The Timeline of Interest in Advertising

In advertising, unexpected things capture consumer attention. Expected things don’t capture consumer attention–they fall on deaf ears and glazed-over eyes. And somewhere in the middle of unexpected and expected, advertising is proven to be low-risk and effective. 

And low-risk, effective advertising is what all marketers and brands are after, right? So where is the line between unexpected, effective, and expected advertising? Let’s talk about it. 

Here is a sticky note graph of the concept. The X axis is risk and the Y axis is effectiveness. In the top right corner you’ll see the unexpected ad. It’s highly effective, but also very risky, since it’s the first of its kind. And in the bottom left corner you’ll see the expected ad. It’s not very effective but it’s also not very risky. It blends in with al the other classic ads out there. And in the middle, towards the top, you’ll see the low-risk effective ad. 

Now take a look at this second graph. There are three windows, designated by the dotted lines. The middle window is exactly where smart advertisers should live. they find a new concept that worked for someone else, and adopt it as their own. It will still be unexpected to most consumers, but much less risky because it has been vetted by another brand first. Someone else took the risk. The window on the right is for great advertiser–brilliant kids with creative ideas who can convince their brand partners that the risk will pay off. And the left most window is for safe advertisers. “Creative” studios that sell safe ads to brands, convincing them it will bring a professional brand image. And then they bore the world with their work. 

And as the line dictates, over time ads lose their effectiveness. (I know it’s moving left because I drew the chart wrong, so just have some imagination). Tomorrow, I’ll plot some ad campaigns and styles to this graph to help you understand more. 

Thanks for reading!