Kratos
We are living in a big mess.
With an average of 7 hours per day spent on the internet, it’s no surprise that we are constantly bombarded with a never-ending stream of content.
From political parties, businesses, influencers, musicians, restaurants, trainers, Amazon, Tinder, to cats skydiving…
And they are all fighting for one thing only: Your Attention.
So if there is one thing we need to learn, it’s that in order to survive in this war-and in order to have advertisements that grab attention-we have to be “Ninja Ad Creators.”
What Do Humans Want?
Since Adam and Eve till infinity, a human will remain a human.
He will always want to be better, richer, stronger, faster, healthier, happier, sexier, fitter, or smarter.
So why not focus on one of these in your advertising?
Why not show the direct benefit of this?
And trust me, it doesn’t need to be overcomplicated. It can be simpler than you think.
An example of this is an advertisement for Dove that ran for decades saying: “Dove doesn’t dry your skin like soap.”
I see hundreds of ads every day without a clear and direct benefit I can get. And every time I see such ads, I just ask: “What do you want from me?”
And that’s exactly what your ads have to do…
Tell people what benefit you have, and what I should do to get this benefit.
And it doesn’t always need to be a direct benefit…
In fact, research shows that articles and breaking news are the most shared content on social media.
So your ad could use one of the following human emotions:
Curiosity
Intrigue
Shock
Greed
Lust
Direct benefit
Implied benefit
Fear
Vanity
Pride
Laziness
Envy
So before creating your next advertisement, make sure it uses one of these.
What Is the Role of an Advertisement?
Unfortunately, 80% of marketers and business owners don’t understand the role of an advertisement.
Look, there is no shame in it. It took me 4 years to understand it too, and it took others decades.
“The role of your ad isn’t to sell your product or service; the role of the ad is to sell the click.”
At the same time, the role of your ad is to generate sales, not to be creative.
In fact, those who focus on creativity lose most of the time.
Harry McMahan drew attention to the kind of commercials that were winning the famous Clio awards for creativity:
Agencies that won four of the Clios had lost the accounts.
Another Clio winner was out of business.
Another Clio winner had taken its budget out of TV.
Another Clio winner had given half his account to another agency.
Another refused to put his winning entry on the air.
So what I learned through the years is that you don’t need a creative advertisement to put in a frame in your office or in your portfolio…
You need an ad that encourages the person to buy by pushing him to pass through your sales funnel.
The way to do this is by creating ads that don’t look like ads.
And here are the 5 questions by David Ogilvy to ask yourself when creating advertising:
Did it make me gasp when I first saw it?
Do I wish I had thought of it myself?
Is it unique?
Does it fit the strategy to perfection?
Could it be used for 30 years?
It’s harder than it sounds.
But remember that spending weeks on creating a perfect ad is better than creating it in 2 days and losing money every single day on the platforms.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the advertising landscape has changed dramatically in recent years, with consumers bombarded by a never-ending stream of content from various sources.
To stand out and capture the attention of potential customers, marketers must understand the role of an advertisement-which is to sell the click.
This means creating ads that don’t look like ads, and that use human emotions such as curiosity, intrigue, and direct benefit to encourage the person to buy.
By asking yourself the 5 questions posed by David Ogilvy, and taking the time to create an ad that truly resonates with your target audience, you can increase your chances of success and ultimately generate more sales.
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