Ordinary Advertising

At a time when the average person has a hard time finding his or her ass–let alone half the world’s countries–with both hands and a Garvin Nuvi, this might seem like a hopelessly out of date subject. But, since I’m in the process of putting together a talk for some people in the travel industry, I’ve got destinations on the brain. And in particular, why it is that so little destination advertising comes even close to being extraordinary.

You’d think this would be an easy category. After all, as with any endeavor to develop extraordinary advertising, working in the travel category should start with a thorough exploration of the product on offer. Which, in this case, is bound to mean a “factory tour” more appealing than wandering around a chicken processing plant discovering why the words “awful” and “offal” sound so similar. Or even trying to keep up with the tour guide at a Saab plant while not being too obvious about your inspection of the Svenska flickas working the assembly line.

Alas, most travel advertising assignments do not come with a two-week jaunt down to one of Club Med’s swimsuit-optional resorts. They take you instead to a place that has water, trees, sand, mountains, golf courses, historical sites, poorly dressed people (choose any 3) and over-priced gift shops (that one’s a given). Along with a client who is absolutely convinced there is something truly unique about his or her venue. Which it shouldn’t take you long to discover exists only in that individual’s mind.

However, therein lies an important clue to doing extraordinary advertising, not just in the travel category, but in any category. The answer isn’t always (or even very often) out there; it’s in there. Or as Dan Wieden often says in explaining why locating his agency in Portland, Oregon hasn’t been a disadvantage: “The only geography that matters in advertising is the place that’s located between a person’s two ears.” Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus. And what’s inside that big bag of his is something called insight.

Case in point, the ad you see here, which I have to admit totally knocked my socks off. Not for its art direction, I hasten to add, since the creators of this ad could not have done a better job of burying the fact that the two people sitting beside each other appear on close inspection to be a mother and daughter. And personally, I would have rendered that headline: “…embarrassed to be seen with you.” But I consider those cavils given the extraordinary perspicacity of this observation. One that seems so utterly obvious after the fact–the hallmark of many sharp insights–but has, to the best of my knowledge, never been used in a travel ad before.

So, if you find yourself confronting an assignment and nothing especially galvanizing in the brief and materials you’ve been handed, don’t give up. Just take a look inside your head. There ought to be something there.