Is Your Advertising a Joke?

If you listen to your ad rep or your advertising agency, chances are they will come up with ads that they think are funny. You see, they want to be seen as creatively funny. It’s a main goal for them. Why? Well, those types of ads may win them a new job or an industry award for being clever.

There was a local Jeweler in Tacoma who was not having a good go of it with customers or profitability – but, his ad agency told a reporter, “At least our ads are funny.”

Is that really the purpose of an ad campaign?

If you’ve been following me for a while, you know I think that any ad that doesn’t make your cash register ring – frequently and loudly – should be abandoned. If you spend money on advertising, you need return on your investment. Anything else, isn’t advertising that helps you.

Oh I know – your agency and sales reps will tell you that at least you are creating good will and you’ll have “good word of mouth” in the community and you are “branding” your product. But the truth is, they are really just wasting your money.

Most ad agency and media copywriters produce an ad the same way they tell a joke. They open with an obscure reference to what’s coming, then add data little by little, working their way up to the punch line.

But this may be the worst possible way to write an ad. Those listening to a joke are committed to listening. But those listening to an ad are not.

The lead on these ads is a setup, where the writer wants to set the stage for the argument he is about to make. Usually, the copywriter takes about 15 seconds to get to the point. And worse yet, when he finally does, his ad is answering a question that no one is really asking.

But the customer wants him to get to the point quickly. He wants an answer to: “What’s in it for me?” If that question isn’t answered soon – the ad message falls on deaf ears. In less than seven seconds, the customer’s mind has tuned it out and he has stopped listening entirely.

Your ads should begin by delivering the punch line directly to an emotional need – and then substantiating the claims made during the opening statement. Your listeners expect you to prove what you say.

A good ad should be a satisfying experience – not a joke.

Good selling!

J  Dana

Mr. Dana Kehr

Pro Marketing Northwest
PO Box 731413
Puyallup, WA

Email:  getmedana@gmail.com
(253)579-4040 text and direct

P.S.  Want to create ads that aren’t a joke? Call me. It’s what I do!