Field Notes Inside an Integrated Communications Agency

Design education is a good thing. When my time came to fly the university nest, I remember thinking how I would set the world on fire. My naïveté initially worked to my advantage. I was cut some slack due to in experience. But I quickly learned that experience in inexperience would not build a career. Over the years of interviewing, teaching and mentoring young, eager talent I picked up a few simple, disputable truths that I sincerely hope can help you, a new graduate.

1. Write.

No one’s expecting you to be Tennyson or Tennessee Williams. Heck, not even Tennessee Ernie Ford! Simply be able to convert a complete thought to a well-written sentence. Writing is as much of a design process as creating a logo. It’s designing an emotional connection with words. This one skill has life-long benefits. We receive lots of resumes. It’s unbelievable how many have spelling and grammar errors. Even to the point of spelling our company’s name incorrectly. C’mon, you gotta get that right.

2. Soak up life.

Eat, drink, bathe in, touch, hear, squish between your toes and feel everything you can. This provides a repository for inspiration. I firmly believe original ideas come from original inspiration. Use your experiences to influence your work. It’ll have more heart, you’ll have more fun and be far more pleasant to be around.

3. Make everything and everyone better than you found them.

That goes for the planet, your colleagues, younger talent and most importantly, you. I believe that we should push others to do their best work, yet push ourselves even more. I also believe you should work with people better than you. You’ll do your best work and likely get rewarded with more good work. However, if you find yourself working for someone (or something) you don’t respect, leave. Your soul will thank you.

4. Concept always wins.

Good design is a memorable, smart solution. You get there with a bulletproof concept. If concept and “pretty” are in a cage match, concept will always win. Concept is the sticky part of an idea. It is NOT a Photoshop filter. Seek to strengthen the concept in everything you do. I promise you, no one will hand you an award-winning project. It’s up to you to really excel.

5. Focus on the right thing — achieving your client’s mission.

Global accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers projects worldwide advertisement spending to exceed half-a-trillion dollars by 2010. No doubt the intent of every dollar will be to convince our hapless selves that life is better with Product X or Service Y. It’ll be magical. Surreal. And, mostly unbelievable*

Perhaps, for credibility, the next wave of advertising needs to be more real, less adorned. Perhaps even more memorable because it zags against the convention of typical advertising. It’s been eighteen years since the movie “Crazy People” introduced us to the idea of hyper truth in advertising. Do you remember the legendary Volvo headline from the movie?**

I bet youdo. But, can you name Volvo’s current tagline?

See what I mean? 

I see a few ways to get more bang for our buck by embracing reality advertising.

1. Create more user-generated ads. Both Chevy and Doritos had high profile contests allowing consumers to create Super Bowl ads.

2. Present copy with a stunning degree of “truthiness.” Housework sucks. No cleaning product makes me dance around with a goofy smile while I dust or mop. Get real, people.

3. Create credible ads with unexpectedly low production values. Invest in creative concept but use production to match our lives; cell phone cameras, web cams and home video.

4. Present products in context of a consumer’s life, not the center of it. How many products do you come in contact with during the day? Do you stop, smile, and roll your eyes skyward with each one? Daytime consumer ads would have us to believe every person is blessed-out by cheesy goodness.

5. As provincial as it sounds, invest in the idea not the style.

These suggestions aren’t meant to be cost savings measures. Heck no! Run the ads as much as you can. The purpose of advertising is to compel us to act. Going against the grain of stereotypical ad will be refreshing and unconventional.

What if we reached for products and the label wasn’t face up?

What if we drank coffee without the can on the table?

What if we didn’t disguise other logos that were not ours?

What if people didn’t have rapture face when they tasted our product?

What if car ads weren’t on a closed track featuring professional drivers so we could try it at home?

C’mon Creatives! In this age of irony and user generated media let’s embrace reality in advertising.

*Edelmantrust barometer report that 76% of advertising is not believable.

**Volvo:Boxy, but safe.

HeadOn! Apply directly to the forehead. Repeat thrice. Become Internet meme.

The ubiquitous HeadOn ad is a 10-second destroyer of ponytail-pretenses that have gunked up the advertising industry for ages. Production values? Who needs ‘em! Persuasion? Emotion? Nah! Humor? Check. Especially if you find rubbing a gluestick on your forehead funny. I sure do.

In an interview with Slate Magazine assistant professor of marketing at Yale School of Management, Dina Mayzlin says, "Part of the charm is that it is so crude. The ad stands out in its repetitiveness. It's intriguing and breaks through the clutter."

Yes, clutter breaking. Like a fart.

That’s Badvertising at its finest. HeadOn sales are up 234% and will continue with an estimated ad budget of $30 million. Brilliant marketing I’d say. For every ad dollar spent they probably make back three because the ad gives viewers headaches, thus spurring demand.

We should expect to see two decades of homage to HeadOn ads. Axe body spray ads aren’t necessarily bad but they owe cultural debt to the B.O. (that’s Badvertising Original, what were you thinking?), Hai Karate aftershave. Sold from 1967 into the 1980s, Hai Karate’s creative strategy balanced on the notion that green gutter water could turn women into lusty cop-a-feel-a-holics. In a genius move, Hai Karate bottles even came with self-defense instructions to protect he-men from the onslaught of aroma-crazed women. Evidently the 1960s expanded the spectrum of advertising in both the good and bad direction.

Since the early 60s, the Godfather of Badvertising, Ron Popeil’s ads have littered the airwaves with their rat-a-tat, Sell-O-Matic goodness. Popeil’s first commercial costs $550 and soon appeared in 100 cities. Similar successes followed the Chop-O-Matic, the Veg-O-Matic. Mr. Microphone, Hair-in-a-can, The Pocket Fisherman, Inside-the-shell Egg Scrambler, Food Dehydrator and Showtime Rotisserie.

It got me thinking. What’s the difference between a bad ad and good Badvertising? I think it should be clear the marketer thinks it’s good, or maybe even not bad. Secondly, the script should rely heavily on mnemonics and repetition. Next, the production values have to be refreshing low and ripe for parody. Lastly, in spite of everything it has to work so well that it proves us ad snobs wrong.