October 26, 2010 - Ad Campaign Prep

An ad begins with the plan that is designed to create a bond between the consumer and the brand

Remember, it’s about feelings and ideas, not necessarily logic

The ad writer needs to know exactly who he/she is selling to – why? – ads are designed to be specific to those key demographics – ie we sell skateboard stuff to early teen boys, we sell pop band stuff to early teen girls

The strategy is to come up with the best way to get the effect from the target audience and stick the brand in their heads

The ad writers will probably focus on a KEY MESSAGE – eg Under Armor – “Protect this House – I WILL” boys and girls – the key message is to be strong and determined

Often a slogan or tagline will be written that helps put out the message or the feeling

Good slogans and taglines have THREE qualities:

1. Mention the “clinching benefit” – or convey the feeling in the message – this means the benefit that makes the buyer spend the money (that clinches the sales)(clinch means to grab and hold)

2. Short and catchy – has “a ring to it” – these stick in your head and last – “Tastes good like a cigarette should” – Winstons from the 50s

3. Have some meaning beyond the brand – this is kind of tricky – the slogan above about Winstons means that cigarettes are good and tasty in general

eg – Wendy’s – “Where’s the beef?” – the amount of meat is more important than taste or whatever else – this is “beyond” message

Think about those beyond messages 

When moving from the page to the screen, you have to think about what to show – what is the shot?

An ad needs to be visually compelling

You need to SHOW the idea and demonstrate the product or the key message

The product should be shown in action, in the best way possible, and any concepts or feelings should be VISUALIZED

-      even things like love, fun, surprise, hunger, etc – eg Pizza Pops ad with the stomach in the brain represents hunger

The script is written in a specific way to show Visuals on one side and Audio on the other

One of the key shots that is in most TV spots is the product shot, also called the beauty shot

This is a shot that shows a perfect version of the product, lit and beautiful

Show the product, in use if possible at it’s best, OR show something else that captures the feeling and fills that role – Beauty shot = GSP in the Gatorade ad