Optimarketer: The Marketing Optimization Blog

Social Networking Group Collects "Dumb Client Comments"

One of the message boards on the Facebook group, I'm in Advertising...Hell Yeah!, is called Dumb Client Comments. Here are just a few of the submissions:

"I get it, but nobody else will."

"I don't know what I want, but I'll know it when I see it."

"Can we put two single-minded messages into the spot?"

"I think that ad is really intriguing. Unfortunately, intriguing doesn't work for us."

"The budget has been cut. Can you re-size the TV spot to fit in a quarter-page print ad?"

"We love the concept. We just want a different headline and a different visual."

"No photos of people. People are overrated."

"This creative is too good. Can we go with something a little less good?"

While you're in Facebook, join our group, What I Saw at the Direct Marketing Revolution.

And if you have classic client OR agency comments you'd like to share, please add 'em here.

Should Facebook Allow Advertising Like This?

This ad ran in Facebook tonight. My gut tells me I wasn't really the 10,000th visitor to a Facebook application (even though "10,000th" in blue was mighty convincing). But I could be wrong. Want to find out? Here's the web page that appears when I click the ad. If you follow it and there's actually a free 16 GB iPod touch at the end of the line, it's yours.

My prediction: From the barely readable disclaimer text at the bottom of the page, I'll bet it's one of those virtually endless co-registration offers aimed at the masses. If so, I'd wonder whether Facebook has any real ad approval process (see definition of false and misleading advertising). Either way, please shoot back a comment and let us know what happened. Thanks.

Guess Which Photo Was Retouched

One of 'em received some obviously remarkable Photoshop work. But I ain't givin' away the answer just yet.

Type your answer in the Comments area ("A" if you think the photo on the left was retouched, and "B" if you're figuring it was the one on the right) -- and be sure to subscribe to the Comment Feed.

3/21/08 UPDATE: You'll find the answer in Comments.

Yep, the New York Post Hearts "Love Gov" Eliot Spitzer

Rupert Murdoch must literally be laughing all the way to the bank. The conservative media baron and New York Post owner has license to run headlines like "DISGRACE -- and don't let the door hit you on the way out."

But don't think for a minute the in-your-face coverage of ex-governor Eliot Spitzer's downfall is just a right-wing thing. The Post has been identifying -- and milking -- quintessential tabloid stories for decades. (See Dapper Don, Subway Vigilante, Preppy Killer, Coma Baby, Son of Sam, and of course, Mayflower Madam.)

Glance at the Alexa chart and you'll get an idea of how lucrative this "Love Gov" stuff is for the tabloid that once ran a story with the headline, "Headless torso found in topless bar." Looks like nypost.com page views rose a good 100% or so after the Spitzer story broke.

From yesterday's table of contents, it's easy to conclude that the percentage of the Post devoted to this story is way over the top. But let me ask you this: If you were the paper's editor, what would you do?

       

How to Throw Your Ad Agency Under a Bus

A guy I'd known for many years and considered a friend landed at a new company. He asked our direct marketing shop to quote a project with unusual specs.

His plan was to give away free trials of his software on CDs. He wanted them to be as ubiquitous as the old AOL CDs. (Back in the '90s you may have used them as coasters.)

I reminded him that much had changed in the software business, and free trials were usually distributed via the Internet. But his mind was made up. (At this point I should have politely said, "Thanks but no thanks.")

He asked me to present the quote to a group that included his boss, the president. At the meeting, the moment I mentioned the CDs, the president was all over it, calling it a ridiculous approach. I decided not to cite the origin of the idea, and simply said we could do lots of stuff with plenty of impact for way less money. But he didn't want to move off the topic. During this stage my marketing pal largely kept his mouth shut.

Then finally the marketing guy asked me to present other creative ideas our agency had to share. It was a surprising remark, because this guy had worked with us before and knew we didn't do spec creative. But I took the high road and said something about the in-depth process we planned on stepping through after we had an agreement in place -- including one-on-one interviews to collect different perspectives.

That's all the CEO had to hear. He told me there'd be no need to speak with anyone but him. I said it was generally best to hear from a diverse group of people. He said it was a bullshit exercise and waste of money -- and he already knew exactly what the no-brainer headline needed to be.

Since I'd clearly entered a theatre of the absurd, I politely told the president he didn't need us, and suggested he write the ad himself.

My marketing friend? He's now an ex-friend. I spoke with him briefly after the meeting but wasn't in the mood to explain why his behavior was so disappointing. If he decides to apologize and finds another employer we'll give him another shot. But I ain't holdin' my breath.

Have clients thrown you under the bus -- and if so, how did you handle it?