By Jill Dennis
I've been in advertising for 18 years and I can't tell you how many times I've had a client say, "I just need more customers through the door. Write a commercial that will bring me traffic." As advertising consultants we have the ability to help the client tell his or her story as convincingly as possible. The assumption of course is that the client has a story to tell. The public no longer pays attention to advertising that is obviously advertising. We've become immune to many phrases, statements and tones of voice. There are literally dozens of businesses in our market who scream "Highest quality at the lowest prices". What does that mean? Highest quality of what? Lower prices than who? And if you have the highest quality, why do you want to de-value your product by selling it at the lowest price?
Any unsubstantiated claim is nothing more than a cliche. You must be prepared to prove what you say in every ad. Write meaningful commercials that will be remembered when the listener has need of your product. Do your commercials describe what is waiting for your customer? Do the words create a series of mental pictrures? To be effective the commercial must allow the customer to "see" themselves doing what you want them to do. Try to see your customer's needs as they see their needs. Look at your product through their eyes.
If your commercial can leave out the unsubstantiated claims that muddle most advertising then you'll begin to set youself apart and that should be your goal.
"The most valuable of all talents is that of never using two words when one will do." - Thomas Jefferson
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