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The Restles Ad Vantage
Area pros say what makes a good ad today may not cut it next week
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Business New Haven
2/19/2001
By: Fiona Phelan
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Got Milk? Just Do It. Drivers Wanted. Be All That You Can Be. A Very Nice Bank. We Go Beyond the Call. We Love To See You Smile. Get the Sensation.
Open any magazine, tune into any television channel or radio station, surf any Web site and you are bombarded with messages hawking every product and service imaginable. Some, like those listed above, catch your attention and stick in your mind. That's good advertising.
Every day the consumer is bombarded with thousands of messages by diverse businesses in the hopes that: 1) you'll buy their product; 2) you'll remember the brand name; and 3) you'll become a repeat customer.
To achieve those goals, the business must advertise its product in a way that is sure to catch attention and in such a manner that each time you hear a slogan, see a certain picture or hear a certain tune you automatically think of that company.
So in this day of 24/7 communications, a company's advertisements have to be more than appealing; they have to be “Mmm, mmm good.”
Area advertising professionals say there are some new twists to 21st-century advertising. Companies are focusing on branding, by which their products become associated with more than just a slogan. They want to link themselves to events - that's promotional advertising.
Businesses are also looking for ways to link their products to events. For instance, you can't think of New Haven's annual distaff tennis tournament without thinking of Pilot Pen. So, too, other companies want to become linked with those types of events as part of their overall image-building program, says Marcy Silverman, vice president of creative for New Haven-based Silverman Group, which focuses on sports marketing for clients like the U.S. Open, Pilot Pen tennis tourney, the National Hockey League and World Cup soccer.
Today the image of a company is more than just its products. A company's image is reflected through its advertisements, its catalogues, its logo, Web site, the events it sponsors, the people who work there.
“Companies are scrutinizing their advertising budgets and focus on building their brands,” says Silverman. “They want to be involved with special promotional events that create revenue. By advertising and being associated with certain activities and having their product at that event, they get an instant return on their advertising investment.”
Companies compete to be sponsors of events so that they are the sole soft-drink supplier, T-shirt vendor or ice cream seller so that the next time you go to the event, you'll remember that you had a particular brand of ice cream last time you were there, and “hope they have it again.” When a company has achieved that identification, then their advertising is working, advertising professionals say.
“Companies are focused on image-building,” says Kim Barker Craven of Creative Services in Madison, a five-person shop that works on ads for UConn, among others. “They are trying to build a consistent image so that when a consumer thinks of a product, they automatically think of one particular company to supply that.”
Just as companies compete for shelf space in the mall, they are also competing for shelf space in the minds of consumers. Sometimes the shelves needed to be dusted off and re-arranged to be more appealing to the public. Advertising professionals say we are beginning to see something of that in new ads that are beginning to pop up.
Silverman points to the Budweiser ads shown during this year's Super Bowl as examples of ads that are going in a new direction. “Whassup” with that?
“I think the new Budweiser campaign is working because it's fun,” says Silverman. “It seems as if the culture is changing and things like commercials have lost their serious edge.
“The lighthearted approach seems to be working right now,” she adds.
“We're getting inundated with messages everywhere we go,” notes Silverman, “You have to find a way to make your message stand out. In the last two years there were a lot of ads that were serious, which I think reflected the way people felt about things in their lives.
“People tend to follow the leaders in business, and if the business climate is serious then the ads are going to reflect that,” she adds. “Advertising, like fashion, goes in cycles.”
In addition to the fun element of many new commercials, Silverman notes that bright colors are also popular. Orange, she notes, is a very hot color right now - both in the fashion industry and in advertising. The colors people wear tend to be reflected in the messages companies send.
“It doesn't pay to advertise,” quips Don Fass of New People of America advertising in Hamden, “It pays to be well advertised, and there's a lot that goes into being well advertised. Color is one of those things.”
While some print and television ads are highly colorful, others are black and white or sepia-toned. What works for one company may not work for another, notes Fass. Some ads are dense with type; others are very spare. Some products can sell themselves with just a picture; others need words.
A silent television spot can be just as or even more compelling than one that has a familiar jingle. Loud, information-filled radio spots can be forceful if used for the right product, but sometimes the soft touch can be more persuasive. The product should dictate which approach to take.
“An advertisement should contain the first rule of advertising salesmanship,” says Fass, who has been in the business for more than 46 years. “That rule is to build up curiosity and attract attention. The ad should also have a spectacular design.”
Without those basic elements, he says, the product or service is not going to get noticed - the marketplace is just too cluttered. A company has to consider the interests of its target audience when designing an ad, whether it's print, broadcast or Web-based. Choice of color in an ad very often reflects color choices on the fashion runway. Words used in a piece echo those used in popular speech - current trendy words or phrases that catch people's interest and make the ad hip.
“The consumer affiliates with trends and themes,” says Fass.
Fass recalls working with a women's shoe company on an advertising campaign for which the client wanted to use a piece of music that was “totally inappropriate for the demographics”. At times like that, you have to persuade the client to accept something more in tune with the desires of the target audience - or simply walk away from the account.
“You cannot mislead or engage in false advertising,” insists Fass. “The ad cannot lie about what the product can do. There has to be truth in advertising.”
The content of television shows also impacts advertising choices. Advertisers have moved away from supermodel, celebrity spokespeople to espouse the virtues of their product and have moved more toward ordinary consumers.
Shows like Survivor have prompted advertisers to cast real-life people in their ads. Recall last year's ads for Quaker Oatmeal: One of the featured women was from Middletown.
“I think advertising is becoming 'X'-driven,” says Silverman. “The advertisers want to be involved with something that's new and unique. Companies are trying to give consumers something else other than the standard fare.”
Advertising on the Web is also changing, say advertising professionals. Web sites are becoming more user-friendly and more interactive. Instead of just looking at a product on a company's Web site, you can often click on the item and another window will pop up to tell you more about the product.
“The influence of the Internet is changing the way everyone works - from the way we interface and communicate to the way we buy goods and services,” says Barker Craven of Creative Services. “Advertising is all about what's contemporary, and you can't get much more contemporary than the Internet.”
Advertising content is constantly shifting as the public's perception of “contemporary” ever evolves. So beware of cars falling from trees and the power of cheese. When you hear your youngster singing the jingle for a candy bar, you know that good advertising works.
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