Key Point

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I was a Mad Man Ad Man back in the day. I was a young father of two. Among my favorite times were those quality moments with my kids. My daughter was precocious and curious. She had lots of questions. I  had no problem engaging here about the stuff that was important to me in the advertising business. A favorite, when she was old enough to understand the nature of advertising communication was a game we liked to call "Key Point". 

The game goes something like this. A routine evening in front of the TV would invariably be loaded up with commercials. Usually a 30 second spot. My challenge was to ask my pre-teen to watch some spots and identify the Key Point. 

A fast-talking guy says "when you absolutely, positively, need to ship something overnight. Fed Ex is fast and reliable. Right.

Mr. Whipple is in the grocery aisle telling shoppers to not squeeze the toilet tissue. Charmin is so soft, you only need to feel it to know it is the best. Right. 

Recommended by 4 out of five dentists to prevent cavities. Well they must know that Crest is best.

Choosy mothers chose Jiff. Well mom you know you want the best in your kid's lunchbox, even if it is only a PB&J. 

The key point was to appeal to consumers before they are faced with the purchase decisions at the grocery store. Now, I'm kind of sad to see the game has changed to much. An elephant never forgets because of what we used to promote in the ad biz - reach and frequency. Maybe we were guilty of a simple model that suggested a key point drilled into broadcast television ads was all we needed. I'm not gonna lie: I miss the basic formula that drove advertising agencies to find that one strong compelling reason to buy. Done well, the agency will be rewarded with more business because the client is seeing measurable gains in market share and maybe even brand loyalty that justifies paying a premium over other prodects in a category.