1)
A natural human tendency is to look at a commercial
and instantly:
Judge
how good it is based on our personal preferences.
Defer
to the client on the merits of the ad.
Call
the client to ask if the ad is working.
Fear
asking about results if the ad is running on our
station.
All of the above.
2)
You just saw an ad for a truck accessory store; let's
make a snap judgment:
This
ad is doomed to fail.
I
might be tempted to go there.
There
are few changes to be made.
The
truck parts are sweet!.
This
ad will work very well.
3)
Now what about your opinion on the lawyer ad you viewed:
This is a bad
ad.
It
should attract male viewers.
It
could be a massive success.
I
bet it produced crank phone calls.
Results
are not likely in a one week schedule.
4)
From a pure production point of view the truck ad:
Is
reasonably good local production.
Is too busy
and fast.
Uses
too many truck accessory shots.
Should
have been on film.
Illustrates
creative use of music.
5
)The production in the ad for the attorney was clearly
bad. What was the consequence when it hit the air?
It
worked so well the attorney plans to run another
week.
The
attorney no longer believes in TV advertising.
With
better acting and louder audio levels it might work.
This
is typical local production that fails so often.
A lot
of his friends saw it.
Now
we will reveal the facts. The ad for the truck store
failed. Sure the production was OK, and you certainly
got to see all their great accessories. The problem
was this - the message was bad because it left out
something very important. It didn't tell you about
their location which is difficult to find. To get
people through their doors, they needed to make it
very obvious where they are located because they do
not have good signs. To find their store, you have
to navigate several highway off-ramps.
What
about the ad for the attorney. Production quality
aside, the message was clear; hire the lawyer and
get the bill collectors off your back. The ad was
successful because it generated immediate results.
While it is true the attorney's ad production was
weak, it didn't matter. Why? Because it made money
for the attorney who now believes television is the
answer to all his prayers. In fact, he only spent
$500 on a one week schedule and got 15 clients as
a direct result of that spot.
At
this point feel free to scroll back above and change
any of your answers.
CAUTION
- Rule One is the most powerful of The 14 Rules you
will study. There are always rare exceptions when
advertisers and copywriters may be able to violate
the other Rules and still achieve success. We advise
you to always refer back to Rule One. If the ad is
working, it's a good ad and should be retained. Use
the other rules to fix failures or increase your odds
of success.
TEST
RESULTS for enrolled students will be made public
and posted on the Mountains of Truth. The Mountains
of Truth can be found behind the Main
Campus. Your test results will be open for all
(including your big bosses) to glorify or trash your
name.
If
you are taking this lesson as a sample, and would
like more information on the whole course let us know
in the comment box.
Enrolled
students can add any comments or questions in this
box.
Then hit the "submit" button to send us
your test.
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