I was having a think what my favourite ads are at the moment.
Given I’ve not really been going anywhere, none are outdoor ads – they’re all on TV.
They are as follows…
The AA
Red Bull
Be Gamble Aware
Having another think (if nothing else, lockdown does give plenty of thinking time), two things struck me:
1) There’s a dearth of good creativity out there – only the three ads above are any good at the moment
2) For all the other all-singing all-dancing platforms available, it’s still TV ads we talk about.
Name me your favourite digital banner ad.
Name me your favourite Instagram post.
Name me your favourite programmatic ad.
Name me your favourite DM piece.
In each case, I bet you can’t do it.
All of these ads on new platforms are incredibly well targeted… but instantly forgetable. Creativity has been lost in the process of simply reaching the right person.
TV has a huge reach, but puts a blanket over everyone – it’s not particularly well targeted.
But who doesn’t watch TV in this country?
TV ads will always be noticed and always be talked about – when we talk about great ads, it’s always ‘did you see that ad on TV?’
We even sit around waiting for the John Lewis Chistmas ad each year.
No one is sitting around waiting for a Facebook ad or a Tik Tok post.
In this digital age, when we’ve got more platforms than species of bird, you’d expect creativity to show its face elsewhere, but it hasn’t.
TV, that old guardian – old warhorse – of advertising, still leads the way.