The Extraordinary Cost of Being Dull

The ‘extraordinary cost of being dull’ is a term Peter Field and Adam Morgan coined to describe advertising that has little to no impact on people. Over ⅓ of advertising (!) falls into this category, and is the equivalent of lighting your ad spend on fire 🔥 

Who will love this:

• People who get angry at boring ads

• People who get excited about ads that aren’t boring

• Anyone who’s binged SuperBowl ad and struggled to name more than 3 that were actually memorable

• Anyone who’s ever been given creative feedback to “tone it down a little”

Today

I’m on a plane right now, but thanks to the wonders of technology, I’m going to lecture share some thoughts about dull ads.

Marketing isn’t rocket science, but there is measurable science to show us what ads move people. And the bottom line is this: dull ads don’t move people. 

Let’s define what we mean by ‘dull.’ 

Dull ads are ads that leave people feeling nothing. And if you think that most ads are boring…you’re right.

A study last year demonstrated that most advertising is dull and doesn’t make a long term impact on business. In researcher Peter Field’s words, “The big problem for ad effectiveness these days is the ocean of dull advertising that generates no emotional responses at all.” 🌊

One of the most important things you can do as a brand builder is push for more creative bravery. Unfortunately, I think marketers have been overly reliant on ‘soft’ arguments like “humans are storytelling animals.” This is true. But like any good marketer: you need to speak to your audience. And if you’re a CMO, your audience is a founder, a board of directors, or shareholders who care about the bottom line. And sometimes, you need the cold hard data to back you up in the boardroom.

That’s part of why I started this newsletter: to give creatively frustrated brand builders the tools, the case studies and the stats to make the case for brand in the boardroom. 

Let’s dive in 🏊

🤔 The rule:

Money spent on dull advertising is wasted money.

➡️ Implication:

Make ads that elicit an emotional response from people.

❌ Avoid this common mistake:

Throwing more media dollars at boring ads (because they’re not working).

🏆 The case study:

A study of 32,500 ads shows that over ⅓ of all advertising today has no long term impact on a business. That means that the cost of production, plus the media spend supporting the promotion of the creative work, is utterly wasted. That’s…disappointing, to say the least, and alarming, if you’re responsible for the health and growth of a business.

💰 The bottom line:

Make people care about your brand and message by making interesting, emotive advertising.

👨‍🔬 The OGs behind this research:

Peter Field and Adam Morgan.

Summary

The cost of dull advertising is common sense to any good marketer, but it’s helpful to have facts to back yourself up when you’re talking to people who are more comfortable in boardrooms than creative reviews. And the facts don’t lie: Boring ads aren’t memorable. Be memorable. It’s how strong brands are built. And it’s way more fun.

👀 Brand scoops catching my attention this week

• This letter from Chime to ‘unlock America’s paychecks’

• Another in-house agency debate

• Pricey Seattle co-op PCC’s annual letter to members asking customers to ‘strengthen their commitment to the co-op’ after another no-dividend year (not mentioned in the annual letter: aggressive expansion)

That’s all! ✌️ I’m off to London ✈️. If you have recommendations for delicious food or interesting shops, I’m all ears 👂

Amanda

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