Advertising Future

For quite some time I have been telling my students, "In the Information Age, you will make your living by adding value to information."

This underscores the importance of advertising. It is the discipline, that when effectively carried out, can make things happen faster in the economy and society.

Advertising is about showing people how opportunities connect to their values, interests and needs.

Today's New York Times column by economist Thomas L. Friedman points to the importance of creativity in business. He also speaks to the value of having an education that teaches you how to develop new ideas or recombine existing technologies.

This is what the best advertising professionals have always done. They "resist the usual" to envision a future, conveying to others how their lives can be different and better.

Advertising programs in journalism schools play a critical role preparing young people to succeed in business. Premised on the critical thinking skills of the liberal arts, the advertising curriculum focuses on concepts and methods to promote original thinking leading to productive solutions for business problems and opportunities.

This foundational perspective in the liberal arts is a vital distinction from a "business as usual" education. Success, even survival, is premised on always going forward.

Educated advertising professionals take us there.

Copyright © 2009 by John Eighmey. All Rights Reserved.

Injustice and Public Opinion

The police in Gwent, UK have recently released a video on texting while driving. Their hope was that "the film will become part of the core schools programme across Wales and ultimately the UK."

Gwent Chief Inspector John Pavett said, “Making and receiving calls and texting whilst driving is still happening on roads not just in Gwent but all over the country. Seeing a scenario, like the one Cassie goes through, played out right before your eyes makes you realise how extremely dangerous it can be and what devastating consequences it can have."

The four-minute Gwent Police PSA has been widely viewed on YouTube. Here's a key frame.


The PSA as generated controversy and commentary about the role of fear appeals in advertising, particularly in communication programs directed to youth audiences.

However, the UK commercial not only speaks to individual risk but to responsibilities drivers have to others. The child who dies in the PSA was not texting.

The Gwent PSA not only portrays individual risk, but also the injustice of the horrific consequences that can befall innocent others.

So there is another perspective on this PSA worth considering. It is the role that perceptions of injustice play in social change.

In the United States, there is currently a national debate about the safety of drivers using devices that distract from their paramount responsibilities. Without a sufficient public sense of injustice in this matter, the debate will fall short when it comes to legislative action.

The Gwent PSA makes any driver think, on a number of levels.

Copyright © 2009 by John Eighmey. All Rights Reserved.

Surprising Demonstration

When it comes to getting attention and making a selling point few approaches are as charming and effective as a surprising twist to a product demonstration.



There is a bit of "hyperbolic" in this commercial, for sure. But, the durability point is made with charm and of course any buyer of a $400 camera will read the specifications.

The Panasonic Lumix DMC-TS1 is waterproof to 10 feet and can be dropped from five. Oyeh!

The work was done by the Campaign Palace in Sydney, Australia.

Copyright © 2009 by John Eighmey. All Rights Reserved.

The Propensity to Share

The human social propensity to "seek and share" is fundamental. This propensity is amplified by electronic communication, and can produce dramatic effects in the viral context of the Web.

We tend to share items that will please and surprise our friends. A notable example is the wedding march video posted by Jill and Kevin Heinz, of St. Paul, MN. Their video was posted on YouTube on July 19, 2009. Within a week it was viewed over 10 million times and garnered over 51,000 comments.

By Tuesday, July 28, 2009, viewership continued to grow at a rate of about 1 million views a day on YouTube alone. Comments continued at the rate of about 5,000 each day. As of July 31, viewership reached almost 13 million with over 65,000 comments.

As of March, 2015, total YouTube viewership for this video was approaching 90 million with 175,000 comments.

Why have so many sought and shared this video? What conceptual lessons can be learned about public response to viral communication?

Clearly there is a classic reversal of expectations. Most of the people in the church were not aware of what they were about to experience.

The door is closed. The first notes of “Forever” bring expressions of joy to faces throughout the church. The ushers extend the surprise by dancing their way down the aisle. Two bridesmaids then set the stage.

The narrative of the song becomes apparent as members of the bridal party take turns interpreting. The groom makes his entrance with a promise to his angel. The bridal party mystically prepares the altar and then turns to the bride for her entrance.

This video demonstrates the basis for sharing. People want others to have that same feeling of unexpected joy.

A combination of psychological responses underlies the desire to share. The figure below identifies six factors commonly associated with how we respond to what we see in media. It is my Index of Viral Sharing.

We share Jill and Kevin’s video because of the originality and clarity of the storytelling. But it is not just any story… there is activity, enjoyment, empathy and realization in their video. We see the wedding march in a new and enjoyable way. That’s the substance people really want to share.

For further reading, see my article "Profiling User Responses to Commercial Websites" published in the May-June, 1997 issue of the Journal of Advertising Research. It has been cited by 230 articles and books about Internet advertising and provides the conceptual basis for thinking about information distributed on the Internet, whether by websites or viral sharing.

Many thanks to Scott Shellstrom – art director extraordinaire – for letting me know about this video.

For more on the psychology of advertising, please see Advertising and the Arc of History.

Copyright © 2009 by John Eighmey. All Rights Reserved.

Toyota Creates New Font with the iQ Minicar

Toyota is using the intersection of creativity, communication and cars to introduce its new iQ minicar to the European market.


An overhead camera was employed to film tracking lights placed ontop of the iQ minicar while it was driven in the patterns of the letters and symbols needed to create the new iQ type face.



It's an inventive way to create interest among the urban innovators who will lead the way to this car. You see the car and how easily it maneuvers. Then, if you are a creative person, you also want to download and use the font.

It was easy to download it. I'm sure the iQ font will make an appearance in at least one PowerPoint presentation next semester.

Copyright © 2009 by John Eighmey. All Rights Reserved.

Source Credibility

The two most credible people in advertising died this week. Billy Mays at age 50, and Karl Malden at 97.

How were they such powerful spokesmen? They simply believed in what they were selling, and their belief came through.

Here's Malden in the classic American Express commercial from 1985. The construction of this commercial rises to the level of Aesop's Fables. It is a simple tale with a moral, delivered with conviction.



Both Billy Mays and Karl Malden spoke with belief and authority.

Decades of persuasion research have pointed to source credibility as perhaps the key source of variance in message effectiveness.

There is a value in always telling the truth.

Copyright © 2009 by John Eighmey. All Rights Reserved.

Credo for Corporate Advertising

An earlier post about effective advertising has sparked interest.

On May 11th, I reflected on the advice George Olmstead once wrote in a house ad for Young & Rubicam. George was the master of print advertising, yet his advice applies to all advertising.

Here's a look at the tear sheet for the ad. Boleslaw (Bob) Czernysz was the art director.


George wrote:

"Corporate advertising can pay off for your company in lots of ways.

If it's good corporate advertising. Unfat, unfuzzy, unstuffy, and uncomplicated.

Is there a key to corporate advertising that's sharp and effective? We think so.

Do it like product advertising. With all the same unforgiving disciplines you'd follow in selling toothpaste or dog food or seats on airplanes.

Disciplines? Start with a clear definition of exactly what the advertising is to accomplish. And exactly how you plan to measure it's success or failure.

And exactly who it's talking to.

Then remind yourself that no one really wants to read advertising. You have to make your ads so compelling that people can't help themselves.

Which means telling your story - any story - in terms of the reader's self interest. They want to know, 'What's in it for me?'

Talk like a person, one-to-one. Not preaching, but conversing with a friend.

Keep things simple, too - the way good product advertising does. (Just because it's corporate advertising doesn't mean there is room for the kitchen sink.)

Of course Y&R believes in corporate advertising. When it's hard edged, focused, and disciplined.

Like the best product advertising."

George Olmstead wrote this advice in the late 1970s. Given the state of business today, his words are even more important.

Copyright © 2009 by John Eighmey. All Rights Reserved.