Super Bowl Commercials Going the Way of the Dodo

Copyright 2010 Dennis S. Vogel All rights reserved.
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Super Bowl Commercials Going the Way of the Dodo
Good Ad Ideas Increasingly Rare in Game
Posted by Bart Cleveland
http://adage.com/smallagency/post?article_id=141982

Here is my full comment, which is more than 500 words, so Ad Age wouldn't accept it because it's necessary for the publisher to restrict the length of posts. Otherwise, somebody who thinks s/he knows something worthwhile - - like me for example - - may overwhelm the web site.

OK, I'll accept people watching the Super Bowl to be entertained by commercials. But are those really commercials? Or are they just expensive comedy clips like what people indulge in from YouTube?

Apparently, those ad agencies & clients want to entertain people. It's OK, as long as their goal isn't selling products &/or services.
Hey, let's blow millions of dollars & not sell anything!

Even if the advertiser entertains people, will those people remember the advertiser, plus the promoted products or services?
If they remember the promoted products or services will the advertising (entertainment) persuade people to believe they want/need what was promoted?
Maybe, but don't quit your day job.

Will people, who were entertained, buy what the entertaining advertisers offer?
A - Maybe - - if the advertiser sells entertainment. B - Probably not - - if what the advertiser offers isn't entertainment related.

Is a funny commercial apt to sell anything that's boring?
Don't bet on it!

Those commercials may go the way of the dodo because they're a bunch of doo-doo!
How can advertisers afford to keep paying for messages that sell nothing?

What I wrote below is for 2 purposes: 1a - To communicate how useless some of this stuff (advertising?) can be. 1b - I wonder if what I wrote matches the thought process (or lack thereof) when some advertisers decide how to advertise. 2 - If entertainment really works, you'll want me to do your marketing work even if I do nothing to sell it. (Yeah, right!)

Let's pretend I have some money to invest (I wish!). I want to be a millionaire. I should -
A: Pick a full service brokerage so I can get some advice.
B: Pick a service to buy shares of stock for me without offering advice.
C: Pick a firm that has babies who can lip sync.
D: Pick a firm based on the entertainment value of their advertising.

It's a tough decision. Which of my 3 Lifelines should I use? 50:50, Phone-a-friend or Ask the Audience.
I'll call my friend who works in an ad agency.
Really, you'd pick answer C. Hey, why is the audience groaning?

I'll poll the audience. Hmm, it's an even split between answers A & B.

I use my 50:50 lifeline. Computer remove 2 of the wrong answers.
A: Pick a full service brokerage so I can get some advice.
B: Pick a service to buy shares of stock for me without offering advice.
Darn! Why did the computer leave those 2 answers? I was thinking maybe answers C or D were correct! Now what do I do?
It's obvious, isn't it?

I'll write a commercial based on this scenario & sell 50 million cars, plus I'll win some advertising awards. I can't lose, can I?
Let's ask the audience!

Oh no! I used up all of my lifelines - - on the 1st question no less!

But I've persuaded all of you to trust me with your marketing, right?
Uh? Is that your final answer?

Many times, I've heard "Advertising is salesman shop in print."
We may accept the premise that advertising is a sales rep made of paper & ink or digital bits & electrons.

What would we hire a sales rep to do? His/her job definitely wouldn't be what we see & hear in most broadcast commercials.
That's my final answer.

Thank you for using my blog. Please let me know if I should clarify anything.

Copyright 2010 Dennis S. Vogel All rights reserved.
When you compete against big businesses with big budgets you need powerful marketing strategies & tactics. You'll find them here-
https://thriving-small-businesses.blogspot.com/
http://www.voy.com/31049/

Subject: Going All the Way to the World Series

In "Super Bowl Commercials Going the Way of the Dodo" (http://www.voy.com/31049/1250.html), I wrote what not to do. My goal in this follow-up is helping you learn what you should do.

OK, I admit it; I still have issues of Inc magazine from 1991, which I haven't read yet. I recently finished the August 1991 issue. That's good for because there's an Inc article most business owners need.
The New You Developing brand identity to distinguish your product or service. By William R. 'Max' Carey Jr.
http://www.inc.com/magazine/19910801/4778.html
"People accuse me of being a fanatic about wanting every small, growing company to develop a brand identity. And it's true; I am. That's because I went broke as a commodity company, a company that didn't try to distinguish itself from all the other companies in our market. I remember the three questions I used to be asked that gave me the chance to declare my generic intentions."

Max started the article like an admission in a support group meeting. If thinking like Max requires joining a support group, I'd be in it too.

Instead, business owners who don't think like us should be in a support group because they need all the support they can get.

Max seemed to tie together what I've learn from Jack Trout & Al Ries, plus Jay Abraham & Rob Frankel. When you couple this article with all you've been (should be) learning from me, you can set your business on a solid foundation.

Without a solid foundation, buildings crumble. Businesses crumble too when they're based/founded on false assumptions. Even a solid business can eventually crumble if it isn't maintained well. Let's work to keep your business strong.

The only major problem with Max's article is the by-line, because I wish I would've written it.

Reality isn't like the movie "Field of Dreams" If you build it, he or they won't automatically come. If you build it correctly, they'll have solid reasons to come & buy form you.

According to IMDB.com (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0097351/plotsummary), Iowa farmer Ray Kinsella hears a voice in his corn field tell him, "If you build it, he will come." He interprets this message as an instruction to build a baseball field on his farm, upon which appear the ghosts of Shoeless Joe Jackson and the other seven Chicago White Sox players banned from the game for throwing the 1919 World Series."

Though it's corny, it may make a good script for a movie, but you should write your script based on reality. If you don't, you won't have a ghost of a chance. You'll be banned from the game of business for throwing (intentionally losing) the game.

Doing less than you can/should to succeed = intentionally losing.

You're far better off keeping your crop planted instead of tearing up a fertile field. How many baseball fans would look for a stadium & baseball game in a corn field?

Taking competitors by surprise is OK as long as you don't make it harder for consumers to buy from you.

Successfully marketing a stadium like that would be far more expensive because it isn't where baseball fans (consumers) would expect to find it.

Successful marketing entails a good balance between what consumers expect & what they've never imagined.

Like movie characters vanishing among the cornstalks in the outfield, your money will be lost also when you don't make your business as solid as it should be.

You can be outstanding in your field when your reality closely matches the realities of those you want as customers.

You can still be a world champion even if you don't hit a home run. Be sure you get on base. Run when you should. Stop when you should. Grand slams & home runs are great, but games are usually won incrementally with base hits & runs batted in (RBIs) resulting from base hits.

It's successfully doing the fundamentals that matters most in getting to the World Series. Without the fundamentals, advanced techniques would work consistently enough to create success.

Strategically invite customers instead of thinking they'll come. People forget. If you let people forget about you, will you have a successful business? Forget about it!

Thank you for using my blog. Please let me know if I should clarify anything.

Copyright 2010 Dennis S. Vogel All rights reserved.
When you compete against big businesses with big budgets you need powerful marketing strategies & tactics. You'll find them here-
https://thriving-small-businesses.blogspot.com/
http://www.voy.com/31049/