The Eardley Factor



Eardley Factor Articles: Home: A Strategy Markedly Improving the Probability of TV Marketing Success The Eardley Factor and You Marketing Success Do Your Ads Match The Eardley Factor Standard of Excellence? EardleyFactor Confidently Predicts Bush Victory Teresa Heinz-Kerry's Democratic Disconnect Why John Kerry Lost Fox News 100 Ads Eardley Factor Evaluation Sublime, Subliminal, Secrets and Shambles CNN 100 Ads Eardley Factor Evaluation MSNBC 100 Ads Eardley Factor Evaluation ABC 100 Ads Eardley Factor Evaluation Fox News 37 Ads Eardley Factor Evaluation Hillary Rodham Clinton, Our Next President Eardley Factor Gives Mrs. Snowball the "Cold Shoulder" Predicting Election 2008 Through the Lens of Eardley Factor Analysis The Race to the White House Obama on the Slide `Walking the Plank' or `Jumping Ship?' McCain Back from the Brink Neuromarketing the Next Big Idea? Market Research the Poor Relation 'Head On' Proves the Point Dollar Woes Spell Doom Smell: The Sense We Neglect Bits and Pieces Primary Dyspepsia Don't be afraid of the 'Holy Grail' Mother's Milk Can Turn Women On! For Love or Money When Life was Brutish and Short Is Bob Prechter Right? Torture? What Torture! Dollar Weakness Now Critical Telling it like it is Do Your Ads Match The Eardley Factor Standard of Excellence? A few weeks ago, Britain's prestigious TV Network, 'Channel 4' presented a Sunday Evening 'peak time' viewing of 'The Most Famous 100 TV Ads of All T.' Well, that was the claim, although I hasten to add, it remained unclear exactly on what scientific basis the choices were selected. They were purported to represent the 'Viewers Choice.' How many viewers were polled and how the questions were phrased or slanted was not revealed. All we knew was that the program makers claim had to be accepted at 'face value' as a prerequisite for 'enjoying the show.' As a piece of entertaining television, it deserved a high rating. A succession of ads from the past floated by, reminding us all that products we first encountered in say, 1979, seemed like only yesterday. It made many feel that 'Times winged chariot' was in full gallop as a trip down memory lane held us in its thrall. ''Gosh, was that Ad really shown in 1984? The kids would have been only seven.'' That was the response of many of my friends in the discussion that followed. Then, to my surprise it occurred to me that although the ads were etched in my memory bank, in most cases I could not recall the product name. Neither could I recall ever purchasing many of the products associated with them. So, although the ads were memorable, they did not induce this writer to make a purchase. Conclusion: memorisation is not necessarily a positive lever to positive purchasing behavior. Indeed could it promote activity which is the exact opposite?. A most amusing ad from some years ago was featured in the show. It was for a very popular Australian Lager beer. Before progressing, American readers need to be aware that Australians appear to revel in being able to laugh at the stereotype of themselves as beer swilling and rather uncouth Philistines. This of course goes back to the origin of Australia as a Penal Colony and is most certainly not the case today---as the Sydney Olympics convincingly demonstrated. However, to return to the Beer! Paul Hogan, star of the 'Crocodile Dundee' Movies is seen standing in a theatre 'Royal Box' watching the ballet and drinking a pint of the lager. He is dressed appropriately and is accompanied by a high-quality lady in evening gown who is watching 'The Dance of the Little Swans' through opera glasses. Hogan shows no interest in the dancers, beautiful and artistic as they are, and continues to enjoy his pint. Suddenly, the principal male dancer leaps on to center stage dressed in the tightest of leotards. Hogan looks shocked and incredulous. He splutters into his glass and exclaims, ''There's a bloke without any strides!'' (There's a guy not wearing his pants!) It truly was a hilariously funny ad----but was it successful? Eardleyfactor analysts give it the 'thumbs down.' What in fact this ad does is simply to reinforce the old stereotype of the Ozzie Colonial. It is therefore a negative. What 'creatives ' need to be crucially aware of is that humor is not always at all effective as a selling vehicle. There is an important part of the mind which behaves in a very complex manner, and ignorance of this process makes advertising (for television especially) a veritable minefield. Someone once said, and it makes sense to me, that we laugh at situations because we are relieved that the 'butt' of the joke is someone else, and not us. How true! A second negative ad concerns the Audi automobile. Few would not agree that this marque represents German engineering at its best. Yet, an ad appeared not so long ago which did severe damage to its image. Since the War, relations between Britain and Germany have been 'so so.' Respect yes--affection--perhaps not. We admire their achievements but don't warm to them personally as much as we might. Personally I enjoy Germany and the 'Germans' but perhaps that's because I travel there often and I realise that stereotypes are foolish generalisations as 'common sense' informs. Now the 'creator of the Audi Ad thought he had a wonderful idea to connect us to Germans as people and not to some vague entity called German Engineering. Again, Americans should be aware that Germans have a cultural norm of identifying territory (like a place near the edge of a hotel swimming pool) as being their own, by placing one of their belongings, in this case beach towels, on the site in question. This means, 'This is mine. Keep off'.' So German vacationers would claim their space by placing towels in prime spots at the favored edge of the hotel pools in Spain and elsewhere where both nationalities would mingle freely Such a practice was anathama to Brits who have their cultural norm firmly rooted in 'first come, first served' ritual. So for a while this issue threatened to disrupt international vacation relations to crisis levels as many such towels were thrown into the pool, sometimes along with their owners. So now you have the background. The Audi is now presented as a feat of German excellence: reliable, speedy and desirable. The piece is succeeding beautifully until the 'creator' decides to end with what he thinks is a masterpiece of humor. Still showing the Audi in full screen the voice over informs would be purchasers, 'If you want to beat the Germans to the pool you are going to need an Audi.' You can work it out for yourself. Amusing? Well, yes because everyone could share the experience vicariously. Unfortunately all that emerged was that, '...those Germans were 'at it again.' Yet presumably someone was paid 'megabucks' for this piece and it was very doubtful whether any positive activity resulted from the underlying sentiments it presented. We at Eardleyfactor would have rejected this 'as was' and suggested appropriate ammendments. This program presents our analysts with a gold mine of information and opportunities to present our approach to Marketing and Advertising. Much will of course remain secret. The information we present here is to make members of the profession aware that in order to succeed every time, creativity has its place, but it must travel hand in hand with guidance from those with 'special knowledge' of what really motivates people to buy the product. It is not sufficient merely to be amused or entertained. The package must do its job deep down,in such a way as to make purchase inevitable when shoppers are faced with a choice of similar products. We at 'Eardleyfactor' encourage feedback from professionals. Please make your comments to us at the e-mail address provided. Robert Jack Eardley, M.D. Robert Francis Eardley, Cert. Ed., B.A. 3366 Commodore Drive e-mail: robertfrancis@eardley.org Lexington, Kentucky 40502-3602 (859) 229-7714 For those interested e-mail inquiry@eardleyfactor.com or robertjack@eardley.org