:
Advertising
copywriter blog link
Rounding out the top five global brands: Apple, Mini, Coke, and Samsung. Key hint: only
one “diversified” brand in the lot. Regional differences were interesting. In
the U.S., Apple was #1. In Asia, Sony was #1. In Europe and Africa, the #1 brand was Ikea.
And Cemex (a construction firm) was #1 in Latin America.
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February 2, 2004
Before I get into my rant on the Super Bowl ads, here are some perspectives straight from
the heartland of America, the first from the St. Louis (MO) Post-Dispatch (titled
“Super Predictable”) and the second from the Duluth (MN) News Tribune:
Advertising
copywriter blog link
Advertising
copywriter blog link
I watched the game with my kids, and I paid special attention to the ads. (And, as an aside, some of the scary movie trailers were entirely inappropriate for children, along with most of the halftime show, and that will probably have me and my family doing something else next year during the Super Bowl.) This morning, I couldn’t recall any of the Super Bowl commercials. It wasn’t until I reviewed my notes that I remembered some. And there was nothing to remember. No message, no unique selling proposition, nothing to believe.
AOL Broadband goes fast. Yeah, well, so does every other brand of broadband. Sierra Mist refreshes. So does any other soft drink (or ice water for that matter, which one commercial rather oddly positioned as being more-desirable than the drink). A Cadillac goes faster than the speed of sound, and FedEx helps even an alien succeed in business. Entertaining but unbelievable premises that never turned the corner to believable promises.
The concepts were all about attracting attention, but the copywriting failed to do
anything with that attention once gained – like branding or persuading. In all,
multi-million-dollar opportunities to sell to a once-a-year audience, not only large but
favorably inclined towards advertising, wasted. I hate when that happens.
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Backwards in time to January 2004
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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