SCABs

Creating great ads is hard, they need to be simple. – By @LawrenceESlater

By Lawrence Slater

 

Creating great ads is hard, they need to be simple.

 

1+1=2. Everyone needs to be able to easily and quickly understand the idea.

 

Creating great ads is hard, they need to make people laugh or cry.

 

It is easy to remember something that makes you feel emotion. Think back to a story a friend told you.

 

Creating great ads is hard, they need to tell a story.

 

Take you on a journey, with a start, middle and an end.

 

Creating great ads is hard, they need to make people think.

 

Why did that just happen? How did that happen? How can I do that?

 

Creating great ads is hard, they need to surprise the viewer.

 

An orange in the apples at the supermarket. A car driving the wrong way down a street.

 

Creating great ads is hard, they need to communicate on their own.

 

There isn’t normally a salesman standing next to your ad explaining it to the audience.

 

Creating great ads is hard, they need to be concrete.

 

Can I touch it? Can I hear it? Can I see it? Can I smell it?

 

Creating great ads is hard, they need to be believable.

 

Your friend’s recommendation to a product is a lot more powerful than a salesman’s spiel he has used 100 times.

 

Creating great ads is hard, they need to look beautiful.

 

A masterpiece, a work of art. Would someone want this on their bedroom wall?

 

Creating great ads is hard, they need to have the correct tone of voice

 

Wow, this offends me! That doesn’t sound like Tesco! This must be for kids!

 

Creating great ads is hard, they need to communicate to the right person

 

No point trying to sell xs clothes to a tall guy or beer to a child.

 

Creating great ads is hard, they need to sell.

 

The client is paying for the ad for one reason…

 

Creating great ads is hard, they need to have a call to action.

 

What is it getting you to do once you have seen it?

 

Creating great ads is hard, they need to grab attention.

 

BANG!! CRASH!!! STOPPPP!!!

 

Creating great ads is hard, they need to be well crafted.

 

A violin built by a professional vs a violin built by me.

 

Creating great ads is hard, they need to well researched.

 

No one wants to hear a story where their friend can’t remember the last line, that is a waste of time!

 

I have quickly come to the conclusion that creating great ads is hard. I was probably naive to think otherwise. There are so many boxes that need to be ticked to make a piece of work successful. If I reproduce this list in a few weeks I’m sure it will be even longer. I guess this is why so many ads out there today are terrible. The most successful ones to me are effortlessly simple which makes them look easy to create, there are not that many elements or anything too complex about them. This, however, is not the case. The most simple work I now feel is the hardest to produce. It is the best-crafted and most considered work.

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