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Advertising success through dumbing down (simplifying)

by Bob Schmidt

The concept of a more focused message in business advertisements is not all that dumb. The mass appeal needed in a successful advertising message will not likely result through sophisticated language penned by master word smiths displaying their talents with language.

Advertising must deliver a message easily understood by the general population. No matter how you play with words trying to improve upon the message, Golf for Dummies, it would be hard to be more on point with potential customers seeking a book to teach them the basics of golfing.

As the world continues to change rapidly with electronic messaging, advertisers need to prepare for the new market that is emerging. Specifically, the industry of advertising should be studying the need to simplify advertising like text messaging has simplified communications between individuals.

Today's teenagers will be tomorrow's biggest consumer market. They are going to be experts in messages that get to the point without wasting words, or time. It is likely that they will have less patience with verbosity than any generation that has preceded them. Smart advertising executives should be preparing to dumb down their messages now. The future is arriving faster than we realize.

The following suggestions may help the transition to the future for those who like to plan ahead.

~One simple message per ad. Direct and to the point. For example: Ivory soap is 99.44% pure.

~Traditional spelling and punctuation will soon be less important. Experiment with novel ways to simplify every message, reducing it to the most basic elements.

~Study text messaging pros for ideas, their expertise will soon drive how people communicate in the real world.

~Carefully adapt to the changing consumer base. The use of language is changing, like hey dude, do you hear me?

~Stimulate the curiosity of emerging markets by staying relevant. New products unknown today will soon require marketing. Like it or not, some youth on the staff will be needed to keep up with the language of the young, and how to appeal to emerging markets.

All good ads must adapt to a quickly changing marketplace. The need to think outside the box when it comes to advertising exists. Simple messages,as suggested in this article, are actually the best approach to successful advertising.

Ironic, isn't it? Using extensive writing skills to write in the most simplistic manner possible. Actually, that's what has worked all along in the field of advertising. Being pithy is a good thing when it comes to ad writing. Any advertising copywriter who polishes this skill is assured success in the world of advertising.

Helium, Inc.
200 Brickstone Square Andover, MA 01810 USA