Brilliance: The Only TV Advertising Strategy That Makes Sense

I've been in the advertising and marketing communications profession my entire adult life, so I should be more attuned than your average joe to the ads that are running on TV these days.  So how come I have such a hard time remembering even one or two TV ads (any ads!) that I saw on the tube last night?  I'm not alone in this.  I often ask people two questions to see how much impact the latest crop of TV spots are having on them:  1)  did you watch any TV last night? and 2) if so, can you recall any of the ads (just one) that you saw?  Most people CAN'T RECALL EVEN ONE AD!!  Yikes.  

We all know why this is happening.  Viewing options have exploded.  Zapping commercials is easier than ever.  And, let's be honest, the ads are usually either not personally relevant (so why pay attention?) or they are just plain uninteresting, boring or too obtuse to make their point in a memorable way.  

If you're an advertiser spending the big bucks on a national TV schedule, this means you have three choices:  1) spend your marketing money some other way, 2) pony up enough bucks so that your media frequency is high enough that you can pound your mediocre TV ads into our brains (who other than the Pharma companies have this kind of money today?) or 3) put on your big boy pants and demand that your marketing and advertising team create nothing short of BRILLIANT TV ads before you commit to a TV-driven national media plan.

Brilliant TV ads are uncommon for a reason.  Even the best and brightest advertising pros in the world typically only have a FEW examples of true brilliance in their portfolios.  Why is that?  Brilliant TV ads require insightful innovative strategies (rare) executed by creative people who are capable of developing BIG IDEAS (even rarer), a client who is capable of recognizing a potentially brilliant idea and has the guts to go for it without researching it to death and watering it down (rarer still), AND exceptional production (casting, direction, editing, etc)  to bring it to life (also rare).  The odds are not good.  99% of the time, all of this doesn't happen and we get what we have today:  communication mediocrity that is wasting a huge amount of money.

So, is it marketing insanity to shot for TV brilliance?  Maybe.  But when it does happen, you will have created something with magical marketing power.  Brilliant TV ads not only work now, they work FOREVER.  People remember brilliance for the rest of their lives.  What kind of marketing ROI is that?  Off the charts!

If you're going to do TV,  in today's media world you've got to go for BRILLIANCE unless you're Pharma rich and can afford to pound it out.  Be aware of what it takes and how hard it is to achieve.  Hire the best.  Listen to what they say.  Hold them accountable.  And set the bar high. Let them know only BRILLIANCE will make you happy.