A BETTER MESSAGE (IN A MESS-AGE)

Coleman urges advertisers to up their game with ads that tell compelling stories in this primer.

The author, a radio creative production director and advertising professional, surveys the contemporary advertising landscape, in which consumers are constantly bombarded with information; commercials have about five seconds, he estimates, to make an impression before they’re skipped over and forgotten. Coleman advises advertisers to eschew the polished, empty verbiage of traditional adspeak and to avoid frenetic overselling. “[B]ad ads,” he observes, “use a glut of laser beam sound effects, explosions… processed phrases from filtered and equalized voices, flashing lights, and pretty faces to distract us, ramming as much information down our throats as possible.” Instead, the author suggests that companies connect with audiences through emotionally resonant, open-ended dialogues, like the classic ice-breaker pitch, “What would you do for a Klondike Bar?” Drawing on his radio background, Coleman emphasizes “audio optometry,” meaning sound design that evokes visual images—a sizzle that conjures steaks on a grill, for example. He continues with a soup-to-nuts discussion of advertising principles, including fundamentals (an ad’s most important task is hammering home the company’s name, so consumers remember it); proper ad targeting (no lip gloss commercials on football broadcasts); the nuances of copywriting (he explains why “unique” sounds better than “different” and “guarantee” sounds better than “promise”); and the loftiest of marketing philosophies (he enjoins corporate branding strategists to ask the question, “Why does your company exist?”) Coleman contextualizes all of this material with interesting dives into neurology and language processing and proffers practical advice on even the most abstruse topics—he asserts that funny ads should have “a comedic rise in tension building to a compelling surprise”—all conveyed in tart, punchy prose (running an incompetent ad is like “writing your brand name on a tennis ball, then hurling it at people’s heads as they walk by”). Marketing managers and advertising agencies will find wonderfully readable insights into their trade here.

An entertaining, no-nonsense guide for connecting with consumers.