A Pet Peeve: Ineffective Advertising

Since I have nothing better to occupy my mind while watching TV, I find myself analyzing all the commercials I see. I've come to the conclusion that there are a whole lot of overpaid advertising people out there making one bad decision after another.

For example, if your ad winds up spinning around my brain like a bad Wiggles song for three days, but I can't remember what the product is that you're trying to sell, then you created an ineffective ad.

Another example: There's an ad being aired about a certain brand of cat litter. I can't remember which brand, which is your first clue that it's not a very good ad. In this commercial, the poor cat has to enlist the services of a Bloodhound in order to find his litterbox. The point of the ad is that the litter absorbs all odours, so your cat will have a hard time finding his litterbox.

Why is this ad so bad?

Anyone who has ever been owned by a cat can tell you exactly why.

If your cat cannot find his litterbox, the results will be neither comical nor endearing. More likely, they'll involve the cat wandering around for a couple of minutes before deciding, "Meh. Whatever," at which point he'll turn to your bathtub or potted plants for his immediate needs.

See? Ineffective. Why would any sane person want to buy cat litter that will turn their favourite African Violet into an outhouse for Princess KitKat?

Far more effective (and true-to-life) would be an ad depicting the people being unable to locate the litterbox while the cat rolls his eyes at their inadequacy as loyal servants.

Technorati Tags: Advertising ; Commercials ; Television ; Cats ; Litter ; Litterbox