People in advertising often think they’re very clever.
Certainly cleverer than the average Joe.
Which can be a problem for the work they’re making.
‘It’s too clever’ is a piece of feedback I’ve often heard. Leading to the work becoming more direct and stripped down, watered down, so it’s easier for all the simpletons out there to understand. And less engaging and effective because of that.
Don’t underestimate your audience.
Years ago I worked on a campaign for a boiler brand. The audience section of the brief talked about how installers and plumbers were people who were uneducated, hadn’t been to university, just needed info given to them in a clear simple fashion. A classic stereotype.
One that didn’t align with any of the plumbers, builders, electricians that I played football with at the weekend or had grown up with. And not with any of the ads that they liked, joked or talked about in the pub.
Also, have you seen the inside of a boiler? They’re as complicated and mind-bending as an MC Escher Illustration, you’ve got to be someone who knows what you’re doing to deal with that.
That audience isn’t some faceless group of ABC1 blah, blah, blah demographic. They’re your mother, father, brother, sister, uncle, friends… you get the idea.
Do work that will interest, excite, entertain and connect with people you know who’re the target for the brief you’re on.
If you only know people the same as you, then get out there. Go out and meet people from different backgrounds and cultures. Who have different interests and lives. Watch TV you normally wouldn’t, go to new places, pop your social bubble.
And, in particular… avoid people who work in advertising.
