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What do you think are the worst advertisements of all time? Hmm... Perhaps a few advertisements come to mind. When we think about failed ads, our minds automatically jump to those botched, big-budget commercials, never to be seen again. Some bad advertising examples off the top are Kendall Jenner's Pepsi commercial and Sony's racist PSP ad. These are advertising mistakes and bad marketing campaigns from the get-go. However, the truth is even the most well-thought-out and perfectly executed ad campaign can flop. When a good ad campaign fails, it can take a serious toll on a company's bottom line. Every once in a while, you will encounter a business that crafts the perfect ad campaign but still ultimately fails. Failed ads are not necessarily the result of bad taste or poor writing. There are many factors at play resulting in failed advertising campaigns. You'll learn these factors here to help you avoid the same pitfall. We'll also revisit one of the perfect ad campaigns that failed, and you'll be surprised why. Keep reading.

The Marketing Myth

It's a common belief that advertising can make or break a business. After all, effective marketing helps create brand awareness and drive customers to purchase your solutions. While that's true, it tells only a smidge of the entire reality. Advertising, however, is not enough to bring a steady stream of traffic and sales to businesses. Roy H. Williams says the belief that advertising is enough to drive steady traffic is one of marketing's greatest myths. Some of the biggest failed ads are those that banked their advertising principles on this premise. Sadly, even if you hire the best ad writer or produce the most creative ad, sales are not assured. Relying simply on ads is one of a business's biggest advertising mistakes. Indeed, most ads that failed are a product of bad writing. However, other failed ads still hit the right notes regarding creatives, yet still fail altogether. Your ads, solutions, business culture, and market’s felt needs should perfectly align before you see the numbers. Otherwise, your efforts will only fall under history's advertising upsets, hurting your business. That is where Wizard of Ads™ comes in. We help residential home service businesses plan and develop killer advertising campaigns that won't turn into failed ads. If that's what your business needs, book a demo with Ryan Chute from Wizard of Ads®.

Why do Good Ad Campaigns Turn into Failed Ads?

We've all seen bad advertisements before– you know what I’m talking about. I mean those commercials that make us groan, scratch our heads or even change the channel from the cringe. Then we eventually learn that the brands behind those commercials fail to receive flak and online backlash. That’s a pretty understandable and valid public sentiment. However, have you ever wondered why some excellent ad campaigns fail? It's a question that has puzzled business owners for years. After all, if a campaign is creative, has strong messaging, and has a big budget, shouldn't it be a guaranteed success? The answer is no, and the reasons for these failed ads are also quite simple. Still, countless entrepreneurs overlook them. Let's explore the four reasons why good ad campaigns turn into failed ads, according to Roy H. Williams:

1. Too Little Repetition

Did you know that the average folk encounters 5,000 ads daily?

It’s no wonder we have become desensitized to adverts, often finding them annoying, intrusive, and invasive. For business owners, this is a problem. The more advertisements your audience sees daily, the less information they retain from each ad. That's why modern research suggests seeing an ad seven times before it registers with a user.

Some good ad campaigns turn into advertising upsets when there's too little repetition. This means your targeted audiences do not see or hear your ads frequently enough for them to sink in. In the sales process, customers need to be aware of your offer and familiarize themselves with it. This will require you to run your advertising repeatedly.

When you don't, any good campaign becomes failed ads, and there are only two reasons this could happen:

1. Your advertising campaign was shorter than your buying cycle.
2. Your advertising campaign did not reach the same audience frequently enough.

Ad frequency is vital for long-term retention, but relationships also take time. When you take the length of your buying cycle, your advertising campaign must be longer. Otherwise, you’ve convinced your buyer to buy your thing, but then stopped telling them to buy it from you. Congratulations to your competitors!

There's a caveat, though. An ad that offers an irresistible, offensively huge value with a limited-time offer skips this requirement. Why? Because the brain needs not retain a brand when the deal is over.

2. Deeply Entrenched Competitors

How often have you seen a good advertisement that didn't convince you to switch?

Even good advertising campaigns pale compared to deeply entrenched competitors who meet their audience's felt needs. Remember that advertisements are a promise of what's to come. However, when customers find their haven, why risk what they already have for another promise?

Normally, in cases such as this, the reason for your failed ads is beyond your control. Except if you are in the residential home service industry. Most home services operate locally, unlike digital businesses that only occupy online real estate. This means that you have complete control over whether you'll compete in a locality with a tight competition or not.

Publish ads in a heavily guarded fortress, and expect everyone to walk over it. Choose a spot where no competitors tread, and see your business soar to the high heavens.

3. Failing to Deliver

Both factors we previously mentioned look at failed ads from a pre-emptive perspective. In other words, they have already failed advertising campaigns before the sale. This third factor classifies unsuccessful advertisements reactively or after the sales happen.

Allow me to explain.

As I have mentioned earlier, advertisements are a promise of what is to come or what customers should expect. The stronger your messaging gets, and the bigger the stakes you make, the higher the expectation you set for customers.

Sometimes, the product or service you are offering cannot meet these high expectations. Businesses may massively overhype their value proposition to generate a buzz.

When people have been lied to, and the product is not as good as advertised, it leads to failed ads. Worse, you are losing out on potential repeat customers for your business.

How many disappointed customers does it take before everyone learns that you under-deliver on your promises?

4. Lack of Interest

Not every business model is commercially viable. Some businesses are easier to sell than others, and the likelihood of failed ads is little to none. Other types of business are just a hard sell for any market. Sometimes, even when they produce some of the most beautiful advertising, they still fail.

Mostly, that’s because they provide solutions to problems their target market does not face. In this case, the failure was not because of the ads but the business model. While residential home services usually do not fall in this category, there are instances when failed ads could occur. An example is when the offered value propositions don't fit a market's taste.

For example, let us look at a sewer repair contractor. Imagine the competitive landscape comprised of sewer companies that offer trenchless sewer line replacements. Any advertisement that offers traditional trenched approaches that excavate landscapes will be ultimately ignored.

Another instance is when you run ads that are out of season. For example, an HVAC contractor runs ads on heating repair or furnace installation during the summer. The campaign does not make any sense and will only result in failed ads.

AAirpass - American Airlines

It's a different story when household brands commit failed advertising campaigns. There are many cases of ads gone wrong in the trade history. However, one of the most interesting cases yet is AAirpass by American Airlines in the 1980s. Despite their reputation, failed ads still receive recognition, albeit in a negative light. AAirpass is one of the most notable failed ads in history. Here's the thing, it failed not because the advertising flopped. Instead, this advertising strategy succeeded so much that it cost the company millions of dollars. Because of a rough patch in the '80s, AA looked for quick ways to raise its capital. However, unlike other businesses that secure bank loans to keep their runway, AA decided to sell AAirpasses. This was a lifetime of first-class air travel in exchange for a flat rate of $250,000. The problem is that this strategy backfired as AA started losing millions yearly from the high volume AAirpass flights. Now, let's compare the campaign side by side with the four factors we've listed above:

• The AAirpass ad had more than enough repetition. Word got out quickly thanks to a household brand like American Airlines and their lucrative offer.
• The offer was so valuable that it won over the competitor's customers. After all, why pay a fee for every flight when you could limitlessly fly first-class for a large upfront sum?
• American Airlines delivered on its promises. The first few AAirpass holders were manageable to bear, but a surge of free first-class flights? That's too much to handle for any airline company.
• The interest was there. Obviously, everyone who could afford AAirpass was quick to get a hold of one. Who in the right mind would pass up such a lucrative opportunity of unlimited first-class flights?

American Airlines hit all the checkboxes that should make their ad successful. It was an exemption to the rule among all advertisements that flopped. The AAirpass sales gave them the quick money, attention, and sales they wanted, but it backfired miserably. Why? Because creative advertising and irresistible offers on their own are not enough to avoid failed ads. Producing advertisements comes with a lot of planning and strategizing on the backend. Otherwise, your ads could fall into the same pitfall as American Airlines. Therefore, trust advertising specialists who will help you produce good ad campaigns and strategize effectively. Ryan Chute from Wizard of Ads® happens to be a master advertising strategist. If you don't want failed ads, book a call.

I believe that powerful advertisements trigger emotion and impulsive decisions. Designed to influence and control, advertising manipulates our thoughts, feelings, and actions to achieve commercial gain.

But while some controversial ads are created to spark discussion and challenge societal norms, others cause public outrage and backlash.

How do we define what’s controversial?

I define controversial ads as those that provoke strong reactions from the public. They might be offensive, harmful, or in bad taste. As a result of careless marketing decisions, controversial ads can cause severe damage to its reputation. Others, however, cause lifelong damage to the brand, customers, and the people that endorse(d) it.

Here are my picks for the 12 most controversial ads of all time:

12 of the Most Controversial Ads of All Time

People are drawn to controversial ads because they provoke a reaction from the public. Some people find them offensive, while others see them as a form of clever marketing. These ads are not afraid to push boundaries.

Whether you love them or hate them, there’s no denying that controversial ads get people talking. From banned commercials to bad print advertisements, here are my picks of the most controversial ads of all time:

PEPSI – Live Bolder, Live Louder

2020 held a lot of challenges– and for various reasons.

The United States, in particular, saw historic levels of social injustice alongside a global pandemic. After the deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and other Black Americans at the hands of police, widespread protests ensued.

Like many other brands, Pepsi filmed and released a commercial responding to the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement. Featuring Kendall Jenner, the ad showcases a group of protesters marching while the model hands a police officer a Pepsi.

This commercial was widely criticized for appropriating the BLM movement and trivializing the very real issues of racial injustice. In the wake of the backlash, Pepsi pulled the ad and released an apology, stating, “This is a global movement. We should all be part of the conversation.”

McDonald’s Restaurants

In 2017, McDonald’s released a commercial to advertise their Fillet-O-Fish. In the commercial, a young boy asks his mother various questions about his late father. Finding that he significantly differed from him, the boy seems discouraged and disconnected. However, when the boy and his mother arrive at Mcdonald’s, he’s told that his father’s favorite meal is the Fillet-O-Fish. This was also his favorite.

This commercial attracted criticism because it trivialized grief. While the commercial may have intended to be heartwarming, many viewers found it insensitive. McDonald’s has since apologized for any offense the commercial may have caused and pulled it from the air.

So, how can you catch attention without the controversy?

At Wizard of Ads®, we believe the message makes the media work; the media does not make the message work. That being said, we will work to produce a disruptive story without the need for the PR Department to stay on standby. Book a call with Ryan Chute today to learn more about our process.

Bristol Dry Gin

Alongside Pepsi’s distasteful commercial in 2020, other brands attempted to market the BLM movement that faced immense criticism. Bristol Dry Gin is a distillery in the UK that drew massive amounts of backlash for its distasteful Twitter post. The post read, “When the shooting starts, the looting starts,” followed by encouragement to use their gin as flammable devices.

Shortly after the post was made, the company removed it and released an apology. This apology, however, did not stop many businesses from dropping their product from their stores.

Lush – #SPYCOPS

In my opinion, Lush, a popular cosmetics brand, crossed the line in 2018 while referencing the British police system. Using the hashtag #spycops, Lush urged the public to demand an end to undercover police spying on activists. In the commercial, a woman is seen conversing with a man who turns out to be an undercover cop.

Because the commercial asserted that cops are paid to lie, it faced backlash from the police and their families. This outrage was taken to social media, where the hashtag #flushlush became viral. In response, Lush issued an apology and pulled the commercial.

Hyundai – Pipe Job

In 2013, Hyundai released commercial advertising their new ix35, which emits 100 percent water emissions. In the commercial, a man tapes a pipe from his exhaust to his window and starts his engine. The camera focuses on his sitting back with the garage closed, looking defeated. After exiting his vehicle, however, the man appears hydrated.

This controversial ad faced backlash as it was insensitive to those who lost loved ones to suicide or those who are suicidal. Hyundai released a statement apologizing for the ad and pulled it from the air.

Miracle Mattress

Miracle Mattress released a short advertisement on their social media in 2016 referencing the devastating terrorist attacks on September 11th. The commercial shows two men behind a woman with mattresses stacked to mimic the Twin Towers behind them. As part of their “Twin Tower Sale,” the woman is shown knocking the men behind her into the mattresses. The mattresses toppled over as the Twin Towers did after being struck.

Damaging their reputation irreparably, Miracle Mattress learned the hard way that some topics are just too sensitive to joke about. The company later apologized for the offensive advertisement, but not before social media lit up with outrage. The post has since been deleted.

Dove – Real Beauty Campaign

Dove received a massive backlash after releasing a commercial that depicted a black woman turning white after using their lotion. The commercial showed a black woman removing her top to reveal a white woman underneath. Many people interpreted the commercial as suggesting that white skin is the standard of beauty.

Sparking racist rumors, Dove quickly defended itself, stating that the commercial was misinterpreted. This sparked the hashtag #donewithdove on Twitter, with many people vowing never to use the brand’s products again.

Dove has since issued an apology and has pulled the commercial from the air.

WWF – the Tsunami Relief Campaign

In 2008, the WWF released an advertisement depicting the scenes of 9/11, listing the number of deaths. Showing cut scenes of planes striking the twin towers, they listed the number of deaths caused by the 2004 tsunami. Comparing these numbers, the WWF stated, “Our Planet is Brutally Powerful. Respect it. Conserve it.”

This commercial was extremely insensitive as the WWF capitalized on the tragic events of 9/11. The commercial faced widespread criticism and was quickly pulled from the air. The WWF reportedly placed blame upon its less experienced staff.

LifeLock – Social Security Number

In 2006, LifeLock, a US identity theft protection company, launched an advertisement that featured the CEO’s social security number. The company was confident that their services would protect him, so they printed his social security number in the ad. (Un)surprisingly, within days of the ad’s launch, the CEO’s identity was stolen more than once.

In a (slightly) humorous way, I think the ad did a great job showcasing the effects of poor advertising.

The company had to pay a 12 million dollar fee due to the false advertisement. The company has been associated with lying and poor service, damaging its reputation and overall revenue.

Dettol

Dettol is a multi-purpose antiseptic disinfectant used for household cleaning and disinfecting the skin. Their controversial advertisement features an image of a dead body with a man walking away covered in blood. Alongside the imagery, the tagline reads, “When ordinary soap just won’t do..”

Sparking extreme controversy, the ad does not perform well due to associating their product with murder and death. Simply put, there are many other ways to market disinfectants without using such graphic and disturbing images.

Sprite

Sparking rumors of misogyny, Sprite released an advertisement in 2016 with the tagline, “She’s seen more ceilings than Michelangelo.” This controversial ad was posted on the Joe.ie news website, which is popular among young people in Ireland. The ad received immediate backlash, with many people finding it highly offensive.

Proving that sex doesn’t always sell, Coca-cola later released a statement apologizing and pulled it from circulation. However, the ad had already been widely shared online, damaging Sprite’s reputation.

KFC

In 2018, KFC addressed the chicken shortage crisis by rationing chicken and even closing some of its stores in Britain. To apologize for the inconvenience, KFC ran a full-page ad with the headline, “FCK.”

By rearranging their letters, they attempted to showcase their mutual anger alongside their customers. However, this advertisement did not come without backlash as some people thought using the F-word was inappropriate.

How, then, can you successfully advertise without controversy?

Ad design can quickly become controversial if you’re not careful. It’s easy to unintentionally offend someone with your ad, especially if you’re targeting a large audience. As such, it’s essential to be aware of the potential pitfalls of ad design before you get started.

At Wizard of Ads®, we understand the importance of ad design and take the time to get it right. Our hand-picked team of storytellers works to create effective ad campaigns that catch attention without crossing the line. Book a call today to learn more about our process, or get started on your next ad campaign.

When it comes to advertisements, the term "strong ad" is often used to describe a highly effective ad. But are strong ads more harmful than good if they start generating complaints? Does advertising help or harm us in general if we have a few unhappy people in the audience? That is the topic up for debate in this article. There are pros and cons to both sides of the argument. Some people believe that a strong ad does more harm than good because it is likely persuasive. Advertising makes us buy things we don't need. Others argue that the best ads are helpful because they inform us about unknown pain points we we might be interested in solving. Let's explore the idea that strong ads are more harmful than good. One reason why this might be true is that great ads are very persuasive. They use emotional appeals and sometimes fearmongering techniques to get us to buy stuff. This can be harmful because we might buy things that we don't need or aren't good for us. For example, beer and Axe body spray commercials promise men that we will transform into a more desirable mate. Another reason why strong ads might be harmful is that they can suggest that we have less freedom of choice. If you buy a product because of a persuasive ad, you may not be making a choice you’re thrilled with. We might even be manipulated into purchasing something we wouldn't have chosen if we had been thinking more rationally. It's essential to be aware of ads' techniques to be persuasive. That way, we can make more informed choices about how we present our products and services more persuasively. So, what do you think? Are strong ads doing more harm than good? Let's take a closer look at this marketing and advertising debate.

Emotional Impact of Ads

As I said earlier, some people believe that strong ads can have an adverse emotional impact on viewers. Ads that are designed to be persuasive can sometimes be manipulative. The worst ads can make us feel bad about ourselves if we don't buy the solution that is being advertised. Popular ads for diet products can make viewers feel insecure of their weight, even when they feel good about themselves. An ad campaign for luxury items can people feel like they need to spend more money than they actually have. These are a couple of advertisement examples of harmful advertisements. Others argue that emotional ads can be positive because they can make us feel good about ourselves. For example, successful ads for a new car might make us feel successful and confident. Famous ads for a new piece of jewelry might make us feel happy and stylish. So, what do you think? Is advertising good or bad? Is advertising helpful or harmful? Do unethical ads make us buy things we don't need? Or do great ads reflect our own hidden feelings and desires? Regardless, if you're asking yourself these questions, you probably need help with crafting the best ads for your business. I can help you strategize. If you're in the home services industry, book a call with Ryan Chute of Wizard of Ads® today.

Strong Ads = Complaints

I'm not here to expose a big secret. We all know that stronger ads mean faster growth. However, as we become more aware, we complain more. Just think about the last time you saw an ad and said, "That's sexist!", or, "That's blasphemy!" In some cases, these complaints are warranted. In other cases, people are just looking for something to be offended by. The thing is, when we're offended by an ad, we're still engaging with it. That's what the advertiser wants. They want us to talk about their product, even in a negative light.

“The optimal number of complaints for a great ad is not zero.” - Mick Torbay, Wizard of Ads® Partner

We know that when we get a complaint that we are making people feel something. Well crafted ads that instigate emotions are sure to put someone in a tizzy. What we know is that for ever one complaint, there are at least other 100 people who loved it. So, are strong ads more harmful than good? It depends on how you look at it. On the one hand, they can be seen as a necessary evil. On the other hand, they can be viewed as a potential danger to society. It really depends on who wrote your ad, in many cases. If you don’t understand what you’re doing, you risk burning all the boats behind you. It's up to each of us to decide which side we fall on. So, should we avoid strong ads? Not if you want to get noticed, you don’t. However, we should be aware of the potential consequences. Be strategic in your approach.

Advertising Complaints

"Most ads aren't written to persuade. They're written not to offend." — Roy H. Williams

Put on the TV and watch your favorite late-night talk show host or comedian. Let's pretend you can conceive of every other person's perception. Chances are, you could be offended by most of the funny things coming from these TV personalities'. Now, imagine that you could rewrite the jokes to avoid offending ANYONE. Would they be as funny? Probably not. Why? Because to make someone laugh, you have to push the boundaries. You have to take risks. The same is true for advertising. The best ads are often offensive ads (to someone). The ones that take risks and push boundaries are the ones that get noticed. But, of course, not everyone is going to like them. In fact, some people are bound to be offended by them. Do you want your ads to be altogether agreeable? Then you're welcoming blandness into your life and your customers' lives.

"Congratulations. Now you've got ads that sound exactly like everyone else's."

— Roy H. Williams

Now, here's a list of common complaints your customers might have for you:

"I'm sick of hearing your ads."

This is what your customer means: "It makes me mad that I can't ignore you." This level of awareness is what you want. You want to be top of mind when they're finally ready to buy. You want them to think, "Oh, I should call that company."

"Advertising is the price you pay for having an unremarkable product or service." — Jeff Bezos

"Your ads don't sound professional. They're not polished and smooth."

What your customer means is: "It makes me mad that your ads don’t sound like ads." You want your ads to stand out, be noticeable, and be remembered. You want them to be the ads that people talk about.

"Advertising is the art of convincing people to spend money they don't have for something they don't need." — Will Rogers

"I'm offended by your ads, and I'll never do business with you."

This is what your customer means: "Complaining is what I do to make me feel important." You want your ads to be noticed and to provoke a reaction, even if that reaction is adverse. Getting attention is the first step to getting customers.

"Good advertising does not just circulate information. It penetrates the public mind with desires and belief." — Leo Burnett

PepsiCo's Little Chihuahua

PepsiCo's "Yo Quiero Taco Bell" little chihuahua is a prime example of a paradoxical ad. Those ads that are entertaining as far as entertaining goes, but harmful to sales and profit. The company spent a couple hundred million dollars to promote the dog. As for taco sales? They didn't increase a penny. America was entertained, but extra profit didn't land in PepsiCo's coffers. In fact, it was quite the opposite. The company took a beating in the stock market and had to let go of thousands of employees during that campaign. Yes, the little chihuahua was entertaining, but he didn't sell any tacos. In fact, he cost PepsiCo dearly in terms of sales and profit. The same can be said for many ads created solely for entertainment value. They may get attention but don't necessarily translate into sales or profit. So while they may be suitable for a laugh, they're not necessarily good for business.

The True Measure of Successful Ads

"It doesn't matter what you consider to be a success. It only matters that you have an objective way of measuring it (and, in the process, the effectiveness of your advertising)."

— Roy H. Williams

What is an effective way of measuring it for you? Would you rather people love your ads? Or do you want them to buy your product to produce profits? You can't have both. You're selling a product or service to make money. That's the sole purpose of advertising– to increase sales and, as a result, profits. What was the point if your ad is entertaining and loved by everyone but doesn't sell anything? Some people would argue that if an ad goes viral, it must be effective. (Like the Taco Bell dog commercial.) Is it really effective, though, if it doesn't sell anything? We can all think of ads that were entertaining but didn't sell the product. The key is to have an objective way to measure success. You need to know how many people saw your ad. You also need to know how many people bought your product as a result of seeing your ad. Otherwise, you're just guessing.

The Problem Most Big Ad Agencies Face

"The problem big agencies face is that they're never able to sit across the table from someone with unconditional authority to say 'absolutely yes.' When creative people know they must gain a group's approval, they will instinctively play it safe. And [they will] give the group what they want, rather than what they need." — Roy H. Williams

If you're not measuring the results of your advertising, then you're essentially guessing. Moreover, if you're relying on a big ad agency to do your advertising for you, then you're at their mercy. You cannot necessarily trust they have your best interests in mind or they're even capable of delivering results. Big ad agencies are often more interested in selling you their services than in helping you grow your business. They're also more concerned with winning awards than generating leads and sales. As a result, they may produce flashy and attention-grabbing ads but fail to help you achieve your objectives. What's more, big agencies typically work on a retainer basis. This means they're paid whether or not their campaigns are successful. In other words, there's no incentive for them to produce results. Rather, working with a smaller agency or a freelancer makes you likelier to get more personal attention and better results. The reason is simple: their livelihood depends on it. Of course, there are exceptions to every rule. Some big agencies produce great work; some small shops don't. But in general, you're more likely to get what you need from a smaller operation. When it comes to choosing an agency, size isn't everything. However, it's worth considering when making your decision.**What's the solution, then?**The solution is to clearly understand what you want to achieve with your advertising and then measure the results. If you're not getting the desired results, change your approach. There's no magic bullet when it comes to advertising. If you do not see the desired results, it's time to try something different. What do you think? Are strong ads more harmful than good? Or are they necessary to cut through the noise and get noticed? If you're unsure, let's talk about it. If you're in the home services industry, book a free call today to strategize with Ryan Chute of Wizard of Ads®.

There are probably two reasons why you clicked through this link:

1. You were curious as to what content we'll put out based on the headline
2. You're really bent on unhooking your deductive reasoning

Many would probably say, why would anyone want to do that? Well, unhooking your deductive reasoning in this context is not about letting go of all sense of rationality. After all, deductive thinking is necessary because we live in a highly logical world. In a way, you need deductive reasoning skills to navigate through this realm. There's just one problem. Only relying on logic means you're using only half your brain's power (left brain) the entire time. Unhooking your deductive reasoning means tapping into your intuitive, creative, artistic, and emotional self a.k.a. your right brain. Only then can you fully harness the power of magical thinking to give your business the competitive edge it needs. You and I will both agree that the success of your business in your category relies heavily on effective advertising. That's especially true for tight and saturated markets like the residential home service. If you want to come up with killer advertising that sweeps the legs of your competition, use your right brain. It begins with unhooking your deductive reasoning. We'll teach you how you could do that here. Keep reading.

What is Meant by Deductive Reasoning?

For the purpose of this section, we'll define and view deductive reasoning from the angle of business and advertising. Deductive reasoning is a class of logical thinking, that's also referred to as top-down thinking. It often begins with a general idea or fact before reaching a specific conclusion. For example, a consumer reading an offer that says "free in-home diagnostic fee" would conclude it's a good deal. Or a roofing ad that says they use eco-friendly shingles would meet the same positive conclusion from consumers. Deductive reasoning means your logic meets the information first, which then analyzes if they're passable or not. There are three common types of deductive reasoning:

• Syllogism. A conclusion is drawn from two assumed premises. For instance, imagine someone that thinks all things cheap is good. If they found an ad for a free in-home diagnostic test, they’ll automatically assume the offer is good. Sadly, that's not always the case, and nothing ever comes for free.
• Modus ponens. A conclusion is drawn from two premises, with one being the cause, and the other being the effect. For example, you think selling cheaper will make customers choose your solutions. In response, you lowered your prices but your sales remained meager at best. It is true that all things being equal, customers will prefer cheaper prices, but that is not the only factor.
• Modus tollens. The inverse of modus ponens, this is when you reach a contradiction from the two premises. For example, you think that since competitors offer the same products cheaper, you must match them or lose market share. You then lowered your prices but found that not only did sales not improve, they declined.

There’s nothing wrong with deductive reasoning. However, you’re missing the point when you appeal to your market’s logic through your messaging and advertising. Why? Because every consumer, despite all sense of rationality, will always buy based on emotions. In other words, the business that makes them "feel good" becomes the frontrunner among their choices. Only creativity can give you that sort of advertising, and that’s only possible when you unhook your deductive reasoning. Heck, don't even take it from me. Listen to what David Ogilvy, the Father of Advertising, had to say: “Big ideas come from the unconscious. This is true in art, in science, and in advertising. But your unconscious has to be well informed, or your idea will be irrelevant. Stuff your conscious mind with information, then unhook your rational thought process.” According to Nobel Prize Winner, Dr. Roger Sperry, your creativity, emotions and intuitiveness come from your right brain. A place where deductive reasoning is absent. If you want to craft the best advertising for your business, use fact-based creative and emotional ads. Wizard of Ads® happens to burst with the creativity to develop the killer, conversion-driven advertising your business needs. Book a call.

Creative Problem Solving

As a residential home service business, you are deemed a problem-solver by the general populace. For an HVAC business, you're a bringer of heat and producer of cold air. For plumbers, you're the magician of sinks and sewer lines. While roofers might not have the same panache as these businesses, people know that they keep houses element-free. The thing is, regardless of your line of work, the way you'll fix problems will generally be similar to competitors. Additionally, the customers will also normally share similar problems within your category. Now how customers choose your solutions over others will depend on how creative and persuasive your messaging is. More importantly, how desirable your value proposition is compared to competitors. You need to create a perfectly fair competitive advantage or an offer that far outweighs competing service providers. Creative problem-solving is about defining the facts surrounding the problems that customers face. This is where "stuffing your conscious mind with information" comes in. Indeed, you have to understand every pain point, pleasure point, and underlying felt need that customers have. This is the only way you can leverage your solutions. "Unhooking your thought process" is what helps you come up with creative approaches to solving your customers' problems. No, it’s not necessarily in terms of service but about how you’ll get your message across. In other words, inform your customers how you plan to solve their problems and explain your valuable offer. Below are some ways you can unhook deductive reasoning and come up with creative solutions for your customers.

Brilliant Ways To Unhook Deductive Reasoning

Deductive reasoning reveals the facts, but it's when we unhook from deductive reasoning that we make our creative juices curdle. Of course, as David Ogilvy recommended, feeding our conscious minds come first. That means embracing all the facts, logic, information and deductive reasoning we can muster. Then once our conscious minds are satisfied, that's when we process the facts to produce the killer advertisement. Here are 5 ways to do that:

1. Arts

Art is in everything. Music, theater, dance, paintings, sculpture and literature. By observing and participating in the arts, we can learn to look at the world from different perspectives. This is not only a personal observation but a scientifically supported fact. In April 2018, the Journal of Business Research published a study on the inspirational power of arts on creativity. Results of the research revealed that participants in touch with aesthetic experiences are inspired and generate more creative solutions. Learning to appreciate works of art enhanced people's creative levels. Even in the business environment, art appreciation resulted in better performance in designing and problem-solving. Art lets people develop a line of thinking outside the box.

2. Humor

Here's what most marketers don't tell you: advertising is business-specific. The way you advertise in the residential home service industry varies greatly from other categories. For one, you're selling externally triggered grudge purchases. That means people don't buy out of an inherent want, they buy from an externally influenced need. That doesn't make them happy, so the only way to appease their raging emotions is through humor. What better way to build our proclivity for all things funny than immersing in comedic reverie? Funny happens when you insert an outrageous suggestion that "doesn't belong but fits" into an otherwise bland narrative. When you make your audience laugh, you tear down their defenses. You soften them up to your business and open their minds to your solutions.

3. Time Pressure

The funny thing about time pressure is that it's all in our heads. Our bodies are perfectly capable of handling way more stress than we give them credit for. It's deadlines that get us all worked up and force us to be relentlessly creative machines. That's one flaw of the logical mind and deductive reasoning. Tight deadlines and steep demands make the logical mind quit. However, when you unhook your deductive reasoning and embrace the panic, you open the floodgates of ideas and creativity. The key is to take a step back, take a deep breath, and relax. This will help you clear your head and allow your right brain to do its job.

4. Play!

"All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy." That's one of the most relevant quotes as to why playing is necessary for creative problem-solving. When you engage in fun things, your brain releases endorphins. This then improves your brain's functionality and stimulates creativity. That said, play that sport you've always wanted. Go on adventures with your friends. Climb a mountain. Touch grass. Whenever your play, you let your uptight and rigid minds relax and let loose. Roy H. Williams perfectly summarized the importance of play in a quote:

"Children are happy because they play. Adults are unhappy because they do not."

5. Recovery

When you’re actively using your brain in taking care of your business and coming up with strategies, you get drained. A tired mind will always be less creative. To refuel, you need to take some time off and recover. This can be in the form of a nap, meditation or even disconnecting yourself from work for a while. That's why sleeping on any plan or tactic you come up with is necessary. This gives your brain ample time to go over and refine everything you have in mind. Don't you notice your brain go ballistic on imagination during bus rides? That's because you're in a resting phase. By doing so, you’ll allow your body to recover and also give your brain the chance to generate new ideas. Unhooking deductive reasoning is not about letting go of all rationality nor is it about focusing solely on creative thinking. Logic and imagination are two peas in a pod. They must work together in perfect synchrony to produce the killer ad that’s impossible to say “no” to. Once you’ve filled your brain tank with all information necessary, it’s time to unhook from deductive reasoning. Watch your creative juices flow endlessly. Even with bursting creativity, crafting and articulating the perfect ads still require experience, knowledge, and practice. You can either learn the ropes of business advertising or hire the marketers who can do it for you. Ryan Chute from Wizard of Ads® happens to be that person. Book a call.

Can the brain multi-task? That's an interesting thought, especially as we’re coursing through a highly busy and preoccupied world. Everyone’s multi-tasking nowadays, and people have seemingly succumbed more to the movement during the smartphone age. Therefore, the more interesting question to ask is: "are people made for multi-tasking?" Science suggests that multi-tasking and the brain have an inverse relationship. We only cultivate productivity when we create momentum. One of the harsh effects of multitasking is we impede this momentum when bouncing from one task to another. That's the reason Joe Kraus believes that we live in a culture of distraction. Before smartphones took over the world, we used the internet 5 times a day on average. Now, that number blew up to more than 500 percent, at 27 times a day. This distracted multi-tasking culture became a cause for worry for Joe Kraus. Who's Joe Kraus, you say? Well, he founded excite.com, JotSpot, and DigitalConsumer.org. He was a partner at Google Ventures, has investments on LinkedIn, and is the current President of Lime. In other words, a heckuva' successful entrepreneur, yet he despises all of this connectivity. This culture of multi-tasking meant people are becoming busier and more distracted, but not in any way more productive. That poses problems, especially for businesses, and we’ll tell you why. Here, we'll look into multi-tasking and the brain, and more importantly, how this culture of distraction affects marketing and advertising. Keep reading.

Our Brain vs the Internet

I’m sure you’ve realized by now that the human brain is far less advanced in processing information than computers…Unlike rigs boasting powerful 8-core chipsets that can handle 16 simultaneous processes at once, our brains can only handle one. Neuropsychologists stress that [humans are hard-wired to be monotaskers](https://health.clevelandclinic.org/science-clear-multitasking-doesnt-work/#:~:text=One study found that just, once aren't actually that.). It's how our brain gets things done. When people say they're engaged in a multi-tasking sesh, they are simply doing different actions in quick succession. You know, like 15 minutes of work here, another 5 to talk to colleagues, and 30 scrolling through social media. In other words, people are simply task-switching. You'll notice it even in today's era. How many people within your Realm of Association are active on social media during supposedly work hours? Exactly. DataReportal revealed that social media's share of total online time jumped from 26.3 percent to 35.2 percent in 9 years. Mobile devices' share of total internet time also grew from 27.3 percent in 2013 to 53.5 percent in 2021. Brain multi-tasking is not a real thing. It's a lie we tell ourselves to mask how distracted we really are. At least computers can maintain and switch through an abundant amount of tabs without crashing. Still, even computers stutter when handling data beyond their capacity, how much more do our brains? That said, does multitasking damage your brain? The answer is even more concerning because UK brain research on multi-tasking showed that it makes people mentally unbalanced. Multi-tasking reduces a person’s mental capacity by an average of 10 points on IQ tests. So, yes. Multi-tasking is cognitively damaging and worse, businesses will suffer from this emerging culture of distraction. You want advertising that captivates your audience’s distracted thoughts to help get your message across. Not all marketers can do that, but Ryan Chute of Wizard of Ads® can. Book a call.

The Culture of Distraction (Multi-tasking)

A single Google search reveals the many articles on multi-tasking boasting both the positives and negatives of it. One of the most interesting I've read is the column by Inc. on multi-tasking. They said the effect of multitasking on the brain is like missing a night's sleep. While, for the men, they described it as affecting the brain 3 times more than the effect of smoking weed. That results in 40 percent less efficiency with our daily tasks. Still, there's a special group of people who can execute multi-tasking more effectively than the rest of us. According to APA PsycNet, only 2.5 percent of people can multitask (Plot twist: They're androids). The point is that: there's only a fraction of individuals who can cope with the culture of distraction. Everyone else will inevitably suffer the ramifications of our poor choices. Here's the interesting bit. The more people dwell on the delusion that we're capable of multitasking, the worse they get at it.

“When you practice distraction, which is what multi-tasking really is, you’re training your brain to pay attention to distracting things." — Roy H. Williams

Once distraction becomes a lifestyle, which is what's happening today, people will struggle to focus on more important tasks. You get less done. You throw away money. You waste a non-renewable resource, which is time. In the context of business advertising, this is a huge issue. You want eyes focused on your business but distractions keep pulling them away. If you can't hold people’s attention, how can you get your message across? How will you be able to sell anything? The answer is, you won't and there's nothing we could do to alter our customers' habits. What we could do is cope with reality and find ways to make our message clear to a distracted audience. We'll teach you how below.

What Does our Culture of Distraction Mean to Marketers?

What multi-tasking did to the brain produced a strong ripple effect that has bred a generation of easily distracted individuals. Wherever you go, you'll see people lost in a trance as they scroll through their feeds. This culture of distraction has transcended the realms of business, and this affects marketers in 5 ways:

1. Getting attention is one thing. Holding it is another.

The multitasking brain is less able to focus. This has made it harder for marketers to get people's attention in the first place. In a world where we're bombarded with 4 thousand -10 thousand marketing messages a day, is problematic. It's become increasingly harder for businesses to cut through the noise and reach their target audience. You want to make your advertising as attractive as possible. Make sure you're producing content that's irresistible and hard to look away from. Do you know what advertisements are hardest to resist? Those that tell a story. Wizard of Ads® can craft those for you if you book a call.

2. The volume of information gushing toward your customer is like a fire hose aimed at a teacup.

Every business venture and each solution you're selling is composed of tons of valuable information. It can be tempting to bombard your audiences with information-dense advertising to make them see the incredible value you offer. We get it. But that's not how advertising works, especially today. Nitpick the best value from your solutions and transform them into bite-sized, easily digestible messages. Fill their teacup to the brim.

3. Advertising must embrace a Big Idea or it will be ignored.

David Ogilvy once said that the most creative, innovative, revolutionary ideas (big ideas) come when we unhook our deductive reasoning. Ads made from big ideas captivate people’s attention and linger in their memories longer. That said, keep stuffing your unconscious mind with facts. Then unplug from all rationality as you immerse in creative activities. See the floodgates of your right brain open and big ideas flow through.

"Big Ideas don’t arise from normalcy. Big Ideas are products of audacity. The unmitigated gall of a big idea requires that you be a bit of an outsider. Otherwise, you will never walk the path where it can be found." — Roy H. Williams

4. Attention can be held only by moving rapidly from Big Idea to Big Idea to Big Idea.

Big ideas are the key to capturing and holding your audience's attention. A barrage of advertising forged from big ideas is the secret to keeping your market's eyes on you. Through big ideas, you unmake the culture of distraction that multi-tasking instilled in society.

5. Never in history have we crammed bigger thoughts into fewer words.

It's no secret that people's attention spans have been on the down low in recent years. People are looking to digest information in the quickest and most non-intrusive way possible. That could be a problem. For instance, feature a 60-second ad and see your audience itching to skip the video. Alternatively, create a quick 5-second ad and it goes over your market's head. The best ads strike the perfect balance between word count and ad length. Choosing the right words is also essential.

Big Ideas

“Big ideas come from the unconscious. This is true in art, in science, and in advertising. But your unconscious has to be well informed, or your idea will be irrelevant. Stuff your conscious mind with information, then unhook your rational thought process.” — David Ogilvy

You want your brain to be an endless supply of big ideas. That’s the only way to counteract the culture of distractions we’ve all helped create. Stuff your brain with information and then unhook deductive reasoning. You’ll see the facts and figures take an artistic form. Big ideas = great advertising. If you want your advertising to be filled with big ideas, choose the marketers that don’t multitask. We happen to be those people. We’ll relentlessly pursue your business success and won’t stop until we achieve it. Interested? Book a call.

Do businesses still need advertising? Of course. You cannot take advertising away from any industry. As a matter of fact, without any level of advertising, even sales from household brands will plummet. Now making an ad noticeable? That's the more interesting question. Every time you publish an ad, you have one singular goal in mind: to get noticed. Your advertising efforts are your one-way ticket to attracting attention and making a buzz. Getting your message across is key to getting noticed in a world full of digital noise and content overload. I repeat, it’s about delivering your message, never the medium. The truth is, noticeable ads will remain noticeable no matter the medium. Sadly, not every business owner thinks the same. Roy H. Williams has had his moments dealing with people who believe otherwise, like:_ “I work in the furniture industry. Which media should I choose?” “My target audience is people who are afraid of the dentist. What’s a good mailing list company?” “TV ads work very well for my uncle in attracting new customers. He’s made a fortune off them. What's your opinion of TV?” “No one in my town listens to the radio anymore. Everyone has a smartphone.” “Advertising doesn't work for my kind of business.” _These are the kind of questions and statements that leave Roy dumbfounded. Crappy messaging emblazoned on a billboard will still add no sense of value to customers. They will walk past your invisible message without a second glance. To get noticed, you must master the art of crafting provocative, flabbergasting, and stupefying messages in your ads. We'll share that art with you today. Keep reading.

Mastering the Art

We see thousands of commercials every single day. You hear ads over the radio. You read them every time you scroll on social media or those in-video YouTube ads we all hate. But every once in a while, you see that one ad that makes you go, "What the %*$# just happened?" Have you ever had that moment? Weird advertisements make you cringe, laugh, disgusted, surprised, and even question your existence. Yet no matter how dismayed you felt, you couldn't get enough. It’s as if you have to finish the weird commercial; otherwise, the experience is incomplete. Throw in all the flak you could think of, but one common denominator binds them together: they get noticed. That's the kind of advertising you should aim for. There isn't a treasure trove of unusual advertisements scattered all over the internet because most people are not weird. Only a few of them still make appearances on TV. A considerable chunk gets banned. However, they won't fail to induce a good dose of chuckles after a rewatch. Weird adverts or odd-vertising, as I'd like to put it, are not the golden standard to get noticed. It’s not all about how your advertising team writes the ad. Understanding your audience is a significant part of mastering the art of getting noticed.

What do they relate the most to? What sort of value are they looking for? What makes them tick? What infuriates them? What forces them to take action?_Advertising is never about what makes your business happy. It's always been about the audience. You will only master the art of getting noticed when you produce ads FOR audiences. Throw in your values and beliefs, then mix in their pain and pleasure points. Pour a sprinkle of humor, drama, or audacity. Then add a smidge of weirdness. That’s how you concoct a head-turner ad. Keep in mind, industries vary from one another. In the residential home services, you're selling externally triggered, grudge purchases. That means you’re selling solutions people are forced to buy, and this brands your business with a negative connotation from the outset. Comedy is one way to appease your customer's raging emotions, and sometimes that's what your ads need. If you’re looking for killer ads that give your business all the buzz, we got you fam. Book a call with Ryan Chute of Wizard of Ads™, and we’ll hook you up.

Importance of Relevance

“Relevance is what determines whether an ad works or not.

Every media fails when it delivers a message no one cares about.”

— Roy H. Williams

Relevance has always been the foundation of effective communication. Say otherwise and suffer the roars of contempt from the advertising Gods. However, in this day and age, relevance doesn't seem to be as relevant. To be relevant is to appropriately connect with people within the right context. A relevant ad satisfies what audiences are searching for, not what you are selling. Every day, businesses answer unasked questions that nobody cares about in their well-intended and inoffensive ads. _How is this helpful? Is what you’re saying going to make a difference? Does it satisfy anyone's actual underlying felt needs? Will it make your prospect happy or waste their precious time? These questions form the litmus test that examines the relevance of information. For your business to get noticed, you must put out relevant ads. But in the context of advertising, relevance has nothing to do with entertainment or artistic delivery. Being relevant is all about what your buyers actually value. Your set of solutions has a corresponding value, no matter what business you are in. Creating ads that get noticed means leveraging what your customers value. Your customers will only buy based on these motivators. In other words, a tastefully crafted comedy advertisement with lackluster value will still yield mediocre results. Whereas weird ads with great value? Those are the ads that get noticed. Let's look at an example: Old Spice - The Man Your Man Could Smell Like Old Spice is known for the absurd ads that are densely packed with intrinsic value. Take "The Man Your Man Could Smell Like," for example. If there were a list of the weirdest Old Spice commercials, this would rank within the top three. Contrary to the deodorant company's market, this 30-second video ad targeted ladies. It featured a handsome man, Isaiah Mustafa, with an oddball sense of humor. The commercial was very effective in generating a lot of social media chatter. Dissecting the ad, you'll notice that underneath the banter and funny quips, Isaiah never stops talking about their value. The transforming landscapes, being on a yacht, pouring diamonds, and riding a horse were all Old Spice's essence metaphors. This ad etched Old Spice as the epitome of scented masculinity. Any woman who watches the ad will desire their partner to smell like a million dollars. Weird, quirky, smooth, fun, and relevant. Good advertising. All in all, this odd commercial is an excellent example of how to get noticed for all the right reasons.

Ads That Failed

You see countless ads per day. How many of those do you actually remember? Exactly. That's what North Americans experience each and every day. You see an ad, you forget the ad. This vicious cycle happens day in and day out. All those unremarkable ads drown in the Sea of Sameness, never to be recalled again. That's the reality, but you know what's worse? Your advertising efforts could be one of those ads that won't sink in and make their mark. For businesses like yours, you can't afford to waste resources on ads that don't generate strong retention and recall. Producing disruptive and attention-grabbing ads delivered at the correct frequency is the only solution when you want to get noticed. However, if you've run ads before that failed miserably, here are the potential reasons why:

1. The ad was so predictable that few people paid attention.

How would you feel if you sat through a movie that has already been spoiled to you? Predictable advertisements follow this same theme. They lack anticipation, surprise, and delight which puts your audiences on edge, looking forward to the punchline. In this case, your only solutions are to get a new ad writer or give the one you've got creative freedom. The best ads pack an unexpected twist that leaves audiences open-mouthed and in complete delight.

2. Prospective customers didn’t care.

This is where relevance comes in. You want ads to be relevant to your market; otherwise, what value are they even getting from you? If you are met with this problem, it's time to dump the irrelevant subject matter. Spruce up your value by discovering what people actually care about and then talk about that instead.

3. The ad’s message is relevant but unclear.

The thing about Old Spice is that their advertising is funny and relevant at the same time. Plus, they conveyed both fronts perfectly. You are doing something wrong when your creativity waters down and confuses your clarity. After all, what’s the point of being cute and clever if your prospect can’t remember the name of your business? Furthermore, tell your layout artist that the prettiest ad is rarely the most effective. You're running a business, not a fashion magazine. Ensure the creative team understands their continued employment depends on creating ads that sell the product.

4. Your ad campaign commitment is shorter than your product selling cycle.

This is a common rookie mistake that dooms many advertising campaigns. The sales cycle for some products or services can be measured in years, yet the ad campaign is only committed to three months. How effective can any ad campaign be in such a short time? It takes time to get noticed, then get remembered, and finally, get liked and trusted. You have to do all of this before they even need what you sell! Your only solution is to commit to an ad campaign longer than your product selling cycle.

5. Ads written from a different cultural perspective than the customer's own are not engaging.

It's crucial to get noticed for the right reasons. Tone deaf, culturally insensitive, or just plain irrelevant advertising will not get you noticed in a good way. Ensure your ad speaks to your target audience in a language and style they can identify with. To solve this, hire an ad writer who understands the cultural background they are trying to reach. This will add a more personal touch that takes your business closer to your market. Always remember that ads fail not because of the delivered medium. **Great advertisements always make the medium work when delivered at the correct frequency.**Here’s the bottom line from Roy H. Williams :“Ads that fail in one media would usually have failed in any other. The media is not the message. The message is the message. And the message is what matters most.”

Noticeable Ads

Noticeable ads appeal to Broca’s Area, the same part of the brain that makes us notice and fixate on something. Think about it this way. What makes you look across a crowded club and see a person you'd like to interact with? There are probably a hundred people inside, but not everyone possesses the quality that makes your eyes linger. To get noticed, your ads need to stand out of the ordinary. They need the element that binds weird, ridiculous, and absurd ads together. If your advertising stands 600 ft. above the competition, only the blind won't see. Always remember that the more disruptive an ad, the higher traction it gets. However, the relevance must never get drowned out by the creativity.

What Makes Bizarre Ads Undeniably Noticeable?

If we try to break down every successful bizarre ad, we'll find four qualities that made them noticeable. We'll discuss them below:

• Visually stimulating

You should design a good ad to get noticed and stop scrolling thumbs. It should be so visually appealing that people can't help but give it a second look.

Anyone who remembers the Squatty Potty understands what visual appeal looks like. Can you imagine showing a unicorn pooping rainbows to promote your bowel movement stimulating brand? Despite the rather distasteful concept, they pulled off a 3-minute ad that got eyes glued to the screen with their visual appeal.

“There is no such thing as an attention span.

All you have to do is leave out the boring parts.” - Roy H. Williams

• Emotionally moving

Do you know the saying, "bad publicity is still publicity"? Well, that still applies to advertising. Ads that get noticed are effective in evoking audiences' emotions. The kind of emotion is irrelevant, so long as it gets under your skin.

When you portray experiences relatable to people or share values that align with them, you can nudge customers into buying. Do you know why?

The part of the brain that controls decisions has no faculty for words or logic. Because of that, you only need to tug the right emotional triggers to convince people to justify the buy with logic.

• Punchy headlines

In terms of written advertisements, your headlines are your sales pitch to an indifferent crowd. Win the headline battle, and you have secured a click that will listen to what you have to say. Your headline is the hook to catch your fish.

A weak headline will kill your campaign even if you offer some of the best solutions paired with a killer advertising copy or a sensational offer. Don't skimp on the headline. It does 80% of the job for what comes next.

• Sense of urgency

Ever notice how online ads have a call to action? This is because you want to inspire action from a sense of urgency in your audiences. Great advertisements without a sense of urgency will not activate people's impulse buying tendencies. That's not good business for you.

Whether that's limited inventory or an offer with an expiration date, urgency pushes people to act fast. Otherwise, you slice a thick amount of leverage from your solutions.

For example, look at one of the most recent controversial ads in the Philippines. It’s about a soda product called RC Cola, as observed below:

For context, the ad follows a student who goes home after being bullied and teased as ‘adopted.’ He goes home complaining to his mom and then exposes his back implanted with four drinking glasses. To appease her son's raging emotions, she takes her head off, revealing that she has a bottle of RC Cola for a head. The ad ends with the entire family drinking the soda from the son's back. The advertisement obviously checked all the boxes that make weird ads, well, weird. Visually stimulating, also a check, the editing was spot on for a commercial. Emotionally evoking, agreed, the acting was convincing. Bizzare, very– in fact, I'm still not sure what the advertisement suggests. While seemingly the perfect ad for getting noticed, one element they lacked is relevance. Your relevance is the value you're trying to convey and convince audiences to choose. Despite artistic efforts, RC Cola failed to explain its relevance over other popular brands. That's where the problem begins. You create a popular buzzing ad but lacked the punchline to make it a head-turner. In the end, all RC Cola had was hype and nothing more. As Roy H. Williams puts it:

• Delivering a pointless message in a powerful manner results in hype.
• Delivering a powerful message in a pointless fashion is the result of weak creative.
• Delivering a powerful message in a powerful style is the ad that gets noticed.

You have an eye-catchy ad, but how are sales? Again, relevance is the lynchpin. When RC Cola evolves this ad into speaking emotionally to the underdog and builds a tribe of raving fans, they will have turned the corner on cute and clever, joining the titans of industry.

Why Showing Reactions and Facial Expressions is Powerful for Ads

All the ads are geared to an audience's rational or emotional sensibilities. On the whole, emotional ads achieve more success than rational ads. You're more likely to get noticed when your ads bank on pure emotions than if it was purely informational. Adding in a sprinkle of sentimentality propels an ad even further. Feelings of pride, love, happiness, loneliness, sadness, nostalgia, and friendships are all great emotional value boosters. Showing facial expressions and reactions in ads is a powerful weapon. It's one of the quickest ways to get noticed. A person's face is an emotional center; by using it in ads, we get a quick connection to the feelings being conveyed. In contrast, bland emotional portrayal compromises the messaging of an advertisement. Look at those ads with silent laughter. A part of us feel uplifted and light when we see people smiling. This emotional connection translates into advertising. Look at those ads with silent laughter.

Are Your Ads Capturing the Attention of Your Target Audience?

Advertising is a tricky business. It's an art and a science that takes years to master. The most important thing is to get noticed by the right people in the right way. Ads can fail for many reasons, but they're often not relevant to their audience or don't stand out. If you're looking for relevant, weird, disruptive, and funny ads that will make your audience say yes, we can help. Book a call with Ryan Chute of Wizard of Ads™, and let's create those mind-blowing ads.