Lee Dunbar

Jul

3

It’s Thursday night and you’re presenting a campaign to your client Friday morning. You’ve got nothing. Your gut is twisting. The sweat pours from your brow. You’ve drank a few pots of coffee. You’ve typed, scribbled and doodled to no avail.

Don’t worry, here are ten no-fail ways to come up with an iron clad creative campaign that your client will love.

1. The Game Show. Turn your ad into a game show parody. If you’re really clever, you will turn your product into the answer to the question. This great strategy has been used by government organizations, retailers and even car manufacturers. Bing! What is ad strategy number one Alex?

2. The Retail Rap. Have the owner of the store, an employee or even better yet, the boss’ daughter sing on a broadcast commercial. Better yet, an American Idol-inspired contest. Hey — it worked for Pepto Bismol. What’s better than a dancing pink Pepto Bismol bottle singing? A bunch of people on a stage doing their own version of course! Indigestion, upset stomach, diarrhea. Gah!

3. Include the Family. Have the clients family members —  no matter how horrible they are —  voice the spots or appear in the ads. Especially if they are cute young kids. You likely won’t understand what they are saying and the production value is horrendous, but boy are they cute and your client can brag at the next wedding reception.

4. The Inside Joke. You’ve got that inside joke about Martha in sales? Bill in accounting? A commercial is a great time to share this with the general public. Your customers won’t know what’s going on, but you can have a good chuckle with their families’ at the next company picnic.

5. The Lazy, Stupid Male. Yep, make fun of Dad. There is no better ad strategy than to make fun of the idiot of the family. Show him breaking something, falling, building some really ugly dog house or getting caught in a fib. Nothing makes a product more appealing than a dumb man.

6. The ‘New’ Bimbo. This is the new 21 Century Bimbo we’re talking about here. Women making fun of women. Not only are ad agencies using the same creative strategy — they are even using the same actresses! That’s right, you too can use the same bimbo women popularized in commercials by Special K and Kraft Cheese — jalapeno (gel-ap-eno) in your shredded cheese anyone?

7. The Cornucopia. The oldie-but-goody rears its ugly head. Nothing more cliche than the good ‘ole cornucopia of savings.

8. The Popular movie Rip-Off. Take an expression or line from a movie and drive it into the ground. I still get queezy when I hear anything to do with “show me the money” from Gerry McGuire. I think every variation was used for years — show me the savings! Show me the coupons. Show me the buffet! Show me the exit. Ugh!

9. The Stupid Intern. No better way to make the client look good than to pair him or her with a dumb intern. The dumber the intern the better.

10. This deal is so good I have to run away from the cops. Ah yes, even heavy weights like Pontiac and IKEA have used this one. Show a customer who has just left with a product that was such a great deal that they think they will be arrested. Delightful!

Bonus Strategies

11. The Super Hero. Fighting gingivitis? Need someone to fight high prices? Along comes the super hero to save the day!

12. Insult your most important customer. I recently heard a commercial for a building materials supplier that essentially tells the man of the house to leave the woman of the house at home because they don’t have fancy cappuccino machines or nice decor. That’s right, ignore the fact that woman account for 80% of building material purchases and go right ahead and insult the ‘little lady’. I am sure the grizzled contractors coming into the store will have a chuckle with you, but I guarantee the woman sending them wouldn’t.

Tags: Advertising Stuff, Just Stuff

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