JARVIS
“Advertising is failure” was the headline on a post by journalism professor and author Jeff Jarvis. He made this statement in an interview with Steve Rubel of AdAge. I have to say I think it’s irresponsible. Jarvis does put some caveats on that statement, but eventually says (paraphrasing) that if a product is good enough and the customer service is good enough, the need to advertise fades away.
I have enough credible arguments against that to fill a football stadium! The public still needs to be informed of changes, upgrades and features. You can never completely rely on word (or Tweet) of mouth, although positive third-party endorsement of a brand or product is very powerful, as we all know.
I’m more in line with what Chris Brogan had to say on the matter: “We need the right advertising.” The right advertising is advertising that informs. Too much of what’s out there is done for entertainment value. And it’s entertaining stuff. But how often do you remember the premise or plot of an ad, only to forget the product? That’s exactly why we go through the strenous processes that we do here at the agency when we begin the strategic planning for any of our clients. The advertising has to resonate with the audience, not merely entertain.
We need to emphasize to our clients the importance of creating pieces that are informative. Too often the message and the meaning get lost in the whiz and the bang.
As an industry, we have to continue to place strategy right up there with creativity, or we will end up proving Jarvis right.
(Photo credit Gawker)
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I agree with you … actually I like the Hulu approach … advertising that adds value to the content experience instead of interrupting it and gives consumers a measure of control over the ads: http://tinyurl.com/cnav4e
Thanks for your comment, Mark. I truly appreciate it and look forward to reading the blog you referenced. Thanks for following KGBTexas. Katie