Any company investing in advertising and marketing wants to be seen and heard. Given this fact, it’s surprising how many use the same kinds of images and ideas as others in their category. In essence, they’re blending right in and won’t be noticed. It’s wasted energy and funds.
To avoid this, designate a room or area that you can fill with work by the competitors. Figure out which images and messages dominate the communications in your niche. Don’t just look at competitive work via the Internet, surround yourself with it physically and let it seep in. Then take a vow that your ads will use ideas that you don’t see overused or up in this competitive mix.
Unique, inventive work isn’t a risk. Using the same-old ideas is the real risk. Blending in with others in your niche wastes huge amounts of capitol each year. If you standout, you won’t have to run the work as often, saving money. While social media has many “free” channels, the time that it takes to run the work costs advertisers. If it’s really creative, it can be shared and multiply your reach, too. People simply remember creative effective messages.
Let’s look at a few categories and note some creative exceptions. Have the courage to standout whether you’re creating the work or having it created for your firm.
Royal Caribbean
Princess Cruises
So many cruise ads look like the two we’ve just seen but the ones below are taking the idea of a cruise and adding a fresh and interesting twist to it. No pun intended.
Carnival Outdoor, Arnold Worldwide USA
Carnival Outdoor, Arnold Worldwide USA
These ads below are typical for cosmetic work. Most show a closeup of a beautiful woman and samples of the product. There’s an old cosmetic ad that’s great. It features Joey Heatherton, in a before and after demonstration. The woman on the left hand side in the before photo was an actress named Alice Pearce who played a nosy neighbor. This memorable work illustrates my point well. Too bad that it didn’t set a tone for the industry that would be followed, longterm. It’s classic creative thinking.
Revlon Ad
Covergirl Ad
Coty Cosmetic Ad
If we look at the pain reliever industry, we come across a lot of pictures of people grimacing in head pain. I love the way that a truly bad headache is featured in the third and last ad. It’s a great campaign idea too since so many things that give us a small headache can be taken further for a giant headache. Remember to stay brave and standout.
Headache Ad
Pain Reliever ad
Boss Headache Ad
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