What Is The Takeaway?
Posted On: 2011-04-04
Well when I started this morning I was about as motivated as a dead frog but the more I push on with the things I've got on my list of things to do today the more motivated I'm becoming.
Of course it could be that I'm not going to have my first cup of coffee till I get this column written that's really motivating me to get some work done. I guess you just have to be brutal with yourself sometimes is you've got work to do and the last thing on the planet you want to do is anything work-related.
So let's get on with some serious work and look at something that many of us don't often think about when we're crafting an ad or even a string of interlinked ads.
Of course when we create an ad we want it to make us some money. We want people to see it and become so overwhelmed with desire for the product that we're selling that they will rush out and buy ... right now ... this instant ... before they get distracted by something else that's bright and shiny.
So we craft killer ads that make them want to buy what we're selling. We make our product look and sound like the best thing to have every arrived on the market. We drum it into people that they just won't find anything better anywhere else.
The product we're selling will cure the global financial crisis ... reduce pimples ... protect against every disease known to man ... overcome global warming ... make the world a greener place ... and make anyone who buys it sing and dance in the streets.
But is that what they really see when they look at our ads? Is that the take away that they're left with when they move on ... scroll down ... or head for bed? Is that what they see when they lay awake at night remembering that ad that we took so long to craft and that we sweated blood over?
Right now here on Australian television there's a beverage maker advertising their brand of ice tea. Let's face it there are plenty of brands of ice tea on the market so what do you do to encourage people to drink your brand of iced tea rather than some other brand?
Well this beverage maker decided to do some television advertising featuring a world-famous Australian actor and dancer. He's the heart-throb of millions and he really is a very talented guy.
In this particular television ad that undoubtedly cost many many thousands of dollars to produce we see that well-known actor take a sip of iced tea and suddenly grass and shrubbery begins to grow through the pavement. People appear out of nowhere and they're dancing and having a great time.
The camera stays on the actor as he drinks more iced tea and leads all those people in more dancing.
I'm sure that the take away the makers of the ad wanted you to have is that this particular brand of ice tea will really help you have a great time. There'll be singing and dancing and the grass will grow and everything will be wonderful. What more reasons could you want to drink this particular brand of ice tea?
That's what the beverage maker and their marketing people want viewers to remember. But what's my take away from that particular ad? What do I remember about that ad?
My take away is that the star of the ad isn't wearing any socks and he looks positively dumb. His slacks are just a little short and it shows that he's wearing shoes with no socks ... even in the long shots you can see that he's not wearing socks ... and that's what I see and remember about that ad.
I can't even remember the name of the beverage maker but I can remember the lack of socks. I'm sure that's not what the beverage maker wants people to remember and I'm sure that not everyone does remember that but if I noticed then others will too.
So what do people see when they look at your ads? Is the take away plain and impossible to miss or are there some silly things that will get in the way of the message that you want people to see and hear when they see your ad?
The next time you spend hours crafting an ad don't heave a huge sigh of relief the moment you've finished working on it and rush to get it up on your websites. Instead put it aside for 24 hours and then come back to it and take a fresh look at the message you're trying to get across to the people who will see it.
Then look for any silly little things that can get in the way of that message and make people remember it for all the wrong reasons. If you see anything like that's likely to get in the way of the real message then remove it so that your ad will be effective for all the right reasons.
Sometimes the silliest little thing can make all those hours you've worked to produce an ad just a total waste of time.