Writing on AdPulp and in his TalentZoo column, Dan Goldeier makes, correctly, the argument most campaigns are no longer given the time they need to build momentum and to enter the psyche of the consumer long enough to mean anything. He asks the question, “are ad campaigns given enough time to work these days?”
The answer is a resounding no and that, shortsightedly, been the case for a very long time. No one wants to, or is afraid to, invest the long periods of time it takes for a campaign to truly build. Everyone in marketing is too fickle and they are more concerned with advancing their own careers than advancing the success of the brands on which they work.
Dan is absolutely correct in his assessment that it’s bullshit to assume the public tires of a campaign as quickly as marketers claim they do. That has nothing to do with it. The frenetic change is a result of those in the business who are out for themselves and concerned only with presenting the next new thing that will make them look cool in the eyes of the client or their superiors.
It takes years…YEARS for a campaign’s message to sink in and all this crap about CMO’s wanting to “make their mark” is destroying the entire purpose of advertising: to create a memorable brand that is identifiable and will sell product to those who identify with it. People don’t change their habits overnight, if ever, in most case. They become comfortable and form buying habits with particular products and it takes more than a witty tagline to sway them into forming new habits.
It’s almost as if we’ve all become a bunch of spoiled, whining brats who just want our way all the time despite what might be best for the greater good. And that’s very, very wrong when it comes to creating a successful advertising campaign.
