Hot Air Advertising Hot air advertising is commercial messages with bad breath. When I see ads online and offline that proclaim they're the "undisputed leaders" or their product will "revolutionize," it turns my stomach. When I'm on "permi-hold" trying to get cable service established and I'm told they're committed to being the "Best," my blood boils. The announcer emphasizes the "B" in best, as if that makes it so. If they were committed to being the best, they'd hire more customer service reps and get the order right the first three times. That is hot air advertising. When I'm on hold and I'm told my call is important to them, that is hot air advertising, too. They talk about how calls may be monitored to insure quality service. I find myself responding by saying out loud that they should record the nasty comments made whilst on hold, if they want to insure quality service. Amazon has a nice series of hold messages. They sing to you and give you interesting tips while you wait. The branding is in the doing, as I say in my speeches. Don't tell me, show me. Prove it to me. The copy approach I like best is direct soft sell. Give me facts that back up a claim. Have other people state your case. Offer information in ads that is helpful. What a concept, ads that inform. I think this will catch on if for no other reason than it'll stand out in this media-saturated environment. I bet print ads and radio commercials will start to offer high-quality content, and then refer readers and listeners to a website for the rest of the story. Radio ads are especially obnoxious. They wear out very fast, so it's like hearing the same bad joke over and over again. Hospital ads go into gory detail about operations while I'm eating. I'll bet people turn away from radio stations more often than not because of the ads. So many radio spots are so predictable I imagine the listener can guess the next line of copy: "Oh, here's the doubting Thomas, and time now for three copy points followed by capitulation, slogan, and a cutesy end line" - a totally contrived script. OK, I've ranted enough. I'm certain many of you are nodding your head in agreement. Then why is it that most marketers persist in breathing on audiences with this tripe? Surely it isn't effective, so it will die. The sooner they take a breath mint and freshen up their approach, the better off advertisers and audiences alike will be. |
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