Marketing and all things related

Nothing pains me more than watching a commercial for a local business and seeing the concept of the ad focus entirely on the owner’s children.  Car dealership owners are frequently guilty of this marketing failure.  I’m serious.  When I saw a commercial for a local car dealership recently that featured two children of about four and two years old trying to sell the benefits of choosing this dealership, I actually felt sorry for the owner because I knew from a marketing perspective his ad would not drive the business he would want.  Needless to say, the script had to be written in a manner that matched the preschooler’s speaking ability, which weakened the message completely.  I can honestly say that the concept, copy, and message for this ad failed in every way. 

This leads me to my point.  Please, I beg you, if you own a small business and want to make a television commercial, do not make your kids the main characters.  Put them in the background or leave them at home, but don’t waste your advertising dollars by making them the main focus of the commercial.  Develop a concept that catches your target audience’s attention then sell them on your benefits and differentiators through a well written message.  Remember, you want to maximize the return on your investment and boost your profits, not subject people to your family movies.