I have found the Alpha Lemming! This little morsel caught my eye at Beyond Madison Avenue.
Creative as we know it, means absolute shit. The geniuses at Pick-n-Click Ads have decided that what the advertising industry needs are generic ads. They tout themselves as "the world's first virtual advertisinig agency." They also brashly announce that this is the future of advertising. A little presumptuous, don't you agree?
Just how does this gem of an idea work? Easy! Need a print ad for a car dealership? No problem! Simply click on one of their prefabricated themes, pick the cars, and pick the offer. Your ad is ready to go in moments! Nevermind, that your competitor could possibly run virtually the same ad. Or, the lack of branding. Or, even the lack of consistency.
About Me
- Maria M. Lopez
- This blog will be my venue to explore whatever catches my fancy or earns my wrath. Together, we’ll explore advertising and marketing mindsets, case studies and the like. That said, I hope that we’ll be able to perhaps gain a better understanding of our profession.
7 comments:
Ms. Lopez... I realize it's a free world, and we're all entitled to express our opinions (however misinformed) to the public. It would be so much more interesting to have an engaging debate on the facts as they truly are. Your description of the Pick-n-Click system is not only superficial, it's simply wrong. Did you happen to know that all the content in this version of Pick-n-Click (for automotive dealers) was produced by an agency with over 15 years of automotive experience? Did you know that the system dynamically resizes ads (not stretch to fit) to meet the exact mechanical requirements of any newspaper in the country? Did you know that you can produce a customized TV spot, broadcast-quality, in less than 5 minutes and deliver it direct to any station in the U.S.? I promise you that a 5-minute presentation of the site will not only convince you that this is the absolute cutting-edge, but I'd bet you'd want to join the team that built it and help them make it even better.
Milan, I actually did take the time to view your site and I don't think my analysis is off base. A little simplified, perhaps, but not altogether wrong.
I, too, have created more than my fair share of automotive print ads while I was an art director. They have never been things of beauty, and there are only so many things that can be done with listings.
Let's examine your print ad system. (Since I'm not a member, I can only take an educated guess as to how you've set it up.) Let's say a client wanted a half-page horizontal for a typical broad page. He would probably choose the "look" from perhaps 8 to 10 generic graphical templates. From there he would choose his sales event and place his listings. His ad would then be dynamically created based on his criteria.
The problem is, even if you can create a over 100+ ads based on generic templates, you are still dealing with the same basic elements. They are essentially cookie-cutter ads, but the icing may be a different color.
Actuallu, Maria, it's more like this. X user decides to build a print ad. First they would choose the sze: Full Page, Half-Page Horizontal, Half-Page Vertical or Quarter Page. Second they would choose the format: All New, New & Used or All Used. Depending on the selection, the system would deliver a menu of template options (10-12 varieties of templates with 3-12 vehicle "modules"). Each vehicle module has over 14 pricing offer displays: users create vehicle inventory profiles and can advertising a sale price, lease payment, buy payment, discount/rebate, and all combinations therein. Finally, the user chooses a color (full color, spot color or BW). The system then loads all the selections and creates a layout that the user can begin to customize. We create custom headers and footers for the user, and they can choose a headline from over 150 options. Each headline is part of a full creative campaign which can be customized in all major media types for an comprehensive media blitz.
Since I started in advertising, I've probably designed over 25K car ads. I felt very comfortable in determining a common pattern that most car dealers can utilize. And we're always adding new template variations and creative campaigns to keep the system fresh and agile.
The idea of automated car ads will suit dealers that don't wish to spend their money on real custom creative for their market. It seems Zimmerman is just trying to cash in on the laziness of car dealers. I use to work at Zimmerman (along with thousands of others that have moved on to more respectable jobs) and the company has a history of padding their stats and over hyping their product. Pick & Click is a splitting image of the company. A well oiled machine that only cares about volume output for the sake of revenue.
The reality is that computers cannot make decisions based on current trends. The people that are willing to put in the hard work and research are the ones that will prevail in the end. Dealers like having their asses kissed anyways. They will not have the time to make their own ads, no matter how easy they are. Could you imagine the embarrasment of two different dealers in the same market running the same March Madness ad in the same paper.
Computers definitely have their place, but not in the creative world.
Formulas can't be the answer to everything.
correction . . .
"Automation" has it's place, but not in the creative world.
;)
correction . . .
"Automation" has it's place, but not in the creative world.
;)
Sorry I haven't responded to this post, and subsequent comments sooner. I'm still emerging from a flu-induced haze. That said, I absolutely agree that computer-automated advertising is ill-conceived advertising.
Despite Mr. Milan De Vito's assertion to the contrary, Pick-n-Click is canned creative. There's an old adage that says the advent of desktop publishing allows the common man to create bad design. Pick-n-Click is flirting with disaster.
I've taken a look at the PDFs that Pick-n-Click offers as samples of their print advertising, and I'm less than impressed. The design is ho-hum and the staff could use a primer on the basics of color theory.
A consultation is definitely in order. Milan, contact me!
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