The
Battle For Coca-Cola
Rages
On.
Ain't
Nothing Like
The Real Thing, Maybe.
I
Don't Mean To Say
I Told You So, But...
Are
Consumers Smarter
Then We Are?.
The
Four Great Myths
Of Global Branding.
Mr
Bevis Butts Heads
At Mitsubishi
The
Best Laid Plans
Of Mice And Men.
Dare
to Be Great:
The Mad Genius of "The Matrix"
Mitsubishi's
New Marketing Boss
Out
Of The Frying Pan.
Concept Is Stronger Than Fact.
Value
Perception In A World
Gone Mad With "Cool"
The
Future of Advertising
The
Brand
The
Future of Advertising
The
Targets
The
Future of Advertising
The
Grid
The
Future of Advertising
The
Swarm
Technology
Making
The Message Meaningful
The Only Business That Matters Is The One You're In.
What
Ever Happened To The
Big Idea?
The Post Advertising Era Is Here
THEFUTURE OF
THE
SECRET
TO OUR SUCCESS.
The
truth is MadisonAveNew.com
has been picking up readers like a house on fire. We actually owe it
to a suite of six web marketing tools.
If you would like to know
more, give them a click. Yeah, we get a kick if you buy them.
Here they are:
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The Post Advertising Era 1.1. Confessions Of A "Liar For Hire." What was the first axiom you were taught by your first boss, in your first job in advertising? For me it was, "No one ever went broke underestimating the intelligence of the American Public" ( P.T. Barnum). It was handed down, as if on a stone tablet to me and hundreds of thousands of ad makers just like me. Probably for the past 100 years. And so it was, that one of the most successful, and, at the same time, most reprehensible strategies in marketing has come to pass. And even though, for more than a century, American business embraced these words...hell, worshipped at their feet; something more insidious came about as the result of Mr. Barnum's gift to history. The marginalization of truth in advertising. |
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And thus, the "School of Dumbvertising" has come to pass. You know what I'm talking about. Hammers in the head for Anacin. Little men in their little boats in the toilet bowl for TideeBowl. On-line Dancing Chickens for Burger King. "Dumbvertising." So therefore, herein, for all to know, I am willingly admitting, without fear of reprisal, that as a result of this belief system, I have become a "Liar For Hire." A professional prevaricator for America's large corporations. |
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I read this thing on the web the other day that said you were," the most dangerous man in advertising." I read a few of your past columns and they just seem like any other random ranting to me.- Robert. G. -Denver The
most dangerous man in advertising is Donny Deutch. He makes us all
look bad |
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But if this really is the Post-Advertising Era, what am I to do? What will replace hammers, boats and chickens? How will my new Big Ideas differ from my old Big Ideas? And perhaps, more importantly. How will my fellow creators of those new Big Ideas differ from those like myself who have been basically "Liars for Hire" all of their professional lives? Those, who do not yet see the writing on the bathroom walls. Several episodes ago I entreated you dear readers to find that "One True Thing." About a product or service whose image you were responsible for. The One True Thing is the core real world premise the marketing platform is built on. For example, in any insurance product, the One True Thing is Concern For The Well-being Of One's Family. It's not how friendly the agent is, or how cool the duck is, or how venerable the building is. Those elements are the signs of we "Liars for Hire" at work, trying to distract our audience from the one thing that really matters. Does your family have the protection they need, should tragedy strike? Why is it that people like me would rather have people like everybody you know, laugh at the misadventures of a duck, then think about how much they are investing over the years in insurance premiums, in comparison to how much money their policy will provide, when necessary? Because we think we know that people think, we think we know how to make them do what we want them to do. On one page, a duck in a monkey suit. On another page an actuarial calendar. Which ad would your Aunt Millie remember? We "Liars For Hire" have been lying for so long that we've convinced ourselves that she will remember that pesky duck with the annoying squawk. And providing that memorability is what our clients are paying us for, right? But Aunt Millie, she's been a changin' up on us, she has. First it was that membership in AARP. They sent her a video tape on losing her group coverage and what happens if you're not eligible for Medicare. Then she found a website that explained the individual health insurance options and the questions to ask before buying into them. Then there were the girls at her Tuesday night Bridge Club. Suddenly that duck wasn't so funny any more. And that actuarial calendar was looking more exciting all the time to dear, sweet Aunt Millie. "For most people, group health insurance is a better choice than individual health insurance," said AARP. "Group insurance usually costs less and offers more benefits," Aunt Millie told the girls. Then the girls realized their Bridge Club could qualify as a "group." And where did they buy their group policy? Why, from the company that had the actuarial calendar in it's ad. Yes, t he Aunt Millie's of the world are changing up on us "Liars for Hire." They would rather be informed than patronized. And the efforts of advertisers to clean up their mess and get on the same page with Aunt Millie are moving at a glacial pace. These days I am finding it harder and harder to tell the truth in my work. I am so accustomed to writing advertising for emotional impact and memorability, instead of writing advertising for clarity and relevance to things that really matter to people. I realized that the other day and it made me feel like shit about myself and my entire body of work. I mean it was "creative" and all that. Well crafted. Some might even say memorable. But "truthful?" A graphic designer I respect a great deal told me the other day, that she didn't know if she could do advertising. I asked why. She told me, "Because I don't lie." This was a person who had blown my mind with her belief that " People would rather laugh than think." "What a brain on this woman," I remember telling myself. She went on to explain her belief being that, " If something is too much work to get into, people will put it off until later. But an entertaining, meaningful, well designed, well crafted, visually stunning piece of anything will beg to be read" Her refreshing point of view reminded me why I was always intimidated by designers. They are not compelled to deceive. They are compelled to enlighten. What if this Post Advertising Era is all about telling the truth? What if truth is the new secret ingredient in Crest. "Baking Soda Will Clean Better, But Crest Will Taste Better. Do You Really Want A Mouth Full Of Grit In The Morning?" It's not short and catchy, but it does have a certain edge. What if the thing you remember was not the slogan or the tagline or the cool typeface, deconstructed layout or overexposed photo? What if what you remembered was that Crest didn't underestimate your intelligence? What if that was all you really cared about anyway? What if we "Liars for Hire" wound up with exactly what we deserved? Irrelevance. Stay tuned .
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