LETTERS : Surprise & Relevance

AdMedia,  Jun 1, 2007  

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Dear Ed:

Thank you for selecting The Village at Matakana advertisement [Lexie Ribot's 'Front Page' column in AdMedia May] as an example of the relevance of long copy.

Your judgement was a sound one, according to the results our client enjoyed with these ads. There were only two, each appearing once, yet the client was deluged with enquiries. And The Village, if you visit now, is thriving.

But I would suggest the executions benefited from something equally essential - surprise. Ads that are relevant but which exhibit no surprise are inherently boring (there have always been loads of these around).

Ads that surprise but exhibit no relevance are inherently irritating (these have never been more numerous).

Ads that surprise and are relevant get read, and make a connection. Here are a few phrases you might recall and that I hope make the point:

* The Swedish Chimpanzee method (plus a sounder way to get rich).

* I7 ingenious (but perfectly legal) ways to avoid paying your debts.

* It takes a tough man to make a tender chicken.

* Answer these ten questions and work out the date of your own death.

* Quite frankly, the American Express Card is not for everyone.

* Drive it like you hate it.

* Volvos last a long time. Isn't that bad for business?

* At 60 miles an hour the loudest noise in this new Rolls-Royce comes from the electric clock.

In the case of our Matakana ad, surprise and relevance are bound together by the self-conscious use of long copy. Who would have time to read it? Exactly the kind of person who would appreciate it and appreciate the pace of life in Matakana.

As to the credits, I was CD and copywriter; Dag Young did art direction, typography and illustrations; and the client deserves a mention approving it and not changing it: Richard Didsbury, The Village at Matakana.

Mario McMillan

mariom@departmentofdoing.co.nz

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