7 Deadly Sins Of TV Ads And How To Avoid Them As Online Marketer
by chefkeem
TV ads are a dying business, mainly because of these 7 deadly sins. Learn how to avoid them in your articles and online marketing campaigns.
What's wrong with TV commercials?
Plenty. Here are their 7 fatal flaws...
- TV ads are disruptive. By design they pop up when we desire them the least: whenever we're enthralled by our favorite program.
- They are irrelevant. Have you ever seen a commercial that matched the content of what we were watching? Me neither. Rather the opposite.
- Ads are often insincere or outright dishonest. They intentionally exaggerate the benefits of a product. Disadvantages or potentially harmful side effects vanish in illegible small print.
- They're repetitive. Aren't we sick and tired of the same spots, over and over, sometimes even twice during the same break? Oh, yes...we are.
- Way too aggressive. "Buy now!" "Call today!" "This offer won't last!" (Oh really, silly? You've been doubling your offer if I "call in the next 10 minutes" since...um...2008?)
- Fake, impersonal, not authentic. Mr. Johnson and his "family company"? SBC Global "Neighborhood"? Raw goods buyers braving treacherous rivers so they can hand-harvest cereal ingredients? Gimme a break! (Commercial-free, if possible.)
- TV ad time is too expensive.
A different kind of commercial break...
Humor sells best
What we can learn from those 7 deadly sins...
and provide useful content for satisfied readers
- Present your story (article) in a beautiful, organic flow. Don't disrupt the reader's emotional engagement with ad blocks, just because you want to exploit their full attention. Wait for a natural break, or until your content requires supplemental sales information. Design your article from the reader's emotional point of view.
- Don't write about one thing and advertise another. If it's too hard to find matching products for your story, consider beautifying your page with AllPosters images, or don't advertise at all. You'll still get your share on AdSense impressions. Irrelevant ads don't generate clicks and look out of place.
- It's so easy to fill our pages with products we've never seen, tried, read, or in some other way experienced ourselves. This strategy may work in some cases, but our visitors will notice a certain disconnect. Honest, personal reviews work best. Always.
- Don't plaster your page full with several outbound links to your niche blog or company website (plus a few more in a link module). It's annoying. Place your most important link at the beginning or the end of your article. In between link out to additional, valuable resources for your readers. Don't be repetitive with your link strategy.
- Web surfers instantly recognize fake "urgency". Who says it's a good idea to pressure my potential customers? We're all about building relationships between mature, intelligent adults. Someone looks for something, and we recommend a solution. Is all. Nervous customers won't come back.
- Give us some indication of who you really are. A picture, a name, and a little bit of personal background go a long way. If you don't want to reveal your true identity, invent a friendly online profile and stick with it. People like to buy from people.
- Be generous with everything you do online. Come from a mindset of "giving", and in due time you will reap your well-deserved results. People remember generosity. At least for a few days. Then give some more.
More help with effective online marketing
Instead of being bored out of your skin by sinfully-bad TV ads...
What would you rather do?
Updated: 07/26/2011, chefkeem
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Can you think of other "deadly sins" of TV ads? Mind sharing?
chefkeem, Thank you for the lists and links. Looks like that kid in the commercial never outgrew the terrible twos. How would one say "lawn the mow" in German?
I think your list takes in all of them. I use the Mute button quite a bit, when I'm actually watching something that has commercials.
Awesome article. I have to agree with each of them, especially the repetitive ones. I get tired of the relentless, blatant 'sex sells' commercials. It's frustrating when you have small kids around, and hate to expose them to some of these way too sexual commercials.
Which ad do you mean, Brenda?
I didn't even know that we could insert ads on articles that weren't testimonials. I like to include advertising at the end of my articles.
Oh wow, these are great tips. I would like to come back to this for future reference on what to avoid.
This is wonderful. Got a good belly chuckle from the video and lots of good ideas to think about. Wonderful combination!!
That video is hilarious. I'm going to play it every time someone asks me why I don't have kids.
I agree with big Joe, having the adverts get closer together at the end of the hour used to be infuriating for me. But I haven't had cable or satellite for over 5 years and don't miss it at all ;-) We just buy DVDs and check at previews on You Tube when we are ready.
You're funny, Joe... :)