I just saw a :30 TV spot for a local dairy/ice cream chain featuring the chairman dressing in various holiday-specific costumes. Easter, Independence Day, Mother’s Day, etc. I think the point was to get viewers to serve more of their ice cream to celebrate these holidays. But it made me wonder how the agency got stuck having to feature the chairman in its spot, instead of a more creative solution. You see it a lot in spots for local car dealerships. Almost every one of them features the owner (or worse, the owner’s offspring) singing, shouting or aggressively promoting their amazing deals. I guess what bothers me is the assumption that we, the viewers, will find them compelling simply because their name is on the door. None of them can act. Most of them can barely read the script. And NOT ONE is good-looking. One of the keys for driving interest in TV is a provocative/memorable/attractive point of view.
Putting an amateur, even if it’s the client, as the focus of the advertising makes the message more confusing, causing the viewer to stare at the indulgent, look-at-me owner rather than hearing the offer. Where I come from, that’s called bad advertising.
Sure, sometimes it works — the brewmaster guy from Sam Adams has great radio reads, and don’t forget Wendy’s Dave Thomas, who set the bar for humility and credibility. All the other stuff is based on either the owner’s arrogance or the agency’s inability to push back. Believe me, I know how hard that can be. A couple of years ago my agency was asked to develop the name and identity for a new professional hockey team. Thirteen rounds of creative later we wound up with a golden retriever as the team logo. The OWNER’S golden retriever. Lousy logo. Happy client.
Commentary from the BigFatMarketingBlog.com
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