Bon Journo! My absence the last two weeks was due to an amazing adventure in Italy. My head is still reeling from all the phenomenal sites... and my body is still reeling from jet lag. But a week's worth of jet lag is a small price to pay for the experience of a whole other world.
A lot was different in Italy... the food, the scenery, the customs and of course, the language. But one thing was very similar - the advertising.
I don't often sleep through the night and typically watch an hour or so of TV somewhere between 3-5 am to side-track my brain long enough to allow it to shut back down. With only Italian television to watch, I found commercials to be just as, if not more so, enjoyable as the programs. After all, not being fluent in the language, I really got more out of the little :30-second "episodes" than that 30-minute ones!
The reason I was able to get more from the ads than the programs was that in the :30 seconds of an ad, every element was very deliberate. The music, the tone, the lighting, the pitch of the voices, the colors - every decision made was made to make an impression in that short :30 seconds. At lease, that's the case with the good ads.
It should be the same with your ads. A strong message is, by far, the first and foremost aspect of any good ad. But once the message is perfected, it's important that every other feature work to strengthen and enhance that message. Never settle for a music bed that's "good enough", or an announcer voice that was "handy". Make sure that your production is done be people who can devote the time and thoughtfulness tro make every element count.
No matter where you live, one thing is certain. Good advertising takes work... to work!
