by Bruce W. Coffman

Created on: November 20, 2008

Advertising is a small window of opportunity in which to create interest in a product, service or brand. Because that window is so small and because consumers are inundated with so many competing advertising messages on a daily basis, originality is a vital element of a successful ad.

We pass brightly colored ads on bus stops while more speed by on the busses themselves. We glance up at a billboard, hear a spokesperson extolling the benefits of some product on the radio. Even as we surf the web we are bombarded with almost constant advertising messages. We learn to tune them out, now more than ever.

The advertising industry has almost killed itself by invading each and every possible venue. Instead of influencing consumer purchasing decisions, the industry has taught us how to recognize and instantly ignore advertising. The internet went a step further with the advent of spam and has taught us not to trust advertising.

The advertising messages that have any hope of catching our interest these days rely completely on originality. They must stand out in the sea of information in which we can sometimes find ourselves drowning. They must give us a reason to stop, listen and believe what is being said.

The job of creating compelling advertising today is a great deal harder than it was even ten years ago. The established formulas and rules of advertising have been compromised by the fact that nearly everyone knows the secrets and "tricks" that advertisers use to try and make us buy. No longer is creating a "good" ad enough. Consumers have seen it all elsewhere. Advertising today must find a way to reinvent itself to become compelling, useful, original and, if possible, not even be considered advertising.

Wary consumers tend to shut down the moment they perceive that they are being exposed to advertising. Especially in the current economic climate, consumers are being much more cautious with their discretionary spending and don't really want to be told how they should be dispersing what money they do have. They want information, resources and solutions instead of sales pitches.

Successful advertisers will find ways to meet those needs and will more than likely find that those approaches historically used in the field of public relations will be much more effective than traditional advertising. Where advertising tends to be an attempt to "make" someone do something, public relations seeks to gently guide and influence behaviour by providing information and educating consumers how a particular product, brand or service can solve a problem they may have. The line between advertising and public relations has become blurred now more than ever, yet neither would thrive without creativity and originality.

Advertisers must find ways to communicate in original, thought-provoking ways. The internet has provided numerous opportunities for more interaction where consumers can feel as if they are part of a decision making process instead of being "talked at" by advertisers. There are numerous ways this expereince could be enhanced and advertisers aren't taking full advantage yet of the opportunities available, but they do seem to be getting there.

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