Mark Irving: Ideas at the core of any good ad

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Why ads with a strong core idea gain the best results

"What we needed was an avalanche of ideas that kept us separate from the competition."

- Anita Roddick, founder of the Body Shop.

Ideas are the basis of any memorable advertisement because great ideas connect and resonate more often with cynical consumers.

And it's not just ideas to be used in a print or radio ad. It's simple and easy ideas like putting your company website address on the outside of your building.

Or like yesterday when I used a fast food restaurant's bathroom and they had a vase of beautiful flowers placed beside the hand basin. This was something different, something unexpected. It made me think and remember that restaurant in a very favourable light. Good ideas bring results.

But the key is taking the good ideas and acting on them, otherwise it's still just an idea.

An example of a great print idea for Nature's Course Dog Food in America is: What happens without Nature's Course dog food?

The picture is of a dog with a gas mask looking at his bowl of dog food with the accompanying headline: "Too many pesticides in your dog food?" Chances are something like this, something with a bit of thought put into it is going to grab your attention more than this sort of headline: Nature's Course Dog Food.

Or a print ad for Actal Anti-Flatulent Antacid, with the idea or tagline: No wind. The visual is the picture of a weathervane covered in cobwebs.

I believe these ads are quite memorable because of the thought gone into them and the element of humour used. Because of the clarity of thought, both ads are uncluttered and easy to read and understand.

The other thing to note about these two ads is because the idea is so strong in both, I only really need to describe the ad and with a bit of imagination, I think most people could pretty much picture what I've described.

Compare that to many print ads you see and they would be described as being a bit like this: Company name at the top (instead of an intriguing headline to draw you in), a low quality shot of the product/products, perhaps a price, then the contact details at the bottom. And business owners wonder why their ads aren't working.

Now obviously ads such as Nature's Course and Actal Anti Flatulent Antacid will be more expensive to make because of the time spent devising the idea and producing it. So do you spend more money to get noticed and be remembered or do you spend as little money as possible and have an ad that isn't noticed and doesn't stand out from the competition?

However, as most people know, advertising can break the rules. You don't necessarily have to have an idea but what you come up with has to be good. As long as it captures and holds the attention and works for the client, that's all that matters.

This TV spot for Mitsubishi Motors is in my opinion one of the most memorable automotive car ads I have ever seen.

No idea, just superb images combined with a great soundtrack. The general public not involved in the advertising world generally doesn't analyse ads to see if they have an idea or not. It either grabs and maintains their attention or it doesn't. But more often than not it's advertisements with a strong core idea that sell and brands a product with the best results.


Mark Irving is the Director of Range Advertising and Communications.