A Guide to Sidestepping Common Advertising Pitfalls

A Guide to Sidestepping Common Advertising Pitfalls
Copyright © DeShawn Ducksworth
Eight Star Diamond Factory

For too long, too many people have gotten into advertising with some strange ideas, founded
more in emotion than logic and research. One of the most common myths along these lines is the
idea that advertising should be safe and homogenous in order to reach and connect with the
largest possible demographic. Perish the thought. First of all, your advertising has no business
trying to reach the largest possible demographic. The best advertising is targeted advertising, and
you will need to know your audience before setting forth. Secondly, the most egregious sin in an
ad campaign is to create an ad that is instantly forgettable. Better to offend Grandma (who would
have had little to no interest in your business to begin with) than to have an ad that no one can
remember. Of course, creating inoffensive advertising isn’t a deathtrap in itself, but it shouldn’t be
your primary focus, if it is a focus at all. These and other advertising pitfalls are covered in this
article.

If you want to create the kind of advertising that sticks in people’s minds and makes them
remember you and think of you when they need your service, the last thing you want to do is copy
the competition. Can things be learned from the competition? Certainly. There’s nothing wrong
with seeing what works on a deeper psychological level and using some of that to your own
benefit. But that’s where the emulation should end. If all advertising sounds or looks the same,
people stop paying attention. If you drive around a neighborhood where every house looks
identical, does anything draw you to stop and stare at any particular house on the block? Of
course not. You might as well keep on driving, with the houses simply falling into the background
scenery. On the other hand, if there’s a house on the corner with pink walls, an audacious lawn
ornament, a hedge maze, and a pig running around the front yard, you’re probably going to stop
and figure out what the hell is going on. The same concept applies to advertising. Don’t be afraid
to step way out of the box. That’s the kind of advertising that gets people talking.

At the same time, don’t get so enthralled with your ability to create wacky ads that you forget you
have a product to sell. Plenty of companies make this mistake as well, trying so hard to entertain
their audience that they fear doing anything traditional because they don’t want to come across as
just another ad. You’re not making movies here, you’re selling your business. At some point, you
have to get across a message. You can and should do it in an entertaining and fun way, a way that
has never been tried before. . .even an annoying way, but you must do it. People can scratch their
heads after seeing your ad and try to figure out what it meant, but they must at least know what it
was advertising in the first place.

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