Watching the Super Bowl served an illustration to a number of insights to the opportunities and challenges our today's information-rich world provides. It was especially profound for anyone attempting to get the attention of qualified buyers. Here are the observations I made:
- It is still possible to get a group of people to pay attention. The world of ultimate niches and 153 or more channels does not necessarily mean that you cannot get a wide range of people to pay attention at one time. 2007's Super Bowl was the second most watched Super Bowl and the 3rd most watched program ever. Here is the key to getting people to pay attention -- give them something worth paying attention to.
- Advertisers still don't get it. The NFL does a great job of putting on a show that people want to pay attention to. This year's ads were the least interesting or compelling that I can ever remember.
- Prince, to me at least, proved that if you do something compelling you don't have to be showy or outrageous. There was no 'Janet Jackson incident' this year, yet this was the first time I actually watched a halftime show in my memory. Prince, in three songs, proved you can be compelling and concise.
- Here's what really got me. It appears that in today's wisdom age, advertisers are taking the industrial age notion of repetition to create awareness and applying it to believe-ability. It appears that Madison Avenue thinks that if they lie to consumers, as long as they repeat the lie continuously, consumers will begin to believe it.
I speak specifically of ads like Chevy's, which closes with the line: "People who love cars, love Chevy." No they don't. If people who loved cars, loved Chevy; GM wouldn't be in the trouble that it is. Remember, GM is not just suffering because of uncontrollable expenses, they are suffering because people are buying other cars.
I speak of Coca-Cola's commercials, which I am still trying to figure out. One shows a video game antagonist having a change of heart because of drinking a Coke. Another overinflation of the importance of Coke as it shows the different shapes of its bottles as historic moments in black history occurred - like Coke had anything to do with it.
How about this as an advertising idea: Just tell me why I should care about your product. Tell me the truth and treat me like a reasonable, competent person. Who knows, I may like it so much that I spread the word for you. Lying to me, however, isn't a good start.
If you can't do that, at least entertain me.