Publicity Hounds hate spending money on ads when they can generate thousands of dollars in free print space and air time for next to nothing.
That said, there might be times when you MUST buy an ad to promote a product. I seldom read ads. But an ad for Huggies Pull-Ups Training Pants, in an issue of Nick Jr. Family magazine, caught my eye.
The vertical ad took up a third of the page and looked like the standard tips list you might see in the editorial section of the magazine. It was titled “Tips for Praising Potty Training Success.”
The list included 5 ways parents can potty-train their toddlers. It gave the number of the Potty Training Totline where junior can enjoy a special potty training song coaching him through the process. Another
tip suggested parents reward a child for an accident-free day with a special backyard sprinkler party. My favorite tip suggested a great motivational incentive–Pull-Ups Training Pants’ new Glow-in-the-Dark
designs.
“After using the potty, turn off the lights, applaud and praise your child for being a Big Kid® with Big Kid® Glow-in-the-Dark underwear,” the ad suggested.
I was fascinated by the entire ad, even though I’m not potty-training anybody. Huggies took a standard tip sheet and simply used what could have been editorial copy in the ad. The only thing that looked different was their product logo at the top.
Next time you have to buy an ad, consider a tips list. It might do a better job of keeping readers engrossed in your ad than the standard advertising copy, and you’ll be able to insert things such as product names that might be edited out of editorial copy.