That same art director pal who used to intone, in his Memphis accent so thick you could pour it over pancakes, “it’s easy to criticize” had another wonderful expression–for things that were unlikely to happen anytime soon such as Halley’s comet or Marty & Ralph approving a campaign the first time around–which was: “when donkeys fly.”
Well, now I’ve seen exactly such a thing. Only in this case it was a piece of internet advertising that really, truly worked: The “don’t give up on Vista” banner ad that greeted me when I opened to my Times homepage last Friday. It’s not there today, but I hope it reappears because it’s genuinely swell.
However, lest any of my “the internet is going to take over” readers think I’ve finally seen the light, forget it. I remain as obstinately convicted as ever that the people who believe that are the ultimate “men with hammers” although in their case it’s more like “To the people with some facility for coding or a glancing familiarity with search engine optimization, everything is web based.”
But, as this internet ad for Mac clearly demonstrates, without the TV commercial that preceded it, it would not have worked a lick. Yes, I probably would have noticed its slightly unusual construction, linking a video block at the side with a dynamic banner above. But would I, or anyone, have ever taken the time to activate it? I very much doubt it. And it’s effect would have been severely blunted to put it mildly. Which leaves us right where I think we belong: forced to recognize that internet advertising is and will remain one tool among many in the advertising toolbox. Just as the consumers of our advertising will never be content to simply play the role of “nails”.
And while we’re in the hardware store, I’ve heard that “man with a hammer” quote attributed to Abraham Maslow, but I’m pretty sure Mark Twain beat him to it by about 50 years. What we do have Mr. Maslow to thank(?) for is the “hierarchy of needs” whence we got the infamous “benefit ladder” which still has me waking up in a cold sweat some nights hysterically crying “Ladder up, ladder up?!” in the same deranged tone Paul Dooley used to shout out: “Refund…refund?!” in that scene from the movie “Breaking Away.”
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