Is direct response advertising the wave of the future?
I recently came across this video showing widely-regarded advertising guru David Oglivy giving a call to arms on the current state of the advertising industry. He argues that direct response advertising should be the new standard for the industry in place of general, or brand advertising.
Direct response advertising?
If you have a mailbox or a land line you know what it is- countless useless offers, cold-calls, and junk mail whose only purpose it to get you to do something now. Advertising professionals argue this is the most effective method as results can be directly measured (signups, call backs etc.). But really, I feel it’s outdated and not a reflection of where we’re at today.
In Ogilvy’s heyday, I imagine advertising volume was much less. While he surely must have been a brilliant man, I’m not sure if I agree that direct response reflects the changing media landscape. It seems everywhere I look I’m bombarded with “Special Offers” or numbers to call to get information. Madison Avenue seems to be missing the point.
Remember how TV used to be? Families would gather in the living room and watch what was provided for them. Content was controlled and available at set times. Now, I choose my content and how I experience it. I choose what I wish to watch, see, listen to, and in what medium I prefer it on (TV, computer, iPod, mobile device etc.). Shouldn’t advertising be the same? Shouldn’t people get to choose what ads they’re exposed to and how they wish to react to them? In an ideal world, yes.
I know for myself, the most effective advertising evokes an emotion in me, a feeling; it doesn’t ask me to do something. It appeals to my senses and creates a mood.
Here are a few examples of what I mean:
Pontiac GTO:
The Geico caveman series:
Any Benetton ad by Oliviero Toscani:
Toscani is a genius in my opinion- his work was always influential, inspiring, and put the little-known Italian sweater maker on the world stage. He had some interesting things to say during his tenure at Benetton that I think still ring true today:
Ad agencies are obsolete. They’re out of touch with the times; they’re far too comfortable. When the client is happy, they stop trying. They don’t want to know what’s going on in the world. They create a false reality and want people to believe in it. We show reality and we’re criticized for it.
Tags: advertising, David Ogilvy, Oliviero Toscani
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