There are a lot of great quotes that came from the Spinal Tap film but one I find myself using over and over is “It’s such a fine line between stupid and clever.” I thought of that last night as I watched the Super Bowl and all the very expensive commercials. I also thought about the famous David Ogilvy quote – “The consumer isn’t a moron; she is your wife. You insult her intelligence if you assume that a mere slogan and a few vapid adjectives will persuade her to buy anything.” Given that many of these ads would make me the moron in question, here’s a reminder to any of us who do marketing – and if you’re in business, that’s pretty much all of us. Continue reading
Tag Archives: advertising
Grafitti
When we were strolling around the magnificent ruins of Pompeii, what surprised me the most was the amount of graffiti. No, not from knuckleheads with cans of spray paint. This stuff had been there for thousands of years. While I’m sure my amusement all this time later wasn’t quite the reaction all those years ago, some of the notes served a valuable purpose such as communicating lost pets or stolen articles. Sort of a wall-based Craigslist.
If you’ve been to New York, you know that no newly erected wall can go for more than 10 minutes without writing or ads on it. Turns out the same thing is true about the web and, in fact, we encourage it. I think that’s too bad. Continue reading
Filed under digital media
The War To End All Wars
Today is Veteran’s Day here in the US, a day where we honor those who served for their love of country and willingness to sacrifice for the common good. This day became a national holiday here in honor of the end, in 1918, of World War I when the Allies and Germany signed an armistice. Originally Armistice Day and established in honor of WWI vets, it was renamed later on to honor those who served in subsequent conflicts in Korea and WWII. My favorite vet – my Dad – was one of those WWII airmen who flew missions in Europe, so thanks Dad and I’m glad you made in home safely (otherwise, what would these folks be reading??).
What I’ve always found interesting about WWI was that it was justified by some at the time as The War To End War after the H.G. Wells book of a similar name on the topic. That phrase is instructive to any of us in business. Here’s why. Continue reading
Filed under What's Going On
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