Gair Maxwell recently shared this outrageous video (below) that parodies the pitfalls of group decision-making when designing a ‘Stop’ sign. Watch the video. It’s hilarious.
Gair also observes that designers and consultants should have the courage to stand up to the bastardization of their work. And clients should realize when to back-off and allow the design process to unfold.
Both excellent points.
But there’s another lesson to be learned from watching this video: Messages are more persuasive when they make a single powerful point.
My partner Roy H. Williams says, “It is foolish to believe a single ad can ever tell the entire story. The most effective, persuasive and memorable ads are those most like a rhinoceros. They will each make a single point very powerfully. An advertiser with seventeen different things to say should commit to a campaign of at least seventeen different ads, with each ad being given sufficient repetition to accomplish retention in the mind of the prospect.”
Are you blunting your message by cramming too many points into your ads?
If so, your message is like a porcupine.
And as I pointed out in an earlier post, the conscious brain can juggle only seven pieces of data at any one moment. Throwing too much information at your customer will cause a seventeen car pileup on the persuasion super-highway.
So stop and remember this: Advertise like a rhinocerous. Make a single powerful point. Period.
Fri, Jul 10, 2009
Advertising Techniques