A Good Advertisement

June 2, 2025

Good morning! Scotch Tape is 100-years-old.3M if you didn’t know: Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Smoke! Not only on the water, but discouragingly, in the air… Smoke in the Air — again — rendering the sun almost useless. Define it — use it in a sentence — say it again (what?!) — spell it!

éclaircissement

People are lamenting the misfortunes of the Timberwolves, but how about them Lynx?

Do you still go to the movies — at a movie house, that is?
- We’ve been only once in the last six years.
- Snitchpossible might just get us buying a ticket; what do they cost now?
Semiquincentennial.
- I’ve also heard it expressed as the Quarter Millennium; not sure which is Kosher.
Why not just have China make our pennies?
Here are some data to ponder:
- With the exception of Northern Maine, the Dakotah’s, Southern Georgia, the Smoky Mountains, and a few other isolated areas,
- dryer weather, stronger winds, and a greater capacity for wild fires have increased over the last 50 years. (U.S. Geologic Survey)
- Most of the North American Desert Southwest and areas adjacent to it have experienced 25%+ more of that kind of incendiary weather.
A recommendation for your Social/ Cultural/ Educational Calendar:
- Acclaimed author, Kent Nerburn (Neither Wolf nor Dog, Lone Dog Road), will be in Alexandria, MN at Cherry Street Books at 6:00 PM on June 6, 2025.
- Which is also the anniversary of our wedding — and the official beginning of our marriage — and so it will be among the ways we celebrate.
New vocabulary: Hedonic decline
- Obviously linked to hedonistic… has to do with losing interest in stuff, especially in personal possessions previously prized or coveted.
Factoid: Among 15,000 Europeans surveyed, a 35-year-old is three times more likely to purchase a meal-to-go than a 70-year-old. (McKinsey)
- We knew that, didn’t we? But, now we have data, precious data. (Where will it be stored?!)
- Another one: Sixty-four percent of people surveyed in the United States are not motivated to purchase an electric vehicle unless the price is the same or less than a comparable internal combustion vehicle. (MCFM)
  - We knew that one, too, didn’t we?
- One more: Over the next five years, the electricity required for artificial intelligence will increase 250% globally — from 44 gigawatts to 156 gigawatts. (Gartner, Etc., et al.)
- A gigawatt is 1,000,000,000 watts per second — which I did NOT know, but also I can’t really wrap my brain around a number so huge.
  - I don’t know if we knew this one, but perhaps intuitively… just think of the construction projects and impact on the infrastructure.
From the data it would appear almost all companies like NetFlix, HBO, Hulu, Peacock, Disney, Etc. are baling water just a tiny little bit faster than their boats are sinking.
- It’s a curious business plan: sign-up 10,000 new subscribers a little bit before 9,500 existing subscribers quit. Repeat. Wow!
- What if your business enjoyed almost no repeat customers and you had to be constantly finding new ones?!
- Stress, anyone?
The test of a good advertisement is whether it sells the product without drawing attention to itself; it is the product which must do the selling. (Ogilvy)
- Too many brands fall in love with the AD and forget about the widget or service.
- It’s not about the clever editing or the trendy sound; it’s about making the product look so useful, so desirable, so obvious, that people want it NOW.
- A good Advertisement makes you say, “Wait… I need that.” NOT, “Cool AD.”
  - (So, what does this say about the vibe and the energy surrounding the Super Bowl television advertisements?!)
- A good test: Can you remember anything being sold? And, did you rush out to buy some of it?
  - Practical:
    - Lead with the product
    - Highlight the value
    - Use testimonials that SHOW, not just tell (Murray)
    - If your Advertisement is the star of the show, you’re benefiting your creator/ editor/ agency… and NOT your bottom line… think about it.
Negativity isn’t always loud — in fact, it rarely is.
- Eye rolls, missed deadlines, snide comments, looks across the room — negativity spreads fast.
- What you tolerate you encourage — and it’s signal to the rest of your people that it’s acceptable — and, believe it or not, encouraged by you.
- And, it’s not a balancing act.
- You can’t offset X amount of negativity with X+X of positivity… doesn’t work that way.
- You must set standards, communicate them, and continuously reinforce them.
- As the leader, your job is to protect the culture by emphasizing — and modeling — the right behaviours. (Eades)