The Damn Bad Ad That Done Good …

The video below is an example of a type of ad we’ve been running recently on Facebook, YouTube, and other social media networks.

It’s modelled after some of the ads that were run by David Ogilvy to promote Ogilvy & Mather way back in the late 1940s. The ad defies just about every video ad best practice you’ll hear about in the modern age.

For example …

They say people today have the attention span of a goldfish. Yet the below ad is 7 minutes 1 second long. None of the ads I’ve created in this genre are under 5 minutes. All successful.

Of course, if they’re telling you to make your video 30 seconds long max, where do you put the call to action?

Obviously, I violated this one, too. The first call to action in this video is at 2 minutes and 45 seconds.

And what about production values?

Usually, I use a couple of lights to brighten things up. But I forgot them when I shot this particular ad. The background color is also a vile green which I’m not fussy on.

It didn’t matter. People are still signing up in droves.

Guilty again.

And how about this one?

OK, so this one I kind of got right. I am wearing the t-shirt. But there is no mention of Science Of Client Getting in the copy and I don’t even tell them my name.

So what kind of a score are we looking at?

.5 out of 5.

A total loser.

Then why does the ad work?

My theory, well not really my theory, David Ogilvy’s theory was this …

The video ad equivalent is to provide valuable information right in the video.

The result is much higher levels of commitment when people click on your ad and much higher conversion.

Sure, there may be far fewer of them clicking through to the landing page, but almost all of them convert.

Ads for Ogilvy & Mather were butt-ugly, just like my video. And they were jam-packed with tiny 10-point copy extolling the virtues of direct response copy. They looked like articles and were full of useful information.

All-right, I know, enough teasing.

You want to see the offensive 7-minute ad.

Well here it is:

And here’s the infamous “learn more” button below.

I hope you find the video useful, and in case you’re wondering, it’s live and current, feel free to opt in and you’ll get all of the promised goodies.

Until next time, Good Selling!

source http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/DanielLevis/~3/KlAoY0zUH68/