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THE SELLING IDEA
If your advertising doesn’t have it, your advertising doesn’t have it.
A selling idea isn’t an ad that says, “Looking for a new car?”
It isn’t an ad that says “Live Luxuriously” ... or, “Harvest of Values!” Nor is it an ad that says “The graciousness of a bygone era.”
A selling idea is a specific — for one product only. So specific, that it can’t be used by any other advertiser. (“It’s the Real Thing” and, “The Taste Worth Shopping For.”
These couldn’t be used by Pepsi or Kentucky Fried Chicken — only by Coca Cola and Chick-fil-A).*
The ideal selling idea was created for Sarasota’s successful University Park Country Club; “Unrivaled Golf. Unequaled Community. Unparalleled Location.” And for Siesta Key’s Dolphin Bay waterfront community; “Inspired By Your Love Of The Island Itself.” Then we had some fun with some ad headlines, “You Love The Water. Face It!” ... and, “Every Floor Is A Penthouse.”
*P.S. The reason we used the Coke and Chick-fil-A examples is because they were produced by the creative teams headed by account supervisor Larry Owen while with McCann-Erickson, Inc., in Atlanta.
Sell the customer
A selling idea doesn’t only sell the product; it also picks out and sells the customer. (Notice how Coke ads pick out young people — so thirsty to buy the leading soft drink brand.)
A selling idea derives from identifying the inherent drama, the intrinsic excitement of the product, and from the marketing of that product. Which is to say that what you say about a product derives from what the product is; what it does; physically; emotionally. That’s why you see so few selling ideas.
Our clients can’t afford to out-spend their competition. They must rely on advertising that does more than the usual job of getting attention — advertising with selling ideas.
Ideas that make the difference between an ad that just sits there on the page, unproductive — and an ad that jumps off the page, grabs attention, and creates a demand for a product or service.
Once there exists a selling idea, it has to be conveyed — arrestingly, excitedly, dramatically...
The selling idea
Without it, advertising is wasteful and ineffective.
Okay. A selling idea ... that derives from the product ... and that’s dramatically executed.
To achieve all that, another factor is involved.
Simplicity
So that the reader — who couldn’t care less about our ad — gets the idea without having wanted to get the idea. Get the idea?
Mies Van Der Rohe used the expression, “less is more.” If he hadn’t messed around with buildings, he could have been a good creative director or marketing guy.
The difficulty for most people is getting to the selling idea in the first place — to discover the excitement in the product — the inherent drama that is (or can be made to be) unique to that product and preemptive to that product — and, meaningful to the consumer.
That takes skill, work, and creative insight.
This talent and thoughtful work can make a significant difference in the impact your advertising has on your company’s sales.
Larry Owen Advertising offers advertising with selling ideas. None of our clients would settle for less. Nor should you.
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Here are a few of Larry’s selling ideas:
“The Taste Worth Shopping For”
— Chick-fil-A
“The Land Of Screams And Dreams”
— Six Flags
“It’s The Real Thing”
— Coca Cola
“Have A Pibb, Mister, Have A Mister Pibb”
— Coca Cola
“You Can Always Call On Us”
— Continental Telephone
“It Wouldn’t Be A Sunday Without The Express News”
— San Antonio Express News
“If You Dreamed A Hotel, It Would Be This One”
— The Don CeSar Hotel
“Have You Had Your Kwickie Today?”
— Pick Kwik Food Stores
“Stop Dreaming, Start Sailing”
— Morgan Yacht Company
“Take It And Leave It”
— Hirsh Yacht Charters
“We Engineer Cold”
— Bellaire Products, Inc.
“Naturvue Is Born”
— Milton Roy Company, Contact Lenses
“Out In Front, And Pulling Away”
— Wells Fargo Bank
“You Love The Water. Face It”
— Dolphin Bay
“Inspired By Your Love Of The Island Itself.”
— Dolphin Bay
“Unrivaled Golf. Unequaled Community. Unparalleled Location.”
— University Park Country Club
“A World Without Boundaries”
— University Park Country Club
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