Overthink before you Ad..

Have you ever been accused of being an overthinker? 
Never? 
Really?
Me either……  Just kidding!  It happens all the time, no biggie, I no longer take offense to it.  
Somehow, it pays off.  I suppose you have to utilize the traits you come by naturally.  For instance, at
work, I’m often asked to structure an email or proofread a letter before it goes out and all the while,
poked fun at for changing and re-wording things.  “Didn’t you just say the same thing, but a different
way”, I’m asked. Uh, yeah Felecia and that’s exactly why you asked me to do this. If I just typed up
whatever was on my mind and sent it out to other professionals without wording it kindly, it would come
across as harsh or unkind.  You have to think not only about what you’re saying and how the message
is intended, but how someone else could read it and if they are going to take offense to it. Ya gotta look
at this stuff from many different angles.  
This is exactly the same with social media marketing and ads.  Face it, we live in a fast paced world
and with things constantly changing we have to be quick on our feet.  If we are in charge of coming up
with new ad ideas, we jump as quick as the idea hits before someone else has it and beats us to it. 
However, because of this, there are many ads that have gone awry.
Hello Bud Light circa 2015!  I mean, I get it, #upforwhatever, everybody has a need to get out and act
crazy and let all the garbage from the day fade away, but really?!  You can NOT mix a slogan like that
with alcohol and a phrase such as “The perfect beer for removing ‘no’ from your vocabulary for the
night”. When “no” and alcohol are involved together, most often this a date rape type situation and you
can not joke about date rape.  Something like 1 in 4 people have experienced date rape and a whole lot
more than that are not okay with joking about it. What am I saying here? Bud Light advertisers would
have done well to “overthink” that little campaign.  
If you’re unsure about something (and really, even if you’re sure about something), ask 5 friends first. 
It can only help. With over 80% of millennials being influenced by social media ads to make a purchase,
you don’t wanna mess that up.  Ninety percent of consumers are influenced by advertisements, so
you really should spend a little extra time thinking about what you throw out there.  It’s past time to get
creative. You have got to come up with funky, fresh, catchy ads for anyone to take notice.  
Another reason to be creative?  You may be remembered for it for longer than you think. 
Marshall McLuhan said “Historians and archaeologists will one day discover that the ads of our time
are the richest and most faithful daily reflections any society ever made of its whole range of activities.” 
It’s an interesting thought (that you may want to overthink about).


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