Interstitial ads: Too much of a bad thing?

Gerry McGovern wrote recently that finding is the new advertising. Not a new concept really - search moguls Google and Yahoo have been making money for years now displaying targeted ads - not the advertising to the masses that gets done in newspapers, radio, and TV.

But what's really new is the level of ad-receptiveness, or lack of it really. Today we are advertising averse. Ad-blind.

My wife thinks watching the previews is one of the best parts of going to the movies. Why? We expect it. We are receptive to it. We want it. It's entertaining and enticing. It's the Free Prize. Most people are not annoyed by the previews - most of the people that I know like them.

Interstitial ads are all the rage online. But they make you wait for what you want. In contrast, no one I know likes watching these ads and usually looks to see if there's a "skip this ad" button.

The web has brought new powers and capabilities to advertisers to reach people in new ways. The web allows marketers to target niche audiences that would have been cost prohibitive to reach in the past. The incredible success of the Google Adwords program is due to two main factors: (1) they can be incredibly granular and targeted allowing for great relevancy; and (2) they are at times very beneficial - providing useful links to the information, product or service the user was searching for.

In the short life of the web, online advertising has already seen several trends come and go. Pop-ups and banner ads, while still somewhat effective, are considered "old school." The interstitial ads, while very popular now, seem too much like television to me. They are the non-targeted, non-relevant, in most cases non-interesting commercial before the show. They are the painful, annoying opposite of a free prize.

One thing is for certain: online advertising is here to stay. New techniques and technologies will undoubtedly bring us new forms of advertising. But it's obvious we have a ways to go before we figure out exactly how content and advertising will live together in online harmony.

I love the whole world...

I really like this commercial for the Discovery Channel. Oomdeeada oomdeeada. Well done!

Shopping cart before the horse?

I like technology as much as the next guy. I'm all for it. But do we really need this?

I hope they put an off switch on it.

What are you selling?

Here's a nice post from Jonathon that challenges you to look beneath the surface. What fears, insecurities, aspirations, and desires are marketers playing on when they promote their products?

For instance, WalMart has recently changed their marketing campaign to focus on saving you money and how that can help you live a better life. Their not selling their products in the ads, they're selling thrift.

A few others to add to Jonathon's list:

- Bud Light doesn't sell the taste of their beer, they sell humor and good times.
- Cadillac doesn't sell cars, they sell style and acceptance.
- Volvo doesn't sell cars, they sell safety.
- Microsoft doesn't sell software, they sell productivity.
- Visa doesn't sell debt, they sell paying convenience.
- Home Depot doesn't sell their tools, they sell DIY confidence and assistance.
- L'Oreal doesn't sell cosmetics, they sell beauty.
- Pfizer doesn't sell drugs, they sell well-being.

Clever outdoor ads

Many advertisers, realizing the need to rise above the marketing din, are getting creative in their quest for our attention. Here are a few examples of some really creative outdoor ads.

Images link to their source.

Black Friday

Black Friday is the day after Thanksgiving and is the beginning of the traditional Christmas shopping season in the United States. It is typically one of the busiest shopping days of the year as stores have big sales that attract throngs of shoppers. Many regard the day as the "Super Bowl of Shopping."

In the "old days" of the last century, we used to have to wait for the delivery of the Thanksgiving Day newspaper and get all the ads to see what bargains were available and at what stores. Well no more.

Several websites have sprung up to offer information about Black Friday specials up to a month in advance. The information is either leaked by insiders or intentionally released by large retailers to give consumers insight and allow them time to plan their Black Friday Attacks.

Happy shopping.

BlackFriday.Net

BlackFridayAds.com

Black Friday 2007

Truthy taglines

Justin has a clever post suggesting new company taglines that are honest. A few of my favorites:

PopTarts: Until you realize how disgusting they are, we’ll keep making them.

Samsung: Didn’t you mean to buy Sony?

Southwest Airlines: On your marks, get set, find a seat!

Ikea: One day you’ll be able to afford real furniture.

And one from the comments: Twitter: What are you doing? How about now? ...and now?

Subliminal (read this!) advertising

I remember hearing about the famous popcorn subliminal messaging when I was a kid. But I never knew that it was an admitted hoax.

The great site Snopes says: As usual, the media (and thereby the public) paid attention only to the sensational original story, and the scant coverage given to Vicary's later confession was ignored or quickly forgotten.

So the country got panicky and worried about something that doesn't even work. CNN wrote a nice summary of the subliminal issue in 2000.

So at least we don't have to worry about that anymore. And we can move on to more pressing concerns -- like all those backwards messages in rock songs!

Marketing thoughts: Quoth the mavens

"The mass market has split into ever-multiplying, ever-changing sets of micromarkets that demand a continually expanding range of options." --Alvin Toffler

"The product is our most important marketing tool." --Phil Knight, Nike

"I notice increasing reluctance on the part of marketing executives to use judgment; they are coming to rely too much on research, and they use it as a drunkard uses a lamp post for support, rather than for illumination." --David Ogilvy

"Almost no one goes home eagerly anticipating junk mail in their mailbox. Almost no one read People magazine for the ads. Almost no one looks forward to a three-minute commercial interruption on must see TV. Advertising is not why we pay attention. Yet marketers must make us pay attention for the ads to work. If they don't interrupt our train of thought by planting some sort of seed in our conscious or subconscious, the ads fail. Wasted money. If an ad falls in the forest and no one notices, there is no ad." -- Seth Godin

Apple: Cool to the core

Aaron Russell nicely summarizes the story of 18 year old British student Nick Haley whose home-made video tribute to the iPod Touch became a national television commercial.

As the amount and quality of user-generated content grows, companies need to find effective ways like this to make use of the content and empower and embrace their devoted users.

The soft sell

My wife drives a Toyota. Having bought a car from them in the past makes us a prime marketing target for Toyota today. The theory goes "You liked us enough to buy from us one time...Consider us again when the time comes. And isn't now a good time?"

Recently we received a mailing inviting us to take a look at their new lineup of 2008 vehicles and consider one. But what struck me was the URL they were directing us to on every page of the fold-out: Toyota.com/shop. Just shop. No implied pressure. Come look, learn, compare.

This is very different from the Toyota ads I've seen on TV for the last few years. They all promoted the website BuyAToyota.com.

Now this could just be a matter of relationship marketing - current Toyota customers get sent to "shop" while new acquisitions go to "buy."

So I looked up some of the newer ads for Toyota like this one and this one, and they both end with simply "Toyota.com."

Not that Toyota has ever struggled with sales, but maybe we're seeing a shift from the hard sell to the soft sell.

Another car manufacturer, Mercury, struggling like many American car companies, says simply "You've got to put Mercury on your list."

With consumers being inundated with more advertising messages than ever, helpful, suggestive, but not pushy marketing seeems to be the current trend.

A few good creative men

"We write ads or people die - You CAN'T handle a bigger logo!"

Wild pitch

I would have loved to have been a fly on the wall in the conference room when these advertising pitches were made.

"Your company name sounds too cold and formal. And insurance is kind of boring. We need something people can relate to. I know! What about a gecko?"

"And when the thirsty kids scream 'Hey Kool-Aid', this cool-aid monster busts through the wall and quenches everyone's thirst."

"No, nothing really happens. The friends just scream at each other. Trust me, it will be funny."

"And we think there should be three animated guys that help sell the cereal named Snap, Crackle and Pop."

Or how did this crazy ad for Outpost.com ever get approved?

McBranding

There was a time when skeptics scoffed at the notion that a baseball actually curved. It must be an optical illusion, they said.

This provoked the famous pitcher Dizzy Dean. "All right," he challenged, "go stand behind a tree and I'll hit you with an optical illusion."

Similarly, some people today question all the money companies spend on advertising and branding and wonder whether they'll ever see a return on their investment. "Is there anyone who doesn't already know about McDonald's? Why do they need to advertise?"

A fascinating new study on McDonald's packaging shows us that advertising may be a sneaky curveball. We all have our doubts that it works on us, but it likely influences our purchasing decisions and brand perceptions more than we even know.

Advertising Truthiness

My son sees me shaving and tells me I should use some new-fangled shave gel because he saw a commercial for it on TV and "it works great." My son is six and has never once shaved his face. I tell him that he can't believe everything he sees on TV. That some messages are just trying to get you to buy something.

I try to deconstruct some of the messages to show him what I mean:

"Four out of five dentists recommend sugarless gum for their patients who chew gum."
My take: Most dentists would probably prefer you not chew gum at all.

"Buy this car - it received a five star side-impact rating."
My take: Maybe it loses half its value in the first year and gets terrible gas mileage.

"You may have already won $1,000,000."
My take: We're almost certain you didn't win anything.

Dudley Moore once made a movie called Crazy People in which advertising execs started telling the truth in their ads. (Volvo: They're boxy but good.) In this cynical age of transparency, in which we've been bombarded with advertising and spin our whole lives, companies can gain a lot of credibility by being brutally honest. Admit your mistake when you mess up. Make amends. But most of all, don't mislead us.

Friday fun: Name that chip

Frito-Lay is involving its customers in a new contest to name a flavor of its popular Doritos chips. After giving the chips a name, which prints right on the bag as you watch, you even have the chance to write and produce a commercial for it.

As marketers look for new and innovative ways to gain our attention, this kind of "participatory advertising" is becoming more and more common.

Friday fun: Lover boy

Do the subtle differences between marketing, PR, advertising and branding get you confused? Maybe this will help you keep them straight.

Context is king

If the Internet is the "information superhighway," maybe online marketing is the collection of billboards and roadsigns along the highway that encourage you to exit.

Gas, food, and lodging are the real-life staples because of context. It's what the users want and need. Online, context is the power behind Google Adwords and other similar programs. You pay for your ad to show up only when users are searching for a keyword related to your product or service. So the ad for your brand of ice cream doesn't show up when people are searching for "cars," but it does show up when people type in "desserts."

Similarly, promotions on your site can be more effective when placed "in context." People will be more receptive to an ad if it makes sense in their current surroundings.

Advertising is story time

We've all seen him. The roadside guy dressed like a chicken holding a sign announcing the opening of the new barbecue place. Or the dancing guy spinning a sign for the new wireless carrier.

They are real-life pop-up ads.

We all look at them and dismiss them. Say they don't work. A friend of mine goes so far as to claim that advertising as a whole "doesn't work" on him. But brand awareness and location awareness are worth something. Maybe you're not in the market for a new cell phone (or barbecued chicken) today. But when you are, these companies are betting that a little part of your brain will have filed the information away and you'll remember their store.

You should market your products and services the same way online. No, I'm not advocating you dress up like a chicken. But you should think "long-term." Ads are not all about click throughs. Conversion is not the "be-all end-all." Sometimes it takes multiple messages to get the point across. Dell doesn't expect you to buy a computer every time you see one of their ads. But when you're in the market for one, maybe you'll think of Dell.

Advertising is about telling a story as much as it is selling a product. The Mac vs. PC ads today are a great example. They never say "go buy a Mac" or give you a price or any call to action at all. Years ago Infiniti introduced a new car with an ad campaign that never even showed the car. Ads for investment companies seem to tell a story that if I put my money with them, I'll live to a ripe old age, be in good health, and have great looking, well-behaved grandchildren.

So figure out what story you want to tell, then get out there and dance.