The Technology of Advertising

Yes, it’s possible to spend too much money on advertising

Among the vast majority of companies it rarely happens, however, two years ago, we were invited by an association in a neighboring state to judge business-to- business advertising entries. Ad campaigns, posters, videos, direct mail, brochures … the lot.

We viewed some really great stuff and we adhered to the complex scoring system devised by the association.

But we were troubled by some of the entries for the big name, deep pocket firms. Not because they weren’t superb, most were, … but because they indulged in gold-plating and diamond-encrusting to a degree rarely seen by ordinary mortals. We wondered … Who developed the budget for this stuff? And who approved the budget? We were strongly tempted to take points off for such wretched excess, but could not do so.

Actually, one of the best ad campaigns we viewed, and gave a top score to in the category, was prepared by a woman in a small bank chain in the northern part of that state. She made the best of what she had to work with. No color, just black and white fractionals, but the message and the presentation were crystal clear, attractive, and right on the mark … a winner.