Advertising explained in a simple diagram
I went round to see my friend Stephen Gash the other day (interest declared: he’s a friend. Also, he runs an excellent production company called QI Commercials that is related to the QI that seems always to be on Dave and Dave + 1) and he drew me this diagram:
On the x axis we have creativity, ranging from Turkey of the Year to Cannes Grand Prix (or whatever measure you want to use).
On the Y axis we have what is now described as effectiveness: how much product is the ad shifting (I know it’s not always about shifting products, but you know what I mean).
So point A is where we all want to be: massive success for both agency and client. I guess the stories often get muddied, but I would suggest ads like Swimblack, Cog and Gorilla belong up there.
Then there’s point B: the exact opposite. A shitty ad that gets no one buying anything. I’d cite examples, but the thing is, we probably have no idea of the real failures because they just pass us by without making any kind of an impact. The actively awful ones tend to get talked about, and that can then equate to big sales, bringing us to…
Point C: the shit ads that shift product. Cillit Bang, Esure, Go Compare etc.
And then there’s point D: the award winner that doesn’t work. Bill Bernbach said, ‘A great ad campaign will make a bad product fail faster. It will get more people to know it’s bad.’ So that happens at point D, as does the rarer phenomenon of highly awarded ads that leave the public cold.
Stephen went on to explain that at points B and D the agency, and possibly the client, will get fired. At point C the agency might resign the account or, more likely, try to pretend they didn’t do it whilst continuing to trouser the cash of a happy client. And at point A it’s all Champagne and crack binges a-go-go.
So really, the only thing that matters in keeping an account is a happy client, which is why so much agency effort these days goes into achieving that result.
After all, you can’t play football without a ball (or something).
Love it.
All that’s left to do is argue what goes where.
Yeah, the next question I was going to ask was (to everyone): where do your ads go?
Here’s my push back/build.I would guess 95.7% of all ads are right in the middle pleasing no one. No one gets fired, no one wins an award, “sales” are unaffected, the proces has been painful, expensive and ultimately everyone is exactly the same as they were the previous year when the client briefed the agency that they wanted “something really creative this time.”
There was no “going foward” everyone went sideways or in a shallow diagonal downwards.
*places head in hands, weeps onto keyboard*
*sees massive pair of wazoomos and cheers up a bit*
I wonder if the client and the agency would agree as to where their ad should appear on the graph.
I am stuck in point C – and I need a gun
I was playing a game with my niece and nephew a while back, the game was to name someone famous whose name begins with each letter of the alphabet.
At B they both said in unison Barry Scott.
I was gobsmacked.
Cillit Bang is a great example of a C ad.
Wait, wait, wait… so what you’re saying is… clients like ads that drive sales, whereas agencies like ads that let them show their creative chops?
Ho-ly fuck. I never thought about it like that before.
But look: it’s in a little picture now.
I’ve been in D country a lot. They win awards but don’t sell much, usually because they don’t run many times. So it’s Awards (tick), no-one sees them therefore No-one Buying (tick). It’s been great for my career though.
This last point is irrelevant to anyone but me and Hat. My current agency has a ridiculous hot girls/employees in total ratio. Ridiculous. Every crushing creative blow is delivered by someone who in normal life, wouldn’t even talk to me. Which sounds like a plot for a straight-to-DVD revenge slasher porn flick starring, yep, you guessed it…
@7 anonymous
Can’t argue. But it’s as much about what an agency and/or client does (or doesn’t) do when they find themselves with anything other than an “A”….
If they haven’t got you graph Mister Gash – they might not know – shush
Just worth asking: Is there really such a thing as a shitty ad that sells a lot of product? Isn’t this the business of advertising?
Well, obviously not commercially shit, but in terms of doing its job with wit, intelligence, making a positive contribution to people’s lives; ads that people enjoy and look forward to rather than dread and hate.
Where does integrity go?