A print ad looks simple at the end but that’s just the tip of the iceberg. When you go deeper, a lot of work and thinking goes into it. A lot of this is touched on in Overcome AD-verity but here is an example of a specific print ad.
Back before social media, getting an overnight announcement was very challenging, especially if you wanted to limit who got it. Easy to do now with an email blast, a tweet or a social media post. Not so then. Steelcase, one of the world’s leading manufacturers of office furniture, needed to rejuvenate its Canadian operation and… Read More: When the Dodgers Won the Day »
In this season of awards – no wait! … awards always seem to be in season. Doesn’t having so many awards for so many different things dilute the value of any award? We are just getting through Nobel Season. Soon it will be time for Oscars, Golden Globes, BAFTAs, Emmies, Grammies, Junos, ESPys and on… Read More: Nobel Prize Award Winning Book! »
How do you decide whether to believe a message or not? As reviewed in Chapter Four of Overcome AD-versity, there are three basic components to judging a message to be credible. The receiver of the message assesses the source’s expertise, trustworthiness and motivation. To do so, you have to read between the lines and read… Read More: Credibility Is the Sum of Many Small Cues »
It is true that you have to have enough money to produce the desired commercial well. But how much is enough? We are often asked how much of the budget should be spent on production versus media. There is no simple answer but there are some clear guidelines. The cost of production is the overhead… Read More: Our Ad Cost a Lot, So It Should Be Effective »
In the time of mass media, the cost of entry was very high. To make a TV commercial could cost thousands, even hundreds of thousands of dollars. Airing on network TV was also prohibitive, even if you already had a commercial. This meant two major things: marketers had to take time and be careful what… Read More: Has the Inexpensive Entry Price Dumbed Down Ad Creative? »
Names are funny things. They are the nouns of our lives. Without them there would not be language. They create expectations and label us. They become our brands. We are often asked why we named our company Calexis and what it means. The truth is, we made it up. Our business is creativity. We create brand… Read More: Hey Calexis, Why the Funny Name? »
After many cocktail parties, I realized that most consumers see advertising and criticize it as if they knew what went in to creating it. They never think about the process, only the end result. When we look at an iceberg, we remark on its beauty without realizing that nine tenths of it are below water.… Read More: Why Write Another Book About Creating Advertising? »
When I started in the advertising industry in New York, there was some obsession with commercial wear-out. That is, at what point does the effectiveness of a commercial decline and render it less and less worth the media investment. In theory this makes a lot of sense if you buy into learning theory which holds… Read More: Commercial Wearout »
PART I of V: 5 Advertising Mistakes Retailers Make We have been creating advertising for retailers for years. But we have always wondered why so many retailers insist on repeating someone else’s job. Imagine, people who are notoriously careful with their funds – car dealers who haggle with their manufacturers in a tooth and nail… Read More: PART I: Running Redundant Redundant Advertising »