THE GURU'S LECTURE: By now you have surely noticed an oriental theme in the art and buildings here at Guru U. This is our effort at a consistent look. It seems to go well with the whole Guru image.

Yet what would happen if in the middle of this lesson we switched to a western theme. Surely you would be asking yourself, "What is the Guru doing with that cowboy hat and a six shooter?"

We create the same confusion if we make too many changes in local ads. In the course of any TV campaign, there will be different products to push and events to promote. But do not make radical changes in the identity you have created for your client.

If you want new ideas in your commercials, Rule 4 dictates you must incorporate new ideas in the same style, format, manner, or with the same spokesperson. The musical jingle is the best example. The music always starts the same way, followed by a donut for new copy, and finishes the same way the music jingle has finished in previous commercials.

Unless you have a multi-million dollar budget, most local advertisers will become lost in the clutter if every ad campaign they run looks different from its predecessors.

Yet most local advertisers want a different look every time they have a copy change. Changing things too much can diminish the effectiveness of their advertising. We want you as their representative to caution against unnecessary change.

Lets talk about this concept over a pot of tea.

Rule 4: "KISS Consistently"

"Let's take tea together, a familiar ritual; comforting in its consistency. I always use the same set of china, the teapot and cups were donated by a Tajik family on the ancient Silk Road. Would you care for the Darjeeling, the Indian Blend, some Persian Bitter, or perhaps the Guru's Secret Blend?"

"I'll have the Darjeeling please. Some milk would be nice too."

"I hear the Guru's Secret Blend contains extracts from the Flajusia plant, cousin of Opium... Bring it on!"

"Our little tea ceremony illustrates how to KISS consistently. The basic elements of the tea pot and the tea cups are the same and everyone knows it is tea time."

"Tea time is boring. What time is happy hour here?"

"Boring for you maybe... Whooeeee! This Guru secret blend really does have extract of opium plant. Happy hour is here now!"

"Just as in the tea ceremony, so too do we want our ads to have a consistent look and style with the ability to serve up different messages. Now let's see how a car dealer applied this rule in your Western world. Bring on the video and the quiz!"