Viral advertising is a scam #bestofeverything

David Ogilvy

"Our business is infested with idiots who try to impress by using pretentious jargon."

~David Ogilvy

This is the time of year when the count down starts.  Media organizations clamber for attention in this space:  so WHAT were the top stories of 2015?  We can all decide what resonated with us when we include the hashtag #bestofeverything and start it trending, to stay at the top.  WHY?  Because it is up to the populace to decide what we think, not the media to tell us what they think we should.

The emergence of the IoT:  Internet of Things or what I would like to consider the power at the disposal of anyone and everyone who wants to make a difference.  We can decide what is best for making our world a better place.

Consider what surfaces in trending on Twitter tends to be what the people say it is.  What story resonates with people in real time?  The hashtag is now the tool for everyone to use to decide what they want to read.  It has no borders, it has no financial gain, it has no political clout.  It is simply what people everywhere, anywhere use to strengthen their position on what matters to them.

"Never write an advertisement which you wouldn't want your family to read.  You wouldn't tell lies to your own wife.  Don't tell them to mine." 

~David Ogilvy

If you're anything like me, I'm a little tired of being told what is important to me.  Thus, the creation of #bestofeverything hashtag.  I will say what songs I like, what movie is best, what charity is doing the most with the donations, what matters to me at the present day, present time.  The beauty of a hashtag is that you can go back on it and click so that anything and everything covered under #bestofeverything is sorted and appears in a sequence.  

#bestofeverything

Pretty inspiring if you think about it.  

I look back at a blog I wrote a couple of years ago called:  "Advertising boxes out Social Media"  where I evaluated the news and opinions at the time on how traditional advertising is being hung on to by the major brands.  I would endeavour to state that it was because the decision makers who plunk their money down on the roulette of response or ROI: return on investment.

"I notice increasing reluctance on the part of marketing executives to use judgment; they are coming to rely too much on research, and they use it as a drunkard uses a lamp post for support, rather than for illumination." 

~David Ogilvy

I'm a little giddy now.  It IS happening.  Brands are hiring agencies to spin stories in such a way that it fools the viral community into thinking it is a feel good story and is shared like the California Wild Fires

I called it back then, assertively calling it for what it was:  West Jet's feel good story back on giving gifts to unsuspecting recipients -- advertorial that leverages social media:  You Tube sensation and beyond.

"You now have to decide what 'image' you want for your brand.  Image means personality.  Products, like people, have personalities, and they can make or break them in the marketplace." 

~David Ogilvy

This week, I watched a story on Canada's CBC News on how West Jet is putting together another story that they hope will have the same results as before.  It was calculated, it was created and it was formulated so that people will click on it and VOILA!  They have free advertising ... in their own words.

"The pursuit of excellence is less profitable than the pursuit of bigness, but it can be more satisfying."  

~David Ogilvy

I called it back then and now it isn't surprising.  Social media gurus have been saying for at least five years, that social media has the ability to be free, explosive and immediate by reaching all corners of the sphere. As in all things remarkable, there is the good and the bad.

"Never stop testing, and your advertising will never stop improving."  

~David Ogilvy

This is where my opinion comes in:  back in the day, when I was in magazine advertising sales, and it still holds true to print media still today, that a story has a greater impact than any other form of advertising.  My first business book I read was just after high school in the early 1980s, on the eclipse of media power, "Confessions of an Advertising Man: Ogilvy on Advertising" an icon to many of that world, sharing his opinion and valuable advice that telling stories will have a greater appeal than an image or creating desire.

To the dismay of so many government bodies and regulatory organizations, they have no power over the internet.  Although print media has to have the disclaimer "Advertorial" on the top of any advertisement that appears like a story to fool folks out of thinking that they are reading a carefully crafted advertising piece.  

So, how do you distinguish the targeted, intentional advertising that has a main goal: to go viral.  They have teams of artistic, creative geniuses behind the force to create a viral hit.  The accidents will be fewer and farther between, while many folks will be fooled to think that it is a viral, feel good story.  When, in fact, it is created, written, acted (sometimes with or without employees or with hired actors), filmed, video, recorded and launched on social media:  You Tube, Twitter -- two of the greatest fuels for hashtags.  
Reader, observer:  beware.  They are trying to trick you into thinking it is an accidental capture of a feel good, or tear jerker  so that you will share, comment, and send it off into viral heaven.  

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"If it doesn't sell, it isn't creative."  

~David Ogilvy

One can't help but wonder if any regulatory enforcement will be launched to force brands to tribute it as such:  advertorial.  Perhaps a warning:  "If you click on this, you will be helping this company advertise for free."

The interesting part is there are folks that can and still do launch a viral explosion without a creative machine behind them.  Will people be able to distinguish it as such?  When I commented on West Jet's viral hit a few years back, I had a lot of irate people rant at me for not appreciating the wonderful work that West Jet was doing and couldn't I just be nice and accept it as a nice story that happened to go viral because people got free gifts (including a pair of socks).  According to others, it was hailed as "marketing gold".  For what?  Tricking people?

"A good advertisement is one which sells the product without drawing attention to itself."  

~David Ogilvy

I was trying to let the cat out of the bag then, and now they're broadcasting under CBC's story on how they are putting together this year's viral hit.  I'd like to think people are more informed and savvy.  However, the rules on print media to label "advertising" as what it is should be captured by the You Tubes and Twitters of the world to only allow it if it is labeled as a "sponsored promotion".  Make the rules for those who think they are so clever to break it.

One can't help but wonder if these same airlines paid as much attention to their customers by ensuring they get frequent flyer program points they may end up in the same monetary gain.  Rather than padding themselves on the back for fooling people.

It should be labeled as advertising.  It should be highlighted as "sponsored ads" and within the rules of marketing that has been around for decades.  Or simply, people will just ignore it and they will have to chalk it up to a poor return on their investment .... or the fact that people are wiser now.

"The best ideas come as jokes.  Make your thinking as funny as possible."  

~David Ogilvy

My choice for the best print ad for 2015