A look into the heart of some very creative ads

We are bombarded by advertising every single day. From the moment you turn on your TV or radio till the second you go to sleep at night, the average person in the US is exposed to 3,000 forms of advertisements. But why do some ads stick with us, while others blend into the background? The answer lies in how creative the ads are.

While going about our daily lives, our brains filter a large percentage of the ads we see or hear. But once in a while, a very creative ad will interrupt what we are doing and hit home with us. And there are 2 key reasons why this works.

First is the creative ad that matches our current or future needs. If you have a leaky faucet in your home and it has been dripping for weeks and your spouse is constantly complaining about it, any ad that offers a quick and easy solution will immediately grab your attention. That type of ad works because it stimulates you reticular activating system. This is a special part of your brain that works to help you when you have a goal that you want to accomplish.

The second type of creative ad that is effective at being remembered is one that is out of the ordinary. This one is unique or strange or different enough to get us to focus on it even though it is not something we are immediately in need of. These impulse ads interrupt us through humor or the use of strange, unique or unbelievable imagery and then while we are focused they deliver the advertising message. These are often used in the popular super bowl ads. They also work very well in print advertising.

A notable example that I can recall was an ad on the back of a bus for quitting smoking. There was a large picture of a man's face. His mouth was positioned precisely over the exhaust pipe of the bus and a caption read "Are you ready to quit"? Imagine how many people driving behind that bus saw that ad and remembered it. And now imagine how many of those people were also thinking about quitting smoking?

This was an example of an advertisement that was both memorable, interruptive and targeting the reticular activating system of the potential client.

When you come across advertising that you find memorable, I challenge you to try to guess if the ad is targeting your RAS or is it designed to be extra ordinary or both. Make a list of these ads and keep them in a folder. The next time you are looking for some creative inspiration, take a look at them and see what your mind will think of.

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