Recently Y&R lost the Pick n Pay account and a lot of industry commentators were saying that King James (the new guys) would have to get used to writing ads for baked beans and suggested that a lot of their senior talent would be wasted.
Well, I'm not so sure about that.
Whatever the reasons for change (and let's be honest there are huge fees and commissions at stake here) I'm sure that Pick n Pay had good reasons for doing so – and I'm equally sure that King James has the ability to handle such a demanding workload.
In fact I firmly believe that, under no circumstances and without exception should any adman (or adwoman) be allowed to claim he has any experience or talent in advertising at all until he's worked on retail or direct-response advertising.
It's the acid test for any copywriter, artist, media planner, account planner, strategist – in fact for everyone in the agency.
It reveals the blunt truth about advertising – immediately – because, simply and obviously, it proves whether or not an advertising campaign works. That is, whether it produced sales or not.
Once you've produced a retail or direct-response ad you have nowhere to hide and no-one to blame for the lack of feet-through-the-door or coupons-in-the-inbox. There is no opportunity for you to wait until the next analysis or annual report.
Most copywriting experts, for example, would cringe at the prospect of facing a retail client the morning after one of his advertisements had been printed, aired or broadcast because they'd be terrified at hearing “what happened” to their campaign. The cash register tells the story and it never lies or exaggerates. It can't be bribed and is totally immune to flattery or rugby tickets.
No amount of creative theorising or adspeak can argue against your results following immediately-measurable advertising.
It is the effectiveness of advertising that matters – not the subtle imagery or the parades of awards that so many admen are fond of.
I have extremely eminent company in this belief that all advertising people should be experienced in direct-response and, further, that direct-response is the true foundation of the advertising business.
David Ogilvy said “My first basic rule consists of this premise: that the proved principles of mail order advertising should be applied to all campaigns.”
Alan Philips said “I am of the view that response tells us more about the realities of the advertising campaign than archaic mythology.
“Direct response advertising” he continued “is a most rewarding area of advertising. Rewarding, that is, if you like all aspects of your decisions, strategy, planning, creativity etc., being minutely examined and your efforts judged accordingly.
“Of course, if you are of the bent that prefers awards to rewards then it might all be a little tedious.”
The last point about retail or direct-response advertising is that there is often very little time to review or re-think a decision. You have to be quick on your feet and, oh yes, you'll have to work late every day.
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