AMC’s hit advertising show Mad Men is off to a great start

AMC’s hit show Mad Men started its fourth season this last Sunday and my wife and I were bursting with anticipation. The last season ended with the future of the fictional ad agency, Sterling Cooper, hanging from a thread and it felt like an eternity of waiting to see what would happen next.

If you’ve missed the last three seasons, just know that I’ll be spilling the beans on some happenings in the first episode of season four below…so if you hate spoilers: READ NO FURTHER. For those of you who don’t mind, the backdrop for the show is important to know before reading on: The show takes place in 1960’s New York, specifically Madison Avenue, the hub of western advertising, especially back then. The show is filled to the brim with alcoholism, sex, infidelity, excitement and a look at the workings of ad agencies.

For those of you who are avid watchers of the show… did you like the new episode or did you think it was lacking?

I thought it was great. The new season started off with a bang; all sorts of PR problems and growing pains of a fledgling advertising agency make the screen burn with conflict. My favorite part of the whole show was when the protagonist (Donald Draper played by 2008 Golden Globe winner John Hamm) throws a client out of the office for being so stuck in their ways that they can’t think outside the box.

I got such a rush from that scene! I think all creative department workers dream of doing this to a client at one point or another, even though they probably never have. It can drive one crazy when a company, who by the way is coming to you because they need to change their strategy, are unwilling to listen to the creative ideas that will help them reach their market.

Sometimes, all the client really wants is a new production of an ad they’re already running. It’s as if they expect to turn a huge profit on the same ad. Many times these same clients then act totally surprised when the same ad produces the same results.

I’ve lost hundreds of hours on rewrites just because the account executive is scared he’s going to lose a client. And truthfully, I don’t mind rewriting an ad if it’s in the name of progress. After all every business should be involved in their own advertising campaign and should help come up with concepts that will attract more customers. That and, well, the more I write, the better I become in the long run.

So tell us…do you love the show?

What was your favorite season?

How is season 4 treating you?

What was you’re favorite scene?

Until next time…Happy Marketing

It was late June and the streets were buzzing with excitement about the new iPhone 4.

Two of the guys at work were flipping out and blabbing like chatty Kathy’s about the cool features they had on their new phones and how long the line was to get one.

About twenty minutes went by when I began noticing that folks online were already complaining. Among the top of these complaints was a reception issue which was later found to be due to a faulty antenna.

The complaints continued to pour in and Apple just sat defensively silent.

Since then the Apple corporation has done very little to calm the worries of their patrons.

They have even managed to scare off potential clients. What we’re now witnessing is a PR nightmare.

Had they managed their response better they could have avoided their falling stock prices and collapsing client base.

However I do believe they’ll be ok in the long run for two reasons: They still make good products, and people can be forgiving if you make it up to them (especially when it comes to technology). And per Apple’s most recent press conference (see the video below) they hope to have “made it up” to their customers.

Apple forgot that the cardinal rule when dealing with a mob of angry customers is; SHOW THEM YOU CARE.

Instead of avoiding responsibility and trying to keep things quiet, Apple should have stopped everything right away, recalled the units and made a loud and heart felt public apology.

People want to feel as though they are dealing with companies that care. When you deny something or try to keep things quiet people feel betrayed. Making a bad product once can get you in trouble, but betraying people will make them hate and fear you.

Unfortunately I think this is a lesson Apple is learning the hard way….

But tell us what you think.

Click here to view the embedded video.

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Advertising Mistake #1- No Call to Action

It’s been proven time and time again that if you don’t ask people to buy what you’re offering, chances are they‘ll go to someone who does. But we must look deeper than that.

Does your call to action truly evoke desire in the mind of your target audience? Is there urgency? How honest is it?

It may not be possible to have all of these elements in every ad but the closer you get the stronger the ad will be.

Advertising Mistake #2- The Use of Superlatives

Believability and honesty are the two things people expect from companies they buy from. The use of superlatives distracts them from your main selling points and brings up a debate in the mind of your target consumer.

Words like: best, greatest, perfect, etc. make the human mind go around and around trying to decide whether or not the claim being made is true.

In most cases superlatives make statements un-provable and cause the target audience to distrust the company who made the statement.

Remember, honesty is your friend and if you can find a creative and honest way to make your product shine your target consumer will not only applaud your honesty but they’ll buy from you before they do with anyone else.

Advertising Mistake #3- Over-complicated Promotions

When you come up with a promotional motivator make sure it is easy to understand and extremely creative. “Buy one, get one free,” has become cliché but the concept is still nice and simple.

When people don’t understand a promotion it can actually scare them out of participating.

Advertising Mistake #4- Failure to Make a Logical Connection with the Target Audience.

This one is obvious but frequently overlooked. If you aren’t making it clear why your product is beneficial no one will want to buy it. No matter how creative your advertising is unless, of course, you are already a brand people are familiar with.

Let your audience know why your product is superior or necessary by connecting it to something in their day to day lives, or to a feeling they would cherish.

If creativity isn’t your strong suit, find people who can help. It can mean the difference between ads that get lost in the shuffle and ads that work.

Advertising Mistake #5- Failure to Make an Emotional Connection with the Target Audience.

People only spend time on things that they can connect with. If you can make an honest emotional connection with your target client they’ll not only take the time watch the ad but they’ll also buy the product.

Simple features and benefits are not enough to connect with the audience you’re selling to. You must evoke a feeling that makes your consumer connect with the advertisement.

Be as shocking or inspiring as you want but don’t forget to maintain honesty. Both your product and your target market must live up to the ideas in the ad.

Finding the right concept, the right words and so on, takes imagination and a willingness to go through a million ideas that don’t work to find the one that does. Its hard work but the results are worth their weight in sales.

If you can’t do it yourself find, people who can. You won’t regret it.

The human mind, especially in the fast paced 21st century, isn’t stimulated by anything short of amazing.

If you fail to stimulate the mind, you may as well be invisible.

When Reza out of our California office suggested I watch the movie Art & Copy I was intrigued but not too sure what to expect.

The film, through fantastic interviews, superb narration and clever editing, shows you the importance of creativity in advertising and the love advertising agencies give their work.

The filmmakers explain first hand the pitfalls most business owners don’t see when running a campaign and how good creative is set up to avoid these problems by connecting to the target audience more effectively.

The film, although not a perfect snapshot of this mammoth industry, is a very compelling piece of art in itself. I can see why this was the 2009 Official Selection at Sundance.

The agencies interviewed are those whose clients can afford large campaigns, something that is not always the case with Agencies who don’t work with giants like Nike and Apple. However it does show you how if you invest in good creative and placement you will recoup your expenses and then some.

Tommy Hilfiger tells of how so very embarrassed he was when his ad agency used a campaign comparing him (a nobody at the time) to the likes of Calvin Klein and Ralph Lauren. Even so, he was able to go through with the pricey half page ads and expensive 7th Ave billboard in New York. And when he did, he soon became one of the most talked about designers in the U.S. sending his sales skyrocketing beyond his wildest dreams.

Despite the fact that the creators of the “GOT MILK?” campaign or the creators of the dancing silhouette iPod commercials talk about how they are pitting themselves against the giants in New York, they still aren’t necessarily feather weights either. In fact their facilities reminded me of something out of Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous, or maybe MTV Cribs.

Wieden + Kennedy in particular houses a basketball court, and a nice little practice space for bands, among other things! All of these luxuries are to help with the creative process because they know that good creative sells products.

This film lets you see the process agencies undertake to get a campaign. Everything from ideas to approved billboards and TV ads.
Relive the impact of the first Macintosh TV commercial. Re-experience the social movement created out of the JUST DO IT campaign, and learn the startling truth about where that line came from.

The importance of clever, responsible and creative advertising campaign’s that inspire rather than numb audiences comes to the forefront of the themes presented, and while it seems one-sided, the film does not flop.

To learn more about getting creative with your advertising watch this movie, and if you decide you need more help getting good creative remember that you can call on us any time.

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www.youtube.com/watch?v=r08ziOtOeHI