Agnostic about Advertising

I’m not an advertising atheist … just agnostic about advertising. I’ve always believed if advertising is the answer, one should question the question.

For many marketers, the answer to the question of, “Sales are down, customer counts are falling … what can we do?” is to spend marketing dollars on an advertising campaign.

From my experience at Starbucks and Whole Foods, I learned to answer the question of, “Sales are down, customer counts are falling … what can we do?” by spending marketing dollars to make the product/experience better and not to make the advertising better.

This week AdJab and Adrants clued me in on two very creative advertising campaigns where the marketers have decided to spend money on making the advertising better and not necessarily to make the product better.

Exhibit A: CBS Television | Water Cooler Advertising

To promote its Monday night comedy shows, including the new sitcom Out of Practice, CBS is placing ads on water coolers in Rite Aid and Duane Reade drugstores. CBS is also placing ads on prescription bags with the tagline of "Prescription-Strength Comedy." [MORE]

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Exhibit B: Court TV | Billboard Advertising

On King Street in the SoHo area of New York City, Court TV has installed a “… faux painting on the side of a building to make it look like the rest of the structure, picturing various ‘inhabitants’ of the building in the middle of potential crimes.” [MORE]

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Any thoughts from the atheists, the agnostics, and the believers in our audience?

Comments

[Dustin]

I'm not sure what I am. Either an agnostic or a believer I guess. Definitely not an atheist... yet.

I believe advertising can be quite powerful, but it cannot stand alone. Like the product or service offered, the advertising itself should lend toward word of mouth. "Hmmm. This ad is interesting. I wonder if the TV show is as well." Like most everyone else, I think marketers are lazy. We are too content to follow a cookie-cutter approach to advertising. Hence, ideas like the ones you've featured are rare but ironically this rarity adds to their effectiveness.

So, I believe in advertising. I just believe we should be more creative with components other than copywriting and design. We should be creative in choosing media and audiences as well as product development. Afterall, these components contribute to the message as much as, or moreso, than what we currently label as "creative" in advertising.

In that regard, we should all be "creative directors."

[Jen]

I think I would have to term myself a Cautious Advertising Idealist. Let me explain: Court TV has been doing some really interesting re-branding lately. In addition to the faux crime windows you mentioned, brand new featured this: http://garethkay.typepad.com/brand_new/2005/08/court_tv.html
It's actually enough to make me check them out. (or it would be if I had cable...) The idealist in me wants to believe that they've stepped up their traditionally dull line-up to match their intelligent and interesting marketing. But the realist (some would say cynic) fears that it's just another case of sound and fury... signifying nothing. That initial experience had better live up to the expectations set... or the buzz they've established can go bad really fast. Obvious? Yes. But that doesn't seem to dissuade countless marketers from continuing to make that mistake. And that is what makes my idealist so cautious. I want to believe that there is a direct correlation between quality of product and quality of thought in advertising. Or at least that there could be. Perhaps this kind of dialogue is the best thing we can do to get there, eh? I guess that makes me an agnostic who really wants to believe.

[Michelle Golden]

Hallelujah John!
Point "...spending marketing dollars to make the product/experience better and not to make the advertising better." is especially relevant in professional services firms where the product is intangible and where advertising campaigns have a much lower return on investment than does WOM advertising from a job well done or caring delivery style.

[Bryan Ong]

For most marketers this is the math equation: Advertising = Increase Sales + Increase Customers.

What I think is the correct math equation:
Integrated Marketing Communication = Better product/Better Experience = Increase Sales + Increase Customers

I made a posting in regards to John's posting here on my blog:
http://marketingjournal.blogspot.com/2005/08/advertising-increase-sales-increase.html

[johnmoore (from Brand Autopsy)]

Great comments everyone. I think we all want to believe in advertising but too many advertisers are making a mockery out of advertising. They are doing this by creating ads that over-promise and woefully under-deliver.

Take Burger King. I find all of the Burger King ads from CP+B to be highly creative but every ad over-promises how my Burger King experience will be.

Ya know … I will be a believer in advertising again when two things happen:
(1) Advertisers stop treating me as being boring, indifferent, and brainlessly gullible. Treat me a being interesting to get me interested.
(2) Advertisers start going beyond creating brand awareness to create brand preference. Start creating brand preference by showing/telling me how their product/service will make my life better.

[Arvind]

well...try this link for really international creative advertising http://www.creativecriminal.blogspot.com/