This presentation takes a closer look at what ad agencies consider “good” advertising, how they interpret “concept,” and why the web designer's notion of “proof of concept” is completely nonsensical in the world of advertising. I examine some successful campaigns and some award-winning campaigns -- these are not necessarily the same thing -- and explain why these are admired by so-called “creatives” at ad agencies. I also explore why advertising creatives despise web types in general and usability folks in particular. You’ll discover why stuff that “works” on screen doesn’t work in print ads -- and vice versa. And I dispel some of the popular myths about advertising, such as “all advertising is good advertising.”

1. How the ad industry thinks
A politically incorrect review
Eric Reiss
IA Summit
25 March 2007
Las Vegas, Nevada

2. Jacques Séguéla

3. “Don’t tell my mother I work in
an advertising agency. She thinks
I play piano in a whorehouse.”
Jacques Séguéla

4. Big Al’s Brothel
(one flight up)

5. ad· ver· tise
verb
1 : inform, notify
2 : to call public attention to esp. in order to sell

6. A brief history of advertising

7. “For the
return of my
slave to the
shop of Hapu
the Weaver,
where the
best cloth is
woven to
your desires,
a whole gold
coin is offered”

8. A brief history of advertising

9. 1996 Business issues
Tactical Strategic
Technical issues

10. 1999 Business issues
Tactical Strategic
Technical issues

12. 1999 Business issues
Tactical Strategic
Technical issues

13. 2005-6
2004 Business issues
Tactical Strategic
Technical issues

15. Business analysts understand the boxes.
But only we understand the arrows.

18. We can’t expect ad agencies to understand how we think
until we understand how they think

19. Three ways that guarantee
we lose our place at the table
Insisting we invented user research
Misunderstanding “concept”
Humiliating established art directors

20. We all know that Jakob invented user testing...

21. 1925

23. John Caples
1932 >

24. “Accept nothing as true about
what works best in advertising
until it has been scientifically
tested.”
John Caples

25. OK. But we really understand research, don’t we?

26. 1908

28. Claude Hopkins
1930 >

29. “Talk to the people who are going
to buy your product. This is the
first step in any successful campaign”
Claude Hopkins

30. Well, B.J. taught us about trustbuilding ...

31. 1960

32. David Ogilvy
1983
1962 >

33. “What really decides consumers
to buy or not to buy is the content
of your advertising, not its form.”
David Ogilvy

34. A few other advertising legends ...

35. Rosser Reeves
“Find the USP.”

36. Leo Burnett
“Find the drama.”

37. Bill Bernbach
“Tell the story”

38. Meet the Mattel See ’n Say

40. Jeez, Eric, what’s the
problem ?

41. A Awareness
I Interest
D Desire
A Action

42. “The secret of all effective originality
in advertising is not the creation of
new and tricky words and pictures,
but one of putting familiar words
and pictures into new relationships.”
Leo Burnett

43. Winter landscape
(see ’n say)

44. Scene of the crime
(effective juxtaposition)

45. What makes the See ’n Say the lowest form of advertising?
It relies on an eyecatching irrelevancy!

54. The Australian tourist board understands
what the chamber of commerce doesn’t

55. Forcing a see ’n say

60. See ’n Say is acceptable for illustrations
(but only just)

64. See ’n Say is fine for logos
(because they are icons)

68. Babies, boobs, and beagles
(the three not-so-secret weapons of bad advertising)

73. For art’s sake...

76. Tell the story
Find the drama

78. Photo courtesy of Mark Hurst

83. Apogee – a lesson learned ... and forgotton

84. Before
(see ‘n say)

85. After
(elegant)

87. “We don’t need no stinking ad agency”

88. Back to
see ‘n say

89. Boring doesn’t sell

93. The ad agencies don’t always get it right either

94. “Too clever” “This is funny!”

95. “Do you want fine writing?
Or do you want your goddamn
sales to go up?”
Rosser Reeves

96. Let’s turn to the concept of concept

97. In advertising, concept represents the big idea

99. In the web world, concept represents ... er ...

101. In advertising, there is only one proof of concept

102. Crap B2B

103. Effective B2B

104. Now entering the mind of the art director

105. Boring blue
corporate color

106. Modern color.
And a graphic swish

107. Yin and Yang?
Hmm…

108. Wildly different
customers…

110. Let’s kill a myth

111. “All advertising
is good advertising.”
They

112. Think of the advertiser as a person ...

113. Now consider this:
Do you befriend liars?
Do you admire fools?
Do you trust strangers?
Do you respect incompetence?

114. Fact:
A Milwaukee brewer found out sales fell among target
audiences that could remember their advertising.

115. 1972
Popular tag
(second-largest
brewer in USA)

116. 1982
Crap concept
(sales decline in
all markets)

117. 1984
Out of business

118. Thanks!

119. Eric Reiss can (usually) be found at:
The FatDUX Group ApS
Strandøre 15
2100 Copenhagen
Denmark
Office: (+45) 39 29 67 77
Mobil: (+45) 20 12 88 44
Twitter: elreiss
info@fatdux.com
www.fatdux.com