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Brick No99: Before And After My 90lb Weight Loss
By Matt Weston, Friday 1 October 2004 Another line from Ogilvy I gave you three paragraphs (on Russian dolls) from the mighty David Ogilvy on Tuesday. Today, I want to take on loan just one more line from the late great adman . . . my all-time favourite Ogilvy quote on advertising . . . (drum roll please, Ringo): "Make the product the hero." Heroic VS parity products Ogilvy bemoaned the fact that, "so many products are no different from their competitors . . . when faced with selling "parity" products, all you can hope to do is explain their virtues more persuasively than your competitors, and to differentiate them by the style of your advertising." If your product or service itself is remarkable (heroic), you must make it the centrepiece (the hero) of your advertising. If not, you're relying on spin. The only way to advertise an un-heroic, "parity" product is to spend thousands "positioning" it. Read the book on positioning by Al Ries and Jack Trout if you have money to burn . . . If you don't have money to burn, you must take Ogilvy's message a step further: If your product or service isn't heroic, you must make it heroic. Before and after my 90lb weight loss What makes a product (or service) heroic? Put yourself in Ogilvy's shoes. Would he regard your product as a "parity" product or a "heroic" product? My short answer: Your product is only heroic if it gives your customer a tangible "Before & After" benefit (ideally in a niche that is all your own). Sure, slogans like "Before And After My 90lb Weight Loss" and "Give Me One Evening And I'll Give You A Better-Than- Photographic Memory" may sound cheesy, but they work because the product they promote is heroic. The acid test: Can you write a cheesy "Before & After" advert for your product? (Not necessarily for public Consumption.) For the most heroic products - think iPod, Dyson, Google - the exercise is blindingly easy. Remember to sign up: back to top |
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