Here we go again. Ad agency executives promoting the fact they received an award for an ad they developed for a client. However, what business writers forget to ask is “how much product did it actually sell?’.
[inlinetweet prefix=”” tweeter=”” suffix=””]Don’t give me the bullshit that advertising is supposed to increase awareness because the connection between awareness and actually selling the product is a long one. [/inlinetweet]
Every year agency people go to France to pat themselves on the back for producing great spots that entertain but don’t sell product. In case the ad agency businesses haven’t looked at the market lately consumer packaged goods are in trouble. A lot of it can be attributed directly to bad advertising by creative people who want very much to be Steven Spielberg.
[inlinetweet prefix=”” tweeter=”” suffix=””]Another point: agency people are great at manipulating data to convince you that using Flo over and over again in Progressive commercials is a winner.[/inlinetweet] And when sales don’t go up, what do they recommend? Spend money to increase reach and frequency.
Advertising has been in trouble for a while and agencies don’t understand that consumers don’t want to be interrupted any more. Marketers go where the people are but the trouble is that the people are saying “stay the hell away from me”.
Advertising is meant to sell your product. It should be fresh, relevant and not repetitive, but let’s remember that the ad industry thrives on people who just want to win awards, business objectives be damned.
