For screaming out loud
This is something I have been intending to write for ages. Frankly, this is of no interest to the general readers who come to Chicken, or to Selective Amnesia. But of the few times I’ve raised this topic in forums and at agencies, I was asked to hush and keep quiet. If I don’t talk about this now, I will never.
Enough of a Preamble.
Advertising experts and gurus and clients and marketing executives and the all important client servicing people have a very favourite mantra – “The customer is not a moron”. Immediately after which, they turn, look down at the customer and proceed to talk to him or her in the simplest, most idiot proof language possible. Why do you want to purposefully dumb down your communication? Why would you want to say something as friggin simple and obvious as “A for apple” in your communication? Why would you want to put a picture of a fridge and say “This is a fridge. It is used to cool foodstuffs so they keep longer”?
I have a theory. Or at least, an opinion. I believe puns and clever jokes are more appreciated than they are made out to be. I have taken it as my personal mission to do advertisements that leave a little bit for the consumer who reads, sees or hears my advertising to connect up the little dots I leave and come up with the answer himself.
The entire Indian advertising industry is riddled with self-respecting (read: those who think too much of themselves) people who think advertising shouldn’t be clever. What’s the alternative? Dumb advertising?
My best kind of advertising is the one that doesn’t say it all, does not talk to the least common denominator (about which later) and has a little puzzle in the communication for the reader/viewer to decipher and come up with a solution. I think the involvement there would be higher, brand recall better, and you get to project an image of a peer, rather than the adviser/professor/big guy most indian brands project.
on December 3rd, 2004 at 3:08 am
I remember we discussed this a while ago… while I agree that “clever” advertising is the pits and puts the viewer / consumer off, the altermnative is not “dumb” advertising – but simple advertising – the viewer has not time – or the least interest in decoding and understanding what you are saying or tryinmg to say subtly in your ad.
remember – the common viewer / consumer has not a millionth interest / involvement in your brand or product as you do (or your client, the brand manager does), as a market researcher I have come to believe this – time and again it has been borught forcefully to my miniscule knowledge that the consumer ultimately does not give a damn for your advertising / branding ‘art’ – and has no time for such guessing games – (not you personally :)) – keep it simple, for heaven’s sake – but please don’t keep it moronic –
seen the latest citibank cash back card ad? made me want to throw a heavy object on the head of the producer…
on December 4th, 2004 at 3:13 am
first one should remember that advertising is just like anything else in life. ridden with double standards and hypocricy. the sooner we accept it, the faster we can get out of it:p seriously, customers are not as dumb they are made out to be. in my experience i have seen that sometimes they’re even dumber. problem with us creative guys is that we see creative as more art than communication. there is space for both to exist. only we have to make that difficult choice and figure out which advertising to do for which audience. i’m by no means saying that u can’t do good advertising for an audience with low IQ. it only means that we have push ourselves that much harder to come figure out a way of doign this. life becomes much easier then. i’m telling u this ‘cause life is still difficult for me:)