There’s an ad I’ve been seeing lately that’s built on a truly repulsive image. I’m not going to say who it’s for — because I know that many a bad ad started with a good idea — but I wish the agency and the client had stopped to consider how the image would be seen by the viewer.

Adding insult to injury, the copy is as off-putting as the picture: saying essentially that people who didn’t use their services were dumb. The most amazing thing is that the ad was for a very worthwhile service, one that a lot of people would benefit from knowing about.

Sometimes, in the quest to find a unique angle or break through the ad clutter, we go with things that we think are bold or shocking or cutting edge. We decide to grab the reader by the lapels and shake them, for their own good of course, forgetting that, as uninvited guests, we should be on our very best behavior.

I can’t remember who said it, but someone once compared ads to people, and said essentially that the qualities that make us like someone, are the same qualities that make us like an ad. So the next time you’re preparing a new campaign, stop for a second and ask yourself, would I like to hang around these ads? Or do I want to get as far away from them as I can, as fast I can?

Steven Stark is a writer and creative director who once used the word caca in an ad. You can see his work and read some of his other musings here.

Article Tags: bad ads | Beneath the Brand | brainless advertising | repulsive images | smart advertising | Steven Stark | stupid ad tricks
Filed under: Advertising, Campaign Critiques, Steven Stark