I Like Offending People With My Ads
Did I Ask For Your Opinion Of My Work?
I really don’t care what people think of my ads.
I don’t care if people like them, hate them, skip them, report them, curse them, block them… people react to my ads EXACTLY how I want them to react. To be honest, I’ve always prided myself on being a rebel, going against the grain, and sometimes, —ok MANY times — offending people with my ads.
Guess what… I LIKE IT!
You may think that offending someone is bad, but is it?
A quick Google search brings up the Dictionary definition of offending:
I like the adjective use of the word, specifically the second interpretation of the word, 2. relating to the committing of an illegal act or the breaking of a rule.
Allow me to hone the definition a bit more to my liking: relating to the BREAKING OF A RULE.
Yes, I like breaking the rules of traditional thinking when it comes to advertising. Thus, I like offending people with my ads.
If you go a bit deeper into the definitions, you’ll find the verb use of the word. 1. cause to feel upset, annoyed, or resentful.
No, I don’t mind upsetting or annoying some people either.
In my 3-plus decades as a creative director, my job was and has always been to push the envelope, and to grab the attention of a viewer, a listener, or a reader. It’s difficult to accomplish this if you’re unwilling to offend people. The world is full of opinions but creativity is 100% subjective, and the only opinion that matters is yours.
I like to ask myself 3 questions after I create a new ad:
Does this ad grab your attention?
Does it make you a bit uncomfortable?
Is it memorable?
Occasionally, the answer to one of the questions is no. When this happens I start over or look for creative inspiration until I find all three answers in alignment with YES, YES, YES across the board.
Not All Advertising Is Created Equally
We have all seen or read a great ad. We know what a great ad is based on the way it makes us feel or react. Sometimes a great ad elicits an emotional reaction, others grab us by the funnybone… a great ad moves you. Good, bad, but never indifferent, a great ad causes a reaction.
Now we know we’ve seen bad ads too, but most of us can’t remember them or anything about them. Why is that? Because bad ads don’t elicit a reaction. They are like cardboard. They are flat, flavorless, and flacid — meaning they flop.
So, how does one go about creating an ad that gets a reaction?
It starts with the desired outcome of the ad. Yes, I know… I just want to sell my blah-biddy-blah-blah thing. No, you advertising Neanderthal, that’s the end step, not the desired outcome. For me, I most often want the viewer to laugh. Secondarily, I want them to remember that Ad Zombies is the copywriting company that made them laugh. The final outcome I want is them to file us away in the back of their mind for future use.
I know what you’re thinking, but I want them to sign up or buy now! Just slow your roll a bit, OK? Remember this critically important bit of advice: Not everyone that sees your ad needs your product or service the day they see it. Shocking, right?! I know! But it’s totally true. Despite your desire to sell everyone on Day 0 (the first moment they see your ad) not everyone is ready to buy.
Remember Me… You Have No Choice!
Why I go for the funny bone is that people are more likely to remember something during a heightened state. Laughter is one of those states. Because I was…check that…am still the class clown, laughter is my default. It’s also great for your consumer who is bombarded by crappy ads that fly by them daily. They are boring, unremarkable wallpaper on the advertising landscape. When I make a viewer laugh, when they are uncomfortable with The Jesus ad (yes, even offended), when they cringe at The Clown, The Shot, or any number of weird ads I’ve created, they have no choice but to remember us.
For those that are offended to the point of not wanting to hire my company to write for them… see ya!
For each of those, there are 9 more who love what we do and are attracted by it. OK, I don’t know if 9 is the right number, but I stole it from a Trident gum ad, you know the one where 4 out of 5 dentists surveyed recommend sugarless gum… I took some license and made it 9 out of 10.
How To Find Your Funny Bone
What’s the one thing you are most afraid of? Name a situation that makes you painfully self-aware. When was the last time you farted in public and quickly deflecting the embarrassing toot with some awkward noise to mask what everyone now smells?
See, I did it again, this time writing about farts.
For me, I find the absurdity of life a great canvas to play with. Those moments that embarrass, excite, terrify, all of those moments and the ones you remember, are the fuel for funny. I find the simplest things to be most relatable and therefore it becomes the low-hanging fruit I use to spark my creative ideas.
You might be wondering what this looks like, so allow me to pull back the curtain on my last 15 minutes of work on this.
As I came to the end of the sentence… all of those moments and the ones you remember… I went blank. My mind suddenly was awash in white. There were no more words available, I ran out of them.
So I stood up, grabbed my AirPods, and went for a rejuvenating walk around my office parking lot. I had just started listening to a book by Martha Beck, The Way Of Integrity when something grabbed my attention. She talked about a common experience we have all had…you know when you’re on an airplane and they go through the announcements. The flight attendant demonstrates how to use the oxygen masks and even though the oxygen is flowing, the bag won’t inflate.
As I listened, I chuckled. My mind got stuck on the oxygen masks. Why don’t the bags inflate? I thought to myself. I laughed out loud and wrote this line in my phone’s notes: WHY OXYGEN MASKS DON’T INFLATE. What am I going to do with this thought? Who knows, but I write all of these stray thoughts, ideas, and random sentences down. I have lists of them at my disposal to inspire me creatively. That one moment of the book could become the headline idea for my next great ad. It could also be a line that never gets used for anything but sits there inspiring other great ideas or lines.
This is how I find my funny bone. If you need help finding yours, hit me up, I am pretty sure you have one buried deep inside you.
Not Everything Is Funny Though… Or Is It?
On a recent call with a financial advisor, let’s call him Rich (since he helps people grow their wealth). Rich said to me, “But Ken, there’s nothing funny about investing or financial planning. N-O-T-H-I-N-G!”
Is that true? Can there be nothing funny about his line of work?
I paused and said the following: “Rich, picture this: a broke couple ice fishing for their dinner… a rich couple burning money in their fireplace… Either image can be used to tell a story and the absurdity — the audacity —- is what makes it funny. Both images can both utilize humor. They don’t have to offend (but they will). All you have to do is try on some new ideas and start building a Version 1. It doesn’t have to be great, it just has to be started.”
Try Stuff, Be Brave, and Be Non-Judgmental
I give you permission — though you don’t need it — to try new ideas, be brave and don’t ask for opinions, and please be 100% non-judgmental about your ideas… they are yours and they are great! If your message breaks through the noise… if it offends…you win.