tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5249997465016074955.post2679846250744921641..comments2023-12-23T21:59:20.634-08:00Comments on The Ad Contrarian: The Human FactorBOB HOFFMANhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05158827977385952634noreply@blogger.comBlogger20125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5249997465016074955.post-57369581428626068072014-10-29T10:01:10.616-07:002014-10-29T10:01:10.616-07:00I read all three posts in this series. Bob, I thi...I read all three posts in this series. Bob, I think you need to take your own advice. You used many words and complex concepts and analogies to convey a simple thought:<br /><br /><br />People are complex and are motivated by many factors which are often times unknown and unmeasurable. In light of all this uncertainty what is the best way to communicate effectively (in advertising or any other mode)? Communicate without artifice, excessive ego or unnecessary complexity. Speak the truth. In spite of all of our differences, we're not all that different from one another so let's have our language reflect that.Joesephnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5249997465016074955.post-37200259853214447372014-10-29T07:39:24.227-07:002014-10-29T07:39:24.227-07:00as always, ADC... you're just too good, i'...as always, ADC... you're just too good, i've been following you for the past several years now, and you seem to be on a surge ever since you retired. it's like a new lease of life. don't stop. don't stop.Sheriff Shooternoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5249997465016074955.post-83537004093586756292014-10-28T07:08:03.020-07:002014-10-28T07:08:03.020-07:00People buy from people/companies/ads they like.
Yo...People buy from people/companies/ads they like.<br />You advertizing people stopped listening to sales people a long time ago but perhaps you should post that golden rule right over your desks, beds and bathroom sinks. It's an art that metrics and big data choose to ignore because it isn't quantifiable, can't be controlled and can't be driven by a marketing department full of social media addled 25 year olds trying to convince their bosses that they are driving business in a "new world of work".<br />Right now I am working with another rep to clean up a marketing department dictated customer facing document with endless repetition, mindless babble and instructions that aren't even in grammatically correct English. Don't even get me started on the spelling mistakes. But hey, the metrics can be massaged to make it look good.lbarrnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5249997465016074955.post-19425095366728683292014-10-27T09:08:55.740-07:002014-10-27T09:08:55.740-07:00The best direct marketing advertising sounds like ...The best direct marketing advertising sounds like the writer is murmuring in the ear of the recipient. I don't recall who originally said that, but classics in advertising like the Wall Street Journal's 25-year control letter "Two Young Men" definitely sounds like the writer is speaking directly to me. <br /><br /><br />You can't murmur into the ear of a true consumer: insects, mold and fungi. But you can talk to a human and convince them through emotion and logic that what you have to offer is worthwhile.Mark Pilipczukhttp://www.markpilip.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5249997465016074955.post-49029955344452041592014-10-26T22:47:51.504-07:002014-10-26T22:47:51.504-07:00It is not only terribly hard to write and art dire...It is not only terribly hard to write and art direct an ad that touches us an humans. The only people who can do that are people with great talent. They are artists. Nothing less. Talent can not be taught, just sharpened. <br />Big data won't sharpen talent that's for sure. The importance of the true artist has been buried under a heap of processes and procedures and decks and meetings and everything else we've done to try to look responsible and professional. It's probably one reason why award shows have become the only outlet for artistry. Talent wasted all too often in the world of scam ads and marginal campaigs,TCnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5249997465016074955.post-20079374559427465552014-10-26T09:56:42.794-07:002014-10-26T09:56:42.794-07:00Bob, I'd really love to hear your take on this...Bob, I'd really love to hear your take on this. I was waiting to the joke at the end of it, but it never came...<br />https://vimeo.com/snapsappMaxnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5249997465016074955.post-14683778472082493432014-10-25T07:23:46.259-07:002014-10-25T07:23:46.259-07:00As in all industries (mine - journalism - included...As in all industries (mine - journalism - included), advertising insiders tend to over-complicate what they do. The public want to be informed or entertaIned or both. shedpalnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5249997465016074955.post-45657030702324506282014-10-24T13:09:09.917-07:002014-10-24T13:09:09.917-07:00The direct people say, "The only mail you rec...The direct people say, "The only mail you receive that is 'junk' is the mail that doesn't interest you. That same piece of mail may be of immense interest to your next-door neighbor." And even that is subject to change (when I'm looking for a car or a house, to take but two examples).timorrnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5249997465016074955.post-82143966722552504352014-10-24T12:05:21.191-07:002014-10-24T12:05:21.191-07:00Bob, I'm not in advertising; I'm a graphic...Bob, I'm not in advertising; I'm a graphic designer, but I have a real interest in the ad business, and your blog in particular. I've read your three posts individually and again, in one hit, just to make sure I get what you're saying. But since reading your theory, something has started to grow in my head. It's an uncomfortable thought and I don't even like to verbalise it, but aren't you suggesting that the ads that shift product do so because of some kind of luck, rather than judgement?Timmnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5249997465016074955.post-25361643092124616632014-10-23T23:33:53.232-07:002014-10-23T23:33:53.232-07:00Amazing Blog...,
Free Classified AdsAmazing Blog..., <br /><br /><a href="http://www.yaatou.com" rel="nofollow"><br />Free Classified Ads</a>Murtaz Jadoonnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5249997465016074955.post-37435046847024358322014-10-23T18:54:54.787-07:002014-10-23T18:54:54.787-07:00It all started with that sad joke WOMM - and devol...It all started with that sad joke WOMM - and devolved into whatever silliness they call it today.<br /><br />From 2006: <br /><br />http://www.advertisingtobabyboomers.com/2006/12/brouhaha-over-womm.htmlChuck Nyrenhttp://chucknyren.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5249997465016074955.post-60707025697064081332014-10-23T13:26:20.876-07:002014-10-23T13:26:20.876-07:00Nice.Nice.Cecil B. DeMillenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5249997465016074955.post-63187353540647048182014-10-23T12:49:48.571-07:002014-10-23T12:49:48.571-07:00Facebook advertising is 1/8 as valuable, per user ...Facebook advertising is 1/8 as valuable, per user minute, to advertisers as print newspapers: http://zgp.org/~dmarti/business/newspaper-dollars-facebook-dimes/ Even as print's share of user minutes goes down, it keeps a price premium on a per-minute basis.dmartinoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5249997465016074955.post-67606594794509773632014-10-23T09:32:15.693-07:002014-10-23T09:32:15.693-07:00Facebook ads are worth about 1/8th as much per use...Facebook ads are worth about 1/8th as much per user minute as newspaper ads: http://zgp.org/~dmarti/business/newspaper-dollars-facebook-dimes/<br /><br /><br />People in the USA (on average) spend about twice as much time on Facebook as they do reading the printed newspaper. Although the minutes spent on print keeps coming down, on a per minute basis print advertising is consistently keeping its price premium over digital.dmartinoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5249997465016074955.post-26799201925919819122014-10-23T09:09:17.019-07:002014-10-23T09:09:17.019-07:00So, similar to light as the constant in Einstein&#...So, similar to light as the constant in Einstein's equation, the constant in the "quantum theory of advertising" is that people are human. <br /><br />I know that when I'm watching TV, reading a newspaper, listening to the radio, etc., I'm always observing things as a human, but not often as a consumer. So I think it's easy for even a well-crafted ad that is targeting the consumer in me to not have any impact. <br /><br />But target me with things that appeal to me as a human and at least the odds that I'll have tuned you out before you even get to the message will be much lower.Jeff Spicolinoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5249997465016074955.post-51182673739349357552014-10-23T07:03:50.001-07:002014-10-23T07:03:50.001-07:00I have the original of that cartoon...it was on th...I have the original of that cartoon...it was on the wall of a guy who was CEO at a marketing science company called MMA who used to use it to explain what they did to customers. 'And then a miracle occurred'. When we (I was at Aegis at the time) bought the business they gave me the cartoon.Brian Jacobsnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5249997465016074955.post-51272199174701255782014-10-23T05:26:07.238-07:002014-10-23T05:26:07.238-07:00Remember the old Far Side cartoon of the man at th...Remember the old Far Side cartoon of the man at the blackboard doing a complex math problem. In the middle of all the numbers and formulae is written, "A Miracle Occurs."<br /><br /><br />It feels like that's how you're defining advertising. Two parts stuff we can understand, one part stuff that defies understanding. And that may very well be accurate. Maybe understand is the wrong word. Quantify? Identify? I'm not sure. All I know is that any theory, however daft, is better than the shit we're forced to work with now. <br /><br /><br />And I honestly think there are a lot of copywriters out there who can make it human. They just stand alone when they fight for it. And they lose. Often. I know I have.Cecil B. DeMillenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5249997465016074955.post-38334300071008577582014-10-23T05:20:15.070-07:002014-10-23T05:20:15.070-07:00Lemon ( the VW ad) comes to mind.Lemon ( the VW ad) comes to mind.Cecil B. DeMillenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5249997465016074955.post-6495165079617845482014-10-23T03:29:10.181-07:002014-10-23T03:29:10.181-07:00Some examples?Some examples?CRLnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5249997465016074955.post-4985941350027942752014-10-23T02:12:18.557-07:002014-10-23T02:12:18.557-07:00This is all great, Bob, but couldn't we simply...This is all great, Bob, but couldn't we simply stick with earlier thinking you have proposed: good advertising gets noticed and is memorable? Whether people will remember this emotionally or rationally, even whether they will like it or not is less important. As long as the response is strong enough (people notice it against that busy backdrop of everyday life and remember it when it matters), emotional or rational, we've done our jobs. <br /><br />I would only add that it needs to be correctly attributed. People need to remember the ad AND the brand it was for. <br /><br />That would also agree with Byron Sharp's point about salience.MPerettinoreply@blogger.com