Everything used to be worse
Coming up with a good advertising idea is just as difficult today as it ever was. It’s just that in the past, it was harder to bring that good idea to life. Why hasn’t advertising gotten better, even though everything else has become easier? By Theophil Butz
Theophil Butz, once a star advertiser (Ringier), now an inspiration, and from now on also a complainer. «It’s not an easy role, but it’s a necessary one that I take on here every 14 days.» Please send relevant information to [email protected].
First, I need to explain what this is all about: I get the impression that a large portion of today’s advertising is even more uninspired, even less entertaining, and certainly not surprising. This kind of advertising looks like advertising, and that’s why people ignore it. This time, I’ll use the AXA campaign as an example.
My theory is this: AXA wants us policyholders to switch over to them. However, the ads explicitly show that only healthy, fit, and youthful-looking customers are wanted—in other words, those who can still easily hop over a red line. It’s not clear what advantage this would offer, though. The landscape is just as gray on both sides of the line.
There are also commercials that don’t just show people jumping—they even show the long jump. I don’t want to go into detail about the TV commercial in which thousands of healthy people dare to jump over the red line on a huge concrete expanse. Suffice it to say: it’s an oppressive, wannabe Hollywood production that cost a lot of money but lacks any real persuasiveness. A leap into an uncertain future.
Four specialists from the client side and 20 from the advertising industry were responsible for this carefully crafted campaign. Two copywriters wrote until their fingers were sore. And what was the result? «Visit our website.»
This campaign has been shoved in consumers' faces for a year now.
I maintain that the end of this kind of symbolic advertising is approaching. There’s no room for growth here. The line must always be drawn and placed on a hard surface. It also can’t be crooked, nor can it run over water or snow. The pretty, healthy models might occasionally wear different clothes or costumes. But they always have to jump and laugh. I’m glad that, in advertising, we can still enjoy George Clooney’s Nespresso capsules, the walk-in Heineken beer fridge, or the Migros chicken.
Dear Advertisers, use your time to come up with good, funny, expandable, and eye-catching ideas. Setting a headline in Futura or Garamond used to take two days and cost a lot of money. Today, finding a photo of Madame A. Meilland-Rose takes just a click. An ad layout used to have to be sent to the lithographer for a proof three weeks before publication and to the publisher one week before publication. Today, things are much better because they’re much more efficient. With the time saved, you could come up with an even better idea for us consumers. Then they’ll be more likely to take your side.
Last Tuesday, I was impressed by my fellow ADC jury members in the Posters category and by the entries—some of which were outstanding and clever.
