They just showed the funniest commercials of the year on channel TBS, and as always, it was very enjoyable...
...although I always look at it from a professional point of view.
After enjoying a spot, I ask, "OK, that was funny - but do I remember which product it was for? Does it make me want to go out and buy it? Or was the agency just trying to win an award?"
My favorite was a commercial for Snickers candy bar, where a group of guys are playing a touch football game. One of the players is the 89-year old actress Betty White. She gets tackled a couple of times, and then goes back to the huddle.
The quarterback complains "You're playing like Betty White out there!" So she eats a candy bar and turns back into a young guy.
A terrific commercial, based on the line - "You're not you when you're hungry." This is a big idea, and absolutely essential for effective advertising.
But what about direct marketing?
Is a big idea more important than knowing the right techniques - and all the little things that have been proven to increase response?
I do a lot of work for Life Line Screening, the leading company that uses ultrasound technology to screen people for heart disease, stroke and aneurysms.
The most successful direct mail package I ever did for them has a large picture of a blocked artery that shows through the vellum envelope. The copy reads, "We can actually see inside your arteries - to help prevent stroke, aneurysms and heart disease."
This direct mail package has beaten every other package for almost three years.
Now visualizing the problem was a big idea - but there are other factors that contributed to it's success. First, I used a larger envelope - 4.5" X 10.5" to make it really stand out from other direct mail.
Next, the envelope was vellum - so you could see through it (although not enough to get the story without opening it.)
Finally, the letter included other techniques that I know work very well - a strong headline, short paragraphs, a Q&A on the back to answer any questions.
So which was more important? The idea or the execution?
I'll try to answer that question - which has important ramifications for direct marketing - in my next post.
