Advertising that sucks is pervasive. In fact, most advertising sucks. Which is good for you, because it makes it easier for your good ad to stand out. The challenge for you is to create excellent advertising. To do that you answer the question: What makes advertising suck? The answer does not lie in the ad.
Whether or not advertising sucks is determined before the ad is ever created. It’s determined by your commitment to your brand; the desired perception of your business in the mind of the consumer. If you are not committed to your brand, then you have no advertising plan. And commitment always reveals itself in the form of focus.
“Focus, focus, focus. These are the three most important words in branding. The danger is rarely too much focus, but too little. An unfocused brand doesn’t stand for anything. a Focused brand by contrast knows exactly what it is, why it’s different, and why people want it.”
Marty Neumeier – The Brand Gap
And if I could append Marty’s excellent advice, I would add: what to say about it. Know what you are, why you’re different, why people want you have, and you have an advertising plan. Where do you come up with ideas for excellent advertising? By focusing on your brand.
“…when you have a narrow idea, it is a lot easier to get good creative work.” –
Laura Ries – The Origin of Brands
Advertising That Sucks – Forgettable advertising that doesn’t advance your brand identity, generate store traffic or create positive conversation. Most commonly associated with the phrases: “We didn’t see any results.” and “That was a waste of money.”
Let’s see this focus-on-your-brand advertising strategy in action. We’ll use Super Bowl ads because they’re easily available on YouTube. The Snickers Betty White ad has been hailed as one of the best ads of Super Bowl XLIV, and I agree. The reason is that Snickers has focus. They know who they are, and they focus on one message. Take a look at the other TV spot in the “You’re not you when you’re hungry” campaign:
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Snickers focuses on the hunger satisfaction message. The commercials are funny, but they’re funny with a purpose. That purpose is advancing the Snickers brand as the snack that cures hunger. By comparison, let’s take a look at one of the worst ads of this year’s Super Bowl, CareerBuilder.com
“Expose yourself to something better.” Do you get it? Everyone’s walking around in their underwear. Clever, but ineffective and a waste of money. Because CareerBuilder.com’s brand is not about “better jobs,” it’s about “lots of jobs.” CareerBuilder.com touts that it is “The Largest Job Search, Employment & Career Site.” A trip to their website is a total disconnect from their advertising. The advertising and the brand are two separate entities. And that’s advertising that sucks.
Start with your brand, stick with your brand, and you’ll have an advertising plan. Aren’t you ready to stop wasting money on advertising?
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