Good ads = good sushi

While walking back to the agency after a really nice sushi lunch today with my coworkers, I was struck by the parallels between creating ads and the tasty Japanese delicacy.

Sink your teeth into this: A really good ad should hit you in the same way good sushi does. It should have an attention-grabbing, almost explosive impact, just as the tastes and textures of the fish, rice, wasabi and soy sauce simultaneously slam into your palate.

Like sushi, good ads:

• Are fresh
• Are tasty
• Are potent. It’s been said sushi should provide “the universe in two or three bites.” A good ad should make its point at a glance. Or two.
• Leave you wanting more. Hey, unless you’re spending $30 on sushi, you’re still hungry. So, too, a good ad should make you want the product — and more good ads.

What else is good advertising like? Hmm, I sense a whole series of blogs…

Using sex to sell Hardee's

Sex. Duh.

And it was proven yet again with the latest ad from the fast food chain Hardee’s. If you haven’t seen it yet, you should definitely check it out. It features Top Chef host Padma Lakshmi…umm…enjoying one of Hardee’s new hamburgers.

I’m sure this phenomenon is not news to any of you. If it is, I’m sorry. Either way, Karlene Lukovitz, a writer for MediaPost Publications, wrote a good article about the new commercial and it’s worth a quick read.

Now, how can we make tobacco cessation and highway safety sexy? Think, people!

Advertising on the internet

Have you seen “Why Advertising Is Failing On The Internet” by Eric Clemons?

Reads partially like another “pay for content” scheme. But it is totally true that most premium (and non-premium) content creators cannot sustain their business models based on their current advertising model.

NYTimes.com could not support its robust site and content without the proceeds from its print counterpart, leading to a vicious cycle of reduced content value as print ad revenue decreases.Read full post...

Peel n' Taste

First Flavor Inc. of Bala Cynwyd and US Ink, a Carlstadt, NJ–based company that provides ink for the newspaper industry, recently launched “Taste-it Notes” – newspaper front-page sticky notes that double as flavor strips. Now you can smell and taste a food or beverage product in your morning newspaper!

So far, flavor strips have been used in national campaigns for Welch Foods, Arm & Hammer, SKYY Vodka and Campbell’s Soup. In addition to newspapers, the ads have appeared in People and Rolling Stone magazines.

The Philadelphia Business Journal reports that Taste-it Notes are being billed as “a new way for struggling newspapers to build up ad revenue. … This delivery leverages the power of print advertising and brings an interactive experience that is not possible with online, television or radio ads.”

Now I’m not sure if Taste-it Notes will revitalize the newspaper industry, but this is an interesting new take on product sampling.

Award-winning work

AB&C earned 11 awards, including a “Best in Show,” at the Twenty-Sixth Annual Healthcare Advertising Awards, the nation’s oldest and largest healthcare advertising awards competition, sponsored by Healthcare Marketing Report. Click to see the winning creative.

AB&C took top honors (the “Best in Show” award) for developing a Physician Recruitment Showcase Book on behalf of Geisinger Health System of Danville, Pennsylvania. Physician recruitment is challenging and highly competitive —particularly for Geisinger Health System, a renowned but remote health system in rural Pennsylvania. Recruitment branding has always represented Geisinger as a place where physicians are thought leaders and innovators — where they can be heard, do research, teach and pioneer revolutionary treatments and modalities.

Our idea was to create a showcase book that would capture the essence of the Geisinger physician experience. The book parallels scientific/technologic photography with quotes that aren’t so much inspirational as they are aspirational. We chose quotes from contemporary sources rather than “dead Greek guys.” Other photography captured the lifestyle of the physicians with captions that contrasted their leisure pastimes with their clinical pursuits. Response has been good — the piece has gotten high marks from physician candidates.

Targeted cable advertising

Ads specifically geared to your household! Yes, cable companies are finally going to be able to do what the direct mail business has been doing since the beginning of time. The New York Times reported that Cablevision Systems is planning to announce the largest project yet using targeted advertising on television.Read full post...

Marketing for non-profits

I know, I know, I know…everybody’s got something to worry about or stress over with the economy plummeting down the tubes of Americans’ own greed and poor planning. It only makes sense that companies are looking to their marketing departments to start cutting corners wherever possible.

However, in our beloved advertising industry, we cannot let that stand in the way of our creative teams continuously expressing their imaginations and keeping their ideas fresh. Read full post...

Radio

What do people hate most about radio? The commercials! The steady growth of listenership to commercial-free satellite radio music formats offers compelling proof. A growing number of listeners are more than willing to pony up $12.95 a month to be spared the relentless onslaught of irritating, irrelevant radio spots.

Read full post...