Currently, I’m reading a book titled Can’t Sell, Won’t Sell by Steve Harrison

It pulls back the curtain on a lot of shenanigans in the advertising world.

I’m only 60 pages in, but the premise of the book is clear.

Harrison, an ad agency owner himself, doesn’t pull any punches as he explains that the modern advertising industry (both in the U.S. and U.K.) is dominated by narrow-minded, woke, “champaign socialists” who are out of touch with the markets they are supposed to serve.

Ouch.

It gets worse. These advertisers are using their platforms (and clients’ cash) to amplify their social and political ideas. These agencies are not actually doing anything to make money for their clients.
Instead, they are trying to push a very particular idea of social justice onto every campaign that’s supposed to sell something.

But . . . much of this work has minimal impact on the products’ target markets.

For example: in 2018, the female hygiene brand, Libresse, released a music video titled “Viva la Vulva.” 

Viewer discretion isn’t just advised; I’d say it’s downright required.

The ad’s purpose was to be “a joyous and bold ode to the female anatomy that seeks to fight against the myths, insecurities, and stereotypes that women are subjected to when it comes to their genitals.”
I’ll let Harrison quote Tom Callaghan (retired creative director at Saatchi & Saatchi), who examines the supposedly bold and groundbreaking nature of this ad:

“Libresse needs growth—however much current users like the product, they’re not going to buy more than they need. So growth and sales must surely come from emerging markets. This spot doesn’t do anything to convince Third World women that the product will benefit them during their “dirty time.” But hey, it won a gold, so everybody’s happy. Except perhaps the woman rinsing last month’s bloody rag in the river, so she can use it next time” (pg. 48).

So, if you want to sell pads to women, do it in a way that will get you sales.

 
Don’t waste your marketing budget on creating a piece that will only impress myopic urbanites at a film festival.

Trust me on this: the mother of five who is  farming rice in Nigeria couldn’t care less about your views on sexuality and body positivity.

What she does care about is solving her problems.

It is your job to communicate to her how your product or service can solve her problems.

If you can’t (or won’t) do that, your sales will suffer.

Here’s why I’m bringing this up:

SaaS leaders are starting to realize the harmful impact of woke activism on their brands.

The leadership of Basecamp, for example, has recently learned that you can’t really run a SaaS company  if social justice activism is eclipsing everything else.

If your employees get the itch to advocate for a woke (or alt-right) issue, let them do it on their own time.

Besides, you’re dealing with the rise of a globally distributed remote workforce.

Employees around the globe are going to have very different views on social and political issues.

So just leave that stuff outside the office (physical or virtual) and focus on the basics of good advertising.

When it comes to good advertising, nothing beats knowing your target market. . . .

Giving them what they want . . . and in the way they want it.

At its core, the best advertising is solid writing connected to a creative idea.

Speaking of which . . .

My book shows business owners and entrepreneurs the exact steps for using their creativity to make lots of money. It costs around $30 everywhere else, but if you join my daily email list by clicking the link below, you can have a digital copy for free.

Get it here: https://powerpersuasion.net/