Why Should I Read Your Ad?

Everyone talks about rising above the clutter. How do you suppose the clutter feels about that?

Your new ad is sitting on the conference room table, propped on a cute little easel and, gosh, it looks swell.

That‘s not just pride talking. This ad is an accomplishment. You had to coordinate input from all stakeholders, including two VPs who can’t stand each other and some bozo from HR. (What the heck does HR know about advertising, anyway!) You spent weeks "wordsmithing" with the copywriter, getting the message just right. And the design, well, it’s a honey. Beautifully proportioned, elegantly laid out, this ad is a true work of art. Yep, it’s been a long, hard road.

So you might as well sit back and bask in the glow. Because this is probably the last time anyone will ever see your ad long enough to notice it. Hasta la vista, baby!

Okay, that was harsh, I admit it. But it’s also true. Based on the scenario I described, this ad is almost certainly a stinker. Not because you haven’t labored strenuously but because your focus has been in all the wrong places. You addressed all the internal issues. But advertising is external and you can’t just make your advertising acceptable, you have to make it interesting.

People are bombarded with advertising messages all day, every day. And that’s before they visit FedEx Field, go to the Nissan Pavilion or buy expensive tickets to a show at the National Theater that’s "presented" by Kodak. Even if they’re not outright hostile about the proliferation of advertising messages, they’re at least somewhat overwhelmed by its pervasiveness. And remember, people don’t buy publications so they can look at the ads.

Take you. Did you read the paper this morning? How many ads made an impression on you? Not counting the full-page ads. (In fact, don’t count any of the ads that are larger than the ads you run.) Also not counting ads for products you already know you plan to buy. (If you’re in the market for a new suit and you notice an ad for Nordstrom’s, that doesn’t make it a great ad.)

Put it this way. How many ads took you by surprise? None? One? I’m hoping there was at least one. Now stick a Xerox copy of your ad in the paper next to it and compare the two.

That’s what I’m talking about.

Here’s what happened to your ad. First, you picked a visual that was meaningful to you and the other internal audiences sitting around the conference table. No surprise there. Then you added a headline that is very nearly an exact statement of your advertising strategy. Snore. The copy you worked so hard to craft: too long by half. Maybe more. And in case that wasn’t enough to kill the dog, you made it pretty. (I know I’ll get slammed for this but pretty design fades into the background; good ads come off the page. Good advertising doesn’t soothe; it startles.)

Now, I can’t tell you how to make a good ad in 25 words. (I’ve been working in advertising agencies for 26 years and I’m still learning.) But I can tell you what every ad has to do in order to be effective: Attract, Interest, Inform. Miss any one of these criteria and you don’t have an ad.

First, it’s got to attract attention. Every ad that gets noticed has something that grabs the reader visually. (Even if it’s an all-type ad.) A picture with a paradoxical element or a bold, unexpected word. Something that compels the eye even when the reader is trying to focus elsewhere.

Once you’ve got the reader’s attention, you need to provide interest. You’ve got about two seconds to make them care. Attraction without interest is an empty distraction, like burping at the dinner table, and it’s just as rude.

Finally, you have to inform. Because that’s what the reader needs to take away from your ad. It shouldn’t be a lot of information and it better contain a clear benefit for your target audience. (This last one is especially tricky because the benefit that all of your internal audiences agreed on may not have the most relevance to your users. And they’re the only ones that count.)

Attract, Interest, Inform. Don’t take my word for it. Look again at the one ad that surprised you in today’s paper and you’ll see that it does all three of these things. Now look at the one on your conference table and you’ll see that it doesn’t. The overwhelming majority of all advertising is clutter. Expensive space that makes no impression at all.

You can see that as a warning. Or you can recognize it as an opportunity.

Back to list