Truth Well Told

When looking at different advertising agencies I wanted to find something that was different. Something that just wasn't about the clients they represent, but something that made the agency itself stand out. That is when I came across McCann-Erickson. Not only do they represent some of the most successful brands such as Coca-Cola, Nestle and Ikea, they have a campaign called "Truth Well Told". This really sets them apart from other agencies because they are finding new ways to connect to the consumer. 

McCann-Erickson has several different truth campaigns or studies as they call them that they are currently working on. I want to focus on the four of the most recent. The first study is called The Truth About Advertising. This is basically a study about learning what the consumer actually thinks about the advertising industry instead of the industry assuming what the consumer thinks about them. This research will allow them to understand what the consumer wants and in turn will help their brands cater to those wants and needs.

The second truth study is The Truth About Connected You. This is essentially a study to see how the consumer connects with the advertising agency through technology. In an age of social media and constant change in technology, the ad industry must stay ahead of the latest media trends so they can best relate to the consumer.

The third study is The Truth About Wellness. Of all the studies that McCann-Erickson does, this is my favorite. They surveyed thousands of people all over the world and asked them what wellness meant to them. This gave them information to help their clients reach a constantly growing market that is health conscious. With an ever-growing health market, it is extremely important for the advertising industry to stay on top of what the consumer wants and this study gives there brands an edge in this area.

The last study that I am going to look at is The Truth About Politics. This study is to see how people view politics today. They want to know if people trust the information they are getting from their leaders and news sources. And depending on the level of that trust they want to know that if the opinions of certain brands will change that trust level. This is all about the advertising industry trying to figure out where to cross the line and knowing how much is too much.

I'm sure other advertising agencies conduct research just like McCann-Erickson does, but what I like about McCann Erickson is that they made a campaign out of these studies. They are showing the consumer that they want to be in touch with them. This I believe gives them credibility and what makes them my favorite ad agency.

Suicide Advertising

Looking back at class a couple weeks ago, I remember discussing what our favorite advertisements are along with the most terrible ones we have seen. It got me thinking, why do companies actually put some of these advertisements on the market? Do they even realize that what they are doing is hurting their company or product. Someone in class brought up the General Auto Insurance ads. I would like to meet the person who designed those ads and just see what was there thought process behind committing advertising suicide for everyone to see. However, this horrific advertising is not completely useless. As an advertising major it is important to know what works and what doesn't work. So let's take a trip down awful advertising lane and learn what not to do.

First take a look at this awful ice chest commercial. After you stop laughing or throwing up let's look at why this ad doesn't work. Everything about this commercial screams "I'm out of date". The age of the cheesy infomercial is dead, in fact I can't remember it ever being alive. It is no longer convincing, much less funny to watch an overenthusiastic man show how great a cheap product is by hitting it a whole bunch of times. We understand, I can hit a plastic box and it won't break. What I hate most about these types of commercials is that it treats their customers like children, it is insulting really. Seriously, it reminds me of my grandma trying to get me to eat my vegetables when I was five years old.

Another commercial that committed suicide was, sadly an ad campaign that used to do it right. It is the most recent "Got Milk" commercial. I remember seeing Got Milk commercials when I was younger and being inspired by seeing athletes who I idolized drinking milk and getting that "stash". It was a brilliant concept, people could identify with their favorite athlete or celebrity. People would drink milk because people like Michael Jordan and Jennifer Aniston did. This new milk commercial however is just a disgrace to the Got Milk heritage. Here is the link to the new commercial. I don't know what was worse, the fact that the commercial made absolutely no sense or the lady making strange grunting noises as she is stuffing an omelet in a cup.

So next time you see a terrible advertisement, watch it and see what you can learn from it. Build a mental library of awful ads so that when you end up in the advertisement industry and someone proposes a less than ideal advertising campaign, you can help prevent another ad campaign from killing itself.