Advertising professionals operate under the myth that they need to be clever. Don't follow their lead. The point of advertising is not to entertain or to be clever. The point of advertising is to be effective. This following billboard is wrong and a waste of money, because it tried to be clever.
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| (Tarleton State University is a four-year university located in Stephenville, Texas with satellite programs throughout the state) |
I'm sure it seemed like a good idea in the creative meeting. Do you get it? The play on words, "Teaching words of wisdom" is a reference to The Beatles' 1970 classic Let it Be. The reference is to a song that was released 21 years prior to the birth of this year's class of graduating high school seniors. Virtually none of them will catch the clever reference. Then there's the lack of branding connection. This billboard is in no way indicative of the personality of the university.
If you happen to read everything on this billboard while driving past it at 65 mph on the interstate, and if you happen to remember the web address, here is the banner graphic you will see upon your arrival to the website:
The above graphic is more indicative of the Tarleton experience. It's a Texas school with a laid-back, Texas atmosphere that lets Texas kids get a higher education without breaking the bank. My wife has a master's degree from Tarleton. It's a good school. But it has nothing to do with the Beatles. Tarleton would be better served playing up its "Texaness." Their team mascot is even The Texans.
This is not meant to be a rag on the team that created this ad. Unfortunately, this type of advertising is the norm, rather than the exception. Trying to be clever instead of effective rarely gets results. Tarleton would have been better served telling the story of their school and advertising their brand. And you would too.
UPDATE - Review of the new Tarleton State Billboard, six months later:
Billboard Rewind - Still clever, or more effective?
For more information on advertising effectively:
There's Your Ad
How to Buy Advertising on Local Media
Weekend Marketing Project: Intentional Congruence
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13 comments:
I agree! Thanks for the reminder. This is copywriting 101, but so easy to forget when trying to be fun, creative, and engaging.
You've struck a nerve with me on this one Jay. Advertisers and agencies NEED to do at least a little testing before the decide to run any advertisement, regardless of the format. Often times the people creating the ads and working on the campaigns are too close to the process to realize that those not in the circle might not "get it". Testing fixes this.
The marketing team at Tarleton could have stepped out on the quad, grabbed any ten students and asked them - "what do you think of this?" I suspect most would have replied "Let what be?"
@Jack
I also question the grand strategy leading up to this ad. Did someone say "Hey we need to increase enrollment, let's do some advertising"? Then a committee is assembled to come up with something creative. If this ad is part of a strategy it doesn't show. And again, this is not just about Tarleton. It could be said about most advertising.
@Philly WordSmith
Unfortunately, it seems that the goal of most advertising is to be fun, creative and engaging.
I agree. Even from the way advertising on a billboard is marketed ("Does advertising work? Just did!") to creatives that only serve to look pretty, the effectiveness of a billboard ad (like Jack said) can be uncovered through testing (and perhaps thinking like a direct response copywriter - what do you actually want the reader to do next?)
One of my biggest billboard or bench advertising complaints is the concept that just because someone reads an ad, it means it "worked".
LOL. Great post. Over the years I've gone from completely tuning out ads to scouring every publication in my area and pretty much reading only the ads. It's amazing how much money advertisers waste on "clever" ads (especially when companies like ours offer to improve their responses or give their money back).
Thanks for the post Jay!
Sad to say, it looks like a classic case of "design by hermetically-sealed committee" comprised of the deans of the university rather than the actual audience.
Advertisers need to draw a distinction between "clever" and "smart." Smart is effective. Clever is hit or miss.
@Ricci
Spot on. Exposure and effectiveness are not the same thing. Also, an ad creates a preconception about a business. People see an ad and form an opinion about that business. Eventually they may experience that business. Rarely does the experience match the preconcepton.
@Aaron
And yet advertisers are always trying to figure out what part of their advertising budget is being wasted. They usually place the blame on the medium. In this example, Tarleton, not seeing results from this ad, might say that "outdoor doesn't work." When if fact, this billboard had no chance of working because the message is so wrong.
@Cam
Yea, even if the message had been good, the design might have doomed its chance for success.
I would put design and the "clever" message together. In my experience, they're rarely separated; the same ones who come up with the design come up with the message.
You can't have one without the other.
Couldn't agree with you more. Here in Chicago, if it takes more than a split second to figure out a billboard, the advertiser doesn't have a chance. Not only is traffic moving 80 mph, drivers have to look in 10 directions at once. When traffic is stopped dead, people may notice, but why take chances your message will be overlooked or misunderstood?
Not only confusing, but primary call to action looks a lot like a cease and desist letter from a certain group of mop heads.
Greetings! Tarleton State here! :-) We did a parody on The Beatles album covers for last year's recruiting materials.
We ran the concept by student focus groups and they loved it! After production, we continued asking students what they thought. They all know who The Beatles are and there was not one negative comment.
We did some posters that were placed at select high schools and the counselors were calling us for more because the students were actually stealing them! Granted they didn't look like the board, but they were recreations of the album covers--Abbey Road, Sgt. Peppers, etc.--using our students.
We sent the design to the billboard company and they moved things around. I'll admit the design of the billboard is off. Maybe out of context from the print piece that has everything together, it makes more sense.
So, good or bad, those are the facts.
The other image in your blog is from our new web site. It's a new and has gone over well so far.
If anyone reading this works for a university, you will appreciate the next sentence.
We have a new president, I have a new VP and am hoping that they can take the lead and decide what our messages *finally* need to be and then I can do my job much better!
Cheers!
Nancy Pricer
Director of Public Information
Tarleton State University
Follow me on Twitter! @nancypricer
Nancy,
Thanks for weighing in with the back story. I appreciate that you were monitoring your brand.
How will you gauge the success of this campaign? I guess I'm just unclear at what was supposed to be the end result.
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