Doug DavidoffIt is no secret to anyone who reads The Fast Growth Blog or anything else I write that I am no fan of traditional advertising. Previously, I riffed on the fact that Madison Avenue doesn’t get it. I talked about the fact that advertisers need to stop manipulating viewers and wasting our time with meaningless noise.
In honor of yesterday’s Super Bowl, I’d like to point out two things:
1 – People will watch advertising if you make it worth watching. At Super Bowl parties all the around the country, the unusual ritual of people paying more attention to the ads than the program was in evidence, yet again.
2 – Even if they watch, meaningless entertainment is still meaningless. Companies could have taken their $2.5 million per ad and invested it in making their offerings worth buying. Sure, the advertising may have (and I repeat may have) created some awareness. Unless you’re looking for a one-night stand with your customers, who cares? Today, neither great companies nor growth are created because of advertising. The Super Bowl proves that people will watch advertising, but how did that work out for the dot-coms?
I’d rant on, but there are two takes on this that I think are right on, no need for me to add to. I encourage you to look at Spike Jones’ recent post about The Little Things, on the Brains on Fire Blog and John Moore’s audio blog about the Super Bowl singles club on Brand Autopsy’s Blog.
Until next time, Doug