Of Novas & Manatees

...and unintended messages.

Not trying to be alarmist here, but advertising can be dangerous.

The danger lies in sending out so many messages, each designed to elicit good feelings, goodwill, and great sales, that cut across so many societal and cultural boundaries. It’s true our world is shrinking, and culture is more unified than ever before. But still, the risk of crossed messages and misunderstandings increases with every campaign.

You’ve probably heard of General Motors' giant misstep back in the ’60s, when they introduced their popular muscle car, the Chevy Nova, to Latin America. If you haven’t heard the story, we can sum it up quickly, and leave it to you to surmise what their Nova sales were like, south of the border...

“No-va,” in Spanish, means “No go.”

The Nova story is one of the great cautionary tales in marketing, and we’d be happy to believe that all our peers have learned from it, and such an avoidable mistake can never happen again.

Sigh.

Target has recently introduced a line of plus-sized dresses. One of them comes in a particular shade of gray. A similar dress, available in standard sizes, names that same exact hue, “Dark Heather Gray.” For the plus-sized dress, however, it’s advertised as “Manatee Gray.”

To Target’s credit, they’ve moved quickly to correct the problem, and to apologize to their customers. They blame the mistake on a couple of buyers who simply didn’t communicate with each other.

Fair enough. Lack of communication, internal and otherwise, is an eternal challenge. Good for Target for recognzing that, and (hopefully) moving to alleviate it.

Still, couldn’t this have been prevented? Couldn’t just one Target employee — just one — have looked at that color description, and sent up a warning of bad things to come? Similarly, we’ve always wondered, wasn’t there just one GM exec with primary-school Spanish skills?

Is there a lesson here? There sure is.

Every marketing endeavor, every customer communication, should be put in front of as many eyes as possible, internally, before going external. And the question should be asked — not just "Ain’t this creative? Aren’t we swell?” But also, “Think hard. Do you see any way possible this can come back to bite us on the butt?”

The C4:

1. Target had a no-good, very-bad week, when they used “plus-sized” and “manatee” in the same sentence. We won’t pile on. Target is a great retailer, offering sweetly priced fashion for every body type. They made a mistake, and they moved to correct it. Target shoppers, we urge you to give ’em a second chance.
    
2. The good news is, second chances are earned because such mistakes rarely happen twice. Chevrolet renamed their export Nova “Caribe,” and it sold great. Target will probably now review every word in their marketing vocabulary for sensitivity and unintended impact. As well they should.
    
3. Even better news: we can all learn from Target’s example, and avoid such headaches for ourselves.
    
4. Always remember this: Your marketing material is going to be seen by diverse people, with diverse backgrounds, and infinitely diverse perspectives. Every word and every image you put in front of them is going to be filtered through those lenses. Once your words are published, it’s probably too late. You’re self-saving window of opportunity, then, is narrow indeed. By all means, use it.

AIG Says "Thanks"

We say "Really?"

Well, it’s nice to be thanked.

AIG, or the American International Group insurance company, has launched a 2013 advertising campaign entitled “Thank You America.” The campaign, which will cover print, broadcast, and Web media, is intended to pass on the company’s appreciation to U.S. taxpayers for the largest financial bailout in American history. It also highlights the company’s return to profitablity, and its contribution to communities coast to coast.

We suppose it’s better to be thanked versus the alternative. We’ll admit, though, that the first thing we did upon hearing this news was to check to see if We The People are paying for the AIG’s expressions of appreciation.

We’re not. As of December, 2012, the Treasury has divested itself of AIG stock and has seen a profit of $22.7 billion on its bailout, dating from September 2008, which totaled $182 billion. All in all, that’s not a bad return from a fiscal episode that was, at the time, absolutely terrifying.

But here’s the thing — our well-thumbed ettiquette handbook tells us that gratitude is typically offered for assistance willingly given. Did any of us actually choose to bail out AIG?

Not by a long shot. AIG got bailed out because their bad decisions and poor investments effectively pointed a loaded gun at our collective heads. The Treasury opted to save AIG because not doing so would have likely sunk the economy.

And there’s something frankly self-congratulatory in this “Thank You” campaign. AIG knows, as do we all, that their corporate image was irreparably tarnished in those dark days of 2008. During the financial industry hearings on Capitol Hill, Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA), famously suggested on the record that AIG executives should resign — or commit suicide.

We won’t go (quite) that far. But we will suggest that AIG’s appreciation might be better expressed more constructively. Couldn’t they have written a check to the Treasury in the amount they’re spending on this campaign? Or given it to the victims of Hurricane Sandy or Sandy Hook?

Saying thanks is supposed to be an act of selflessness. If AIG is able to learn that lesson, we might be more inclined to say, “You’re welcome.”

The C4:

1. The American International Group, or AIG, was laid low in late 2008 after investing heavily in mortgage-based credit default swaps. When their likely collapse seemed destined to crash our economy, the U.S. Treasury bailed them out to the tune of $182 billion.
    
2. But happy days are here again. AIG has paid back all their direct loans, and the Treasury has sold off all the AIG stock it was holding. We’ve recovered that $182 billion, plus nearly $23 billion in pure profit.
    
3. Which is great. Better than most of us expected, in fact. Why then, does it leave a bad taste in our mouths to learn AIG has launched a massive “Thank You America” advertising campaign?
    
4. Because none of us chose to bail out AIG, and because something about “Thank You America” sounds a lot like “Aren’t We Swell?” For obvious reasons, we’re all in favor of advertising campaigns — the bigger, the better, in fact. But in this case we’d rather have seen AIG spend their advertising dollars on a true act of selflessness. That is, after all, how one truly says “thanks.”

The Booming Voice From Boomers:

"Hey, we're over here!"

Here’s a message that marketers aren’t accustomed to hearing: “Please advertise to us.”

But that’s exactly the message delivered by a campaign recently kicked off by AARP, intended to goad advertisers into embracing the over age 50 demographic.

“I may be gray but my money is as green as it gets,” reads one of AARP’s broadsides. “I may be creased but my money is crisp,” says another. These are not-so-subtle reminders that although Madison Avenue loves to cater to 20-somethings, those millennial youngsters aren’t exactly rife with purchasing power these days.

The AARP crowd, by contrast, is doing OK. The average annual income for baby boomers as a group now tops $70,000. Those over age 65 are among the few that saw a net increase (from $29,400 to $29,775) in the challenging years between 2008 and 2011. And Americans over the age of 50 account for more than 60% of new car sales in this country.

Older adults tend to dine out more often, take longer and more luxurious vacations, and spend as much — if not more — on consumer goods as any other group. Yet marketing in these areas tend to focus on the younger set. This perplexing misfire might be explained by an out-of-date tradition — MadAve started targeting baby boomers when they were age 18-34, and never readjusted as that generation grew older. Or maybe it’s because MadAve itself is young: 40% of the advertising workforce is under 35. 

Either way, AARP makes clear that the advertising industry spins its wheels selling to a generation that’s all but broke, while effectively ignoring one with pretty deep pockets. That’s self-defeatism at its worst, which is something marketing should never be accused of.

We’ll speak for ourselves, and hopefully for our most ambitious clients: AARP, you don’t have to tell us twice.

The C4:

1. AARP — formerly known as the American Association of Retired Persons — is now titled solely by that four-letter acronym and represents any Americans over the age of 50, retired or not.
2. AARP has kicked off a campaign to remind advertisers of the purchasing power of its members.
3. Americans of AARP age buy more than 60% of new cars. They’re among the few groups that saw little or no income decrease during the Great Recession. They dine out more, travel more, and spend generously on consumer goods.
4. These statistics haven’t exactly been kept secret, yet somehow we advertisers still treat millennials (age 18–34) like they, not the boomers, are the golden geese. It’s a shame that AARP had to remind us how to do our jobs, but now that they’ve done so we’re happy to assure them: we’re on it.

Nothing Happens Without Awareness

Happy 70th birthday to the Ad Council.

The Ad Council is the advertising industry’s premier non-profit, founded in 1942 at the urging of President Franklin Roosevelt, to leverage the persuasive power of media for the sake of the common good. Those early years saw memorable campaigns on behalf of the war effort, including the introduction of an icon that remains moving and powerful to this day: Rosie the Riveter.

Since then, the Council has championed causes that benefit us all, while remaining decidedly non-partisan and uncontroversial. These include Smokey the Bear’s fight against forest fires, McGruff the Crime Dog’s exhortations to “take a bite out of crime,” and the familiar, effective message: “Friends don’t let friends drive drunk.”

The Ad Council’s mission is made possible through the donated time and talents of the industry’s top creative minds, and more than $1 billion in free media space per year. We see the results every day on TV, online, in our magazines and in our newspapers. More importantly, we see the results in the positive social changes the Ad Council helps to bring.

The influence of modern advertising is a boon to business and commerce. We’re proud to be part of that. But we’re at least as proud of the role our industry plays in positive social messaging and change. So thank you, Ad Council, and here’s to your next 70 years of service.

The C4:

1. The Ad Council was founded in 1942 by advertising industry leaders, as part of the home-front war effort.
2. From 1942–1945 the Council helped sell war bonds, encouraged rationing, kept morale high and introduced Rosie the Riveter to the world.
3. Since the end of WWII, the Ad Council has leveraged top creative talent and billions of dollars in free media to promote some of the most important and most familiar social causes.
4. Nothing happens without awareness. Congrats to the Ad Council on its 70th anniversary.