Print ads need to work hard for you. They must grab your attention and then they must tell you something interesting. Lastly, they should motivate action. Generally speaking, this is the AIDA model (attention, interest, desire, action).  It is not always easy to do all this within the constraints of a small space. If you are a small business, chances are you can’t afford a full page, or even a half page. So you have to pack it in to small ads. The smaller the ad the more you have to think about what you write.

I came across an ad for a ballet studio in a local women’s magazine.  The headline says: “4 Week Introductory Sessions $30.”  That left me thinking–does this mean  four  weeks for $30? How many classes per week? Does the introductory session last four weeks? Already not clear.

The body copy goes like this:

Teen & Adult Classes

Jazz,Ballet, Pilates, Zumba, Musical Theater

Just for you!This wonderful program will ignite your passion for dance and exercise. Our extraordinary teachers will guide you every step of the way with a specialized curriculum in our lovely studios. Join us in class! (Telephone number and email address follow).

OK. What is missing here? LOCATION! From the phone, I know it is located in Maryland, but that could be anywhere in a 30-mile radius. No website either–I can figure it out from the email. Basically, missing key details.

What about the copy? Well, its like someone looked up adjectives and strung them all together in a sentence: wonderful, extraordinary, lovely, specialized.  Those meaningless (and overused) words take up valuable real estate. Also,  the copy refers to a (single) program, yet they tell me they offer at least five different types of classes.

My conclusion is that this ad does not work.  If you are a small business, and you are going to spend money on advertising, think about what you want to accomplish. Of course, a professional can help you with this, but using some common sense is always helpful.

UPDATE:  I checked out the studio’s website,  and it turns out they have multiple locations. However, the website was not updated to reflect the aforementioned classes. If you are going to start running advertising, you better have information to back it up. Don’t make potential customers work so hard to find out!!!!

About Deborah Brody

Deborah Brody writes and edits anything related to marketing communications. Most blog posts are written under the influence of caffeine.

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UPDATED INFORMATION

Ever since the steep rise in gasoline costs last summer, we’ve seen a steep rise in image/issue advertising from energy providers. What is interesting is that it continues, even months later. The big ones here are traditional oil companies like Chevron and Exxon/Mobil, the coal and natural gas industries  and nuclear energy. Steadily, these three are competing for attention, one has to wonder from whom and to what end. And of course, before I forget, there is T.Boone Pickens, the millionaire, who is self-paying for ads pushing wind and natural gas energy as a way to “stop our dependence on foreign oil.” Pickens is part of Clean Energy, an outfit promoting natural gas.

Chevron is running a campaign that is centered around the tag line “human energy.” It is designed to make gasoline look environmentally friendly (in fact,  that is exactly what all three types of energy want you to think–that they are the most eco-friendly). There are two types of commercial–one saying Chevron is a company concerned about the human race, and the future and another about conserving energy–for instance unplugging more. I am not certain who the target audience is for the campaign, nor am I certain the campaign works.

Meanwhile,  the Nuclear Energy Institute (I think) is running a commercial with the tagline “nuclear–clean air energy.”  In searching for info about the ad,  I came across AREVA (a nuclear company) that was running an ad campaign with the tagline “pure energy.” You see the theme here?

And finally, there is the omnipresent commercial for the clean coal oil and natural gas industry. You’ve seen it–a woman in a black pant suit is walking around talking about how we can tap our own (clean) energy resources at home. This commercial has been running fairly steadily since before the election last year, and still, I can’t find a link to it.  (If you can, will you send it to me or post in the comments?).  Of course, clean coal has come under fire, because apparently, there is no such thing.I saw the commercial again last night and saw that it is for the Oil and Natural Gas  Industry. The concept really is not about eco-friendliness but rather using American resources (you know, drilling more at home). It is quite anachronistic in a way because it has no mention or acknowledgment of the impact of the energy industry on the environment.

In the end, all some of these energy sources are trying to prove to us that they are the most ecological/green alternative. The gas/oil  industry is the one running the most scared. After the rise in fuel prices last summer, people made changes in their energy usage, and are now demanding fuel alternatives. So, gas has to position itself as somehow clean and friendly.

Do you find any of these commercials compelling or convincing?

About Deborah Brody

Deborah Brody writes and edits anything related to marketing communications. Most blog posts are written under the influence of caffeine.

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Last night,  I suffered through a football game in which the team I was rooting for lost. I was in it for the ads in any case, and that also was a bit underwhelming. As I had predicted, there were lots of ads for movies (about 10 by my count), some of them not opening until late summer. The beer ads were as always for Budweiser, Bud Light, and Bud Lime, plus one for Heineken (again, that I saw).  There were ads from CareerBuilder.com and Monster.com and Avon touting the time to change your career.  Other advertisers included:

In the automotive category:  Hyundai, Toyota, Audi, cars.com, carmax.com, Bridgestone tires, Castrol Oil

Beverages (non-alcoholic) : Pepsi, Coke ,  SoBe Lifewater, Super G (I think this was Gatorade)

Food: Taco Bell, McDonalds, Cheetos, Doritos

Products and Services: Etrade, GoDaddy.com, H&R Block, Teleflora, GE, Cash4Gold.com, Overstock.com, Kellogs Frosted Flakes, Pedigree adopt-a-dog campaign.

Overall, some of the best (and more memorable)  ads came from the usual suspects, Pepsi and Coke. Pepsi seemed to have taken over the Obama logo and used Bob Dylan and Will.I.Am. Coke went the animation route (this is after all the company that brought us cola drinking polar bears). Budweiser had two memorable commercials-one in which business people are having a budget meeting while drinking Bud Light (what?) and one of the recommends, albeit jokingly that they cut out the Bud to save money and gets booted out the window. The other featured the Clydesdale horses recounting their epic immigration to the United States. Bridgestone used Mr. Potato Head. SoBe used ballet-dancing  football players.

My least favorite ads by far were for GoDaddy.com.  Not only were they juvenile but they were also sexist. I am not sure what their target audience is for their services, but unless they are only trying to appeal to teenage boys and immature men, they missed the mark. I also did not like the CareerBuilder.com commercial. There was something so patronizing about it. Just like last year, I didn’t get the Doritos ads.  And Cheetos ads  were funny, but disturbing: women who eat snack foods can tap in to their inner witch.

I think when the tallies come out, this year was not the year for Super Bowl ad spending. Many of the ads (and some of the funniest, actually0 were for NBC and their shows. I especially liked the one dealing with the LMAO. That was funny.

If you missed the game, but want to see the ads, you can go to Hulu.com.

About Deborah Brody

Deborah Brody writes and edits anything related to marketing communications. Most blog posts are written under the influence of caffeine.

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First off, go Cardinals! Super Bowl 43 is on.

From what I have seen so far, here are a few predictions (about the ads)

Movies will be big–they have already shown a trailer for a movie openining in August. Movies do well in recessions.

Saving/Smart/Value/Solid–all touchwords for tonight

Enjoyment will be a theme

Another theme: Get ahead if you can, in spite of the economy (Careers.com, Monster.com and Avon will carry this message)

We are a scrappy people (continuation of above).

We’ll see lots of commercials for beer. (No duh)

About Deborah Brody

Deborah Brody writes and edits anything related to marketing communications. Most blog posts are written under the influence of caffeine.

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No,  this isn’t about about Paris Hilton’s Carl Jr.’s commercial or about Janet Jackson having a “wardrobe malfunction.”  Instead, it is about PETA’s new commercial promoting vegetarianism, because, get this, it leads to better sex. NBC has effectively denied the commercial the right to appear during the high-stakes Super Bowl. I found out about it on CNN’s Headline News, which gave the commercial lots of free publicity, and maybe, that was the whole point.

I am not sure where to start on this one. First of all, NBC’s shows are full of sexual innuendo and actual sex talk, so I am not sure where NBC  thinks it is drawing the line. But then, there is the commercial itself, which shows women flouncing around in skimpy underwear holding (and caressing) vegetables. I get it. The  Super Bowl is seen by  a bunch of men who love to see attractive women in various states of undress. GoDaddy certainly ran a fairly racy commercial showing some nearly-naked woman.  But then, I don’t get how showing women as sexual objects furthers PETAs cause.  I am not sure that beer-drinking, nacho-devouring men watching the Super Bowl are suddenly going to give up the tailgate burgers and steaks because being veggie is sexy.

I am not sure which irritates me most: NBC’s false sense of “morality,” especially in light of its programming, or PETA’s  decision to use sex, and sexist visions of women to sell their message.

See the commercial and commentary here.

Thoughts?

About Deborah Brody

Deborah Brody writes and edits anything related to marketing communications. Most blog posts are written under the influence of caffeine.

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