The Ad Man Answers #21

Thursday + Gregory Huffstutter = The Ad Man Answers

Q:  How much does advertising lie?

A:   In general, advertising is like a first date… you try to make the best impression given the circumstances.

In the car business, that usually takes the form of unique selling propositions:  “More headroom than Toyota Camry!”  “Better gas mileage than a Honda Civic!”  “$2,500 less than a Nissan Murano!”

These statements may all be true in a vacuum.  Your car might have more headroom than a Camry… but smaller overall cabin space.  Your better-than-Civic gas mileage might obscure the fact that higher annual service fees make your car more expensive to operate.  Your $2,500 savings vs. the Murano could be dependent on getting a stripped-down model that doesn’t have desirable features.

But those are all half-truths that hide the big lie. 

What I’m about to tell you is the dirty little secret of automobile advertising.  I could get blackballed, jailed, or even killed just for typing these words.  But I think it’s important to share this vital information with my close friends -- you are my close friends, right? -- to illustrate a larger point as it relates to book selling.

The big lie in the automotive business is this…

You don’t need a new car.

OK, that’s a slight exaggeration.  I’m sure a couple of you do.  Yesterday, you got rear-ended on the New Jersey Turnpike.  Or your old clunker just blew a head gasket and it’s going to cost you twice the blue book value just to swap out its trannie.

But 99% of you aren’t in such dire straits.  Your car may smell like your boyfriend’s pet Mastiff.  The air conditioning may sputter worse than Gilbert Gottfried.  But that hunk of metal in your driveway gets you from A to B for the price of gas and regular oil changes.

You don’t need a new car.  But you want one.

Your car is the ultimate grass-is-always-greener.  If you’ve got an Infinity, you want the Lexus.  If you’ve got a Lexus, you want the BMW. 

Now ask yourself this question… how many other things in your life do you spend over $10,000 to replace WHEN IT STILL WORKS?  You generally don’t do that with your washing machine, stereo system, or other big ticket items.  Furthermore, automobiles are a depreciating asset, losing thousands in value the second you drive it away from the dealership. 

So why do we behave this way?  Why do we find it perfectly normal to trade in a 4-year-old Saturn -- one that will still run for another 120,000 miles -- just because we’ve got a hankerin’ for a new car (maybe one in red this time)?

Because aside from 4-wheeled machines, the auto industry manufactures something more important… desire. 

They’re not even subtle about it.  What is Honda CR-V’s new campaign?  “CRAVE.” The new Cadillac CTS commercials ask:  “When you turn your car on, does it return the favor?”

Ever since birth, we’ve been bombarded by millions of auto industry messages that are geared (forgive the pun) to stimulate this desire.  You want, you need, you deserve a new car.

Which brings us to book advertising.  As authors and publishers, what is it you’re really selling?  Is it just a stack of bound paper with a pretty cover?  Is it something to put on your mantle?

I believe what should be sold is the journey.  The experience.  This could be a shared experience – like Harry Potter or the Da Vinci Code – where many readers want to see what all the fuss is about.  Or it could be a simple distraction to help pass a 6-hour layover in the Denver airport.

Not that she needs me to toot her horn, but the mistress of this blog, MJ Rose, nailed this concept with her TV commercial for “The Reincarnationist.”

What is MJ selling?  Thrills that will keep you up all night.  By focusing on this simple concept – instead of trying to cram her entire plot into a 15-second message – she taps into that emotional connection of reading a great thriller.

So authors, before you commission your next advertising campaign, think about the auto industry and ask yourself: What can I do to create that kind of desire for my product?

 

Gregory Huffstutter has been punching Ad Agency timecards for the past decade, working on accounts like McDonald's, KIA Motors, and the San Diego Padres. He recently finished his first mystery, KATZ CRADLE. The first 100 pages of his novel are linked here. For general advertising questions, leave a comment or send e-mail to katz @ gregoryhuffstutter dot com with 'Ask The Ad Man' in the subject line.

Comments

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