UNCONVENTIONAL AD LESSONS

I ran an ad on Kijiji for a red guitar I owned and had no luck selling it.  

A few weeks after the ad ran I re read it and realized it sucked.  

So I wrote a new headline to say "RED GUITAR FOR PEOPLE WITHOUT A RED GUITAR" 

The headline was odd and a bit funny and the guitar sold on the first day.

Which shows you that a humorous story and simple message sells.

Knowing what questions to ask is critical when you buy media.

This is a carnival game where you fish for coke cans to win prizes.  A competitor tried to set it up and bought hundreds of coke cans to copy the game.  He wasted his money because he bought the wrong cans.  The game you see here uses old 1970's cans that are made of steel so they can be picked up with the magnetic fishing poles. The competitor bought new aluminum cans so magnets didn't work.

Oops! He should have asked the right question.

What you leave out of your ad is as important as what you put in. 

 If your audience already knows something leave it out. Use your company name no more than you would in normal conversation.  Leave out cliches, comparisons and promises you can't deliver on. Don't put in complicated messages.

Remove the hay!