There are lots of ways that the top designers and firms work to meet their clients goals and being successful in the world of design means having a handle on how to create original ideas. Most designers would agree that it’s the execution of a great idea that makes it a success.

The Hartford Business Review recently published an article on their website by Warren Berger entitled Four Phases of Design Thinking . Warren Berger is the author of GLIMMER: How design can transform, business, your life, and maybe even the world (Penguin Press). He edits the online magazine GlimmerSite.com too. His article was so informative, we thought it was well worth our time to review how designers work to create successful innovative ideas.

Throughout the world of design, there are some shared behaviors that top designers follow in order to achieve significant breakthroughs. Second nature habits that were found to be common among expert designers and to their ability to transform an original idea into a successful innovation included; asking questions, caring, connecting and committing. If you’re a designer you will recognize these shared behaviors and if you’re looking for design work to be done, these are the steps that a top notch designer will most likely follow.

Designers Ask LOTS Of Questions

• Seasoned designers ask lots of questions.
• They work to raise questions in order to begin their design project.
• Designers strive to challenge the current reality or assumption in an industry.
• The creative mind works to learn the mainstream obvious and then figures out a way twist or morph it into an original idea that will turn into a successful innovative idea.
• A creative individual will often ask basic “why” questions that might seem naive and sometimes puts people on the defense.

When a designer asks why, they are really encouraging people to step back and reconsider old problems or practices that might be out of date. This gives the designer the ability to re-frame and steer thinking in a new direction. By striving to stretch the question of why to all facets of a project, they are able to rethink the basic fundamentals of a business. In the current economy and ever so volatile marketplace, this breeds innovation that gives birth to success.

A Great Designer Cares

• Designers do their best work by stepping out of the corporate bubble.
• They immerse themselves in the lives of their target market or audience.
• By observing and paying close attention to the customer they are trying to reach, they are able to dig out the consumer’s deep unspoken needs.
• Designers work hard to be present in people’s lives.

Lots of companies can say they care about their customer’s needs. Focus groups and questionnaires don’t really scratch the surface as to what makes an individual choose to buy a product. In order to reach a consumer on an emotional level, you have to empathize with them. This is the leverage that a good designer brings to the creative table. They strive to learn how their customers feel, how they think and how they live. By doing so, a seasoned designer learns what pushes a person to buy a product, join a marketing campaign, or become a faithful follower and consumer.

Designers Are Able To Connect

• A designer works to synthesize ideas.
• The creative thought process can take existing elements or ideas and combine them together in new ways.

Hiring a designer doesn’t always mean that a business will be forced into a new set of marketing materials or professional identity. It’s the job of a designer to also consider their clients current business elements and think laterally. Sometimes new ideas are not born fresh or invented from scratch. New ideas can be found by searching for new ways to combine current or older ideas. Designers do this by connecting them in a new way. They generate a new idea that is often comprised of scattered or mismatched ideas that didn’t seem to go together. This can be a shortcut to innovation. By combining previous ideas, this can help a business retain their original identity and brand, and simply strive for a new look, new message or re-tool their branded look to be more attractive to the public.

Designers Achieve Success Through Commitment

Designers are able to commit early to an idea.

They take original ideas and move them beyond imagination by giving them Form.

This Form makes an idea Real.

Designers are comfortable with putting an idea out into the marketplace when it’s young and imperfect.

A designer knows how to accept short-term failure.

Creative professionals have the ability to “fail forward”.

Some of the greatest designers have gone back to the design board more than once to tweak an idea into success. With their focus on commitment, the creative mind is often very comfortable with risk, more so than the average person is. They know that small failures are useful tools that provide a process for learning what needs fixing. In times of fast dynamic change, many companies need a confident designer on their team that can operate in a “test and learn” environment. In this type of work situation a designer will be required to create multiple or rapid prototypes. In design, the name of the game is often—Change it—Revise it — Until it STICKS!

Businesses and designers can look forward to forging a profitable partnership when they work towards a common goal. One way to do that is for the designer to explain what they will be doing, how they work their process and why they follow certain steps to achieve success. Through the use of an open line of communication, businesses can learn how to apply their designers behavioral habits to their own creative process. Being able to generate innovative and fresh ideas that  are attractive to consumers can push a business from hum-drum to sensational and victorious!

We welcome new ideas and you might inspire us for our next blog post! Share your thoughts and tips by posting comments for us. Thanks for reading!

By Sara Hassler

If you’re thinking about including social media into your marketing plan, here are some great trend reports and statistics to put that thought into action. Finding the time and dollars to allocate to social media marketing is on the tip of every marketing executives tongue. One reason is that social media is trending and is not just a trend. The digital age is evolving and we are finding that we can reach out and touch someone through being a friend on Facebook, linking to them on LinkedIn or posting a blog for them read at their convenience. Through these social media networks, businesses have found a new way to communicate with their target markets to grow their business. Check out how social media is currently trending and the stats that back it up.

Social Media Marketing Is On The Rise

“The State of Small Business Report”, by Network Solutions, LLC and the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business, showed that the downed economy has contributed to the popularity of social media networks.  The study reported that:

• Small businesses increased their use of social media from 12% to 24% in the last year.
• An estimated 1 out of 5 small businesses are involved in using social media as a part of their marketing strategy.

How Businesses Use Social Media

Small businesses reported the following:

• 75% have a company page listed on a social networking site.
• 69% post updates or articles on social media sites .
• 57% build out a professional  network through a site like LinkedIn.
• 54% closely observe the feedback they receive about their business.
• 39% have set up and maintain a blog.
• 26% tweet about their area of expertise.
• 16% use Twitter as a service channel.

Social Media  Expectations

The report showed  businesses who have worked with social media as part of their marketing plan had mixed reviews on how it met their expectations.

• 58% felt that social media had met their expectations.
• 25% felt that social media had fallen short of what they had hoped for.
• 12% reported that social media network sites had exceeded their expectations.

For businesses that reported social media had fallen short of their expectations:

• 50% said that social media had used more time than they had expected.
• 19% thought social media had lost them money.
• 17% felt that social media networks allowed people/customers to criticize their business.

Messages Sent Through Social Media

eMarketer showed that social media marketing does not choke innovation out of existence. Instead some of the most successful small businesses are able to compete by offering superior services. The small business model has embraced social media as a means to keep themselves tied to their customers. Businesses felt that they could engage their audiences through social media. They also reported to use social media to tap into knowledgeable resources.  

How Social Media Budgets Will Rise

Over the last several months marketing professionals have been found to be leaning towards the importance of creating a budget for social media marketing. Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business and the American Marketing Association, “The CMO Survey” reported that social media marketing budgets are on the rise. The report showed that businesses currently budget 6% of their marketing dollars to social media. They expect this amount to increase 10% in the next year and 18% over the course of the next 5 years.

In August 2009 marketing professionals had also been found to have planned to incorporate a higher budget dedicated to social media marketing efforts. In February 2010, those marketers had reported that they would be budgeting one-fifth of their dollars to social media marketing over the next 5 years.  Current social media marketing budget trends are:

• August 2009: 3.5% budget allowance was spent on social media marketing.
• February 2010: Social media marketing budgets had risen to 5.6% .

Social Media The Big Buzz

According to the Marketing Executives Networking Group and Anderson Analytics, their report entitled “Marketing Trends 2010″ found that mastering social media was high on the priority list for marketing professionals. The number one  buzzword to keep on the tip of the tongue in 2010 was Marketing ROI —rate of return on marketing efforts.

• 58% of marketing executives thought social media was a trend to keep an eye on.
• 42% of marketing professionals chose social media as a top trend to watch which made social media marketing hit the list of the top 10 productive marketing initiatives.
• 72% of professionals in marketing reported that they work with companies that have planned a social media marketing program for 2010.  

Social Media – Who Is Using It & How

The study by Anderson Analytics also showed the differences on how social media marketing was being used. Individuals and professionals were found to use social media networking sites like Facebook and LinkedIn. Companies were found to utilize the blog as their main social media tool.

The Anderson Analytics study also reported that social media marketing plans were handed to internal employees, social media consultants and interactive agencies. Marketing professionals that were in charge of carrying out social media initiatives were not found to be looking to PR or ad agencies to head their social media campaigns.

So if your business is working to plan a social media marketing program, feel confident that you are not diving into a trend that will disappear any time soon. Many studies have been performed to analyze the worth of social media marketing and have found that businesses all over are planning to incorporate social media into their marketing budgets. Reaching out to your customers, target marketed and creating an open line of communication through social media is here to stay.

The foundation of successful companies has always been to become a reliable source for their customers.  Long standing businesses look to become a resource in which customers can count on and communicate with. Social media networking allows a business the open line they need to communicate the message that their customers need to hear—you can count on us and you can rely on us. A message that can now be broadcast through social media networks 24 hours a day, 365 days a year— which is more than a stamped postcard can offer.

The world of traditional marketing is ever-changing and as it leans into the digital online world, we encourage you to dig your business heels in and enjoy planning your social media efforts!

We welcome new ideas and you might inspire us for our next blog post! Share your thoughts and tips by posting comments for us. Thanks for reading!

By Sara Hassler

SEO, otherwise known as Search Engine Optimization, refers to the steps followed to optimize a website. Websites  are optimized by changing or improving parts of their internal or external features, like improving website copy text, keyword tags(internal) or web hosting controls(external). SEO also works to improve site design and content that will increase traffic. The ideal traffic that the optimization targets is search engine traffic.

There are individual consultants, small businesses and large firms that specialize in SEO. Some Search Engine Optimization specialists are focused in one specific area and others are broad and generalized. Because optimizing a website requires attention to a variety of unique elements, some specific and others general, many SEO professionals describe their work as being in the open field of website optimization.

Companies and individuals need Search Engine Optimization because web traffic is controlled and “driven” by the top commercial search engines, AskJeeves, Yahoo!, Google and MSN (AOL pulls about 10% of searches and is powered by Google results). Web users who are looking for content, services, products or information are generally using a key method of web navigation—search engines. If a website can’t be found by these major search engines or the content of a website can’t be put into their databases, then those sites lose out on valuable traffic.

To simplify, the words we use when we type letters into the search box are valuable. These searches are called search queries and usually contain a phrase that is then best matched to a specific website. Many people agree that their experience has proven that search engine traffic can have a tremendous impact on a website’s success. Since targeted visitors can offer publicity, revenue and exposure, Search Engine Optimization offers a substantial rate of return on investment.

Search engines like Yahoo!, AskJeeves, Google and MSN need SEO help because they are limited in how they operate. Search Engine Optimization helps to make content available to the search engines and can also boost search engine ranking. With content that is easily found, sites are placed where web users can see it – page one of a search, instead of page 32. Organizations, businesses and individuals can pick up visitors, attention and lift a website to gain more visibility by performing Search Engine Optimization.

As you begin on your journey into the wide world of Search Engine Optimization here are a few quick tips on how to make website text search-friendly!

Search engines cannot index certain text styles and as a result, many sites struggle with making their text search-friendly. Search engines cannot read, index or pull the following text styles:

• Text embedded in a Java Application or Macromedia Flash file
• Text in an image file – jpg, gif, png or other image.
• Text accessible only through a form or other on-page action

Search-friendly text can be described as text that the search engines can spider and index. When creating text in HTML it’s critical to website rank and getting indexed properly to make your website text search-friendly. Search engines measure the phrases and terms in text copy and pull information about that page based on their findings. Finding the right balance of how to create content that is reader friendly and “search-friendly” could be considered both an art and a science. The following rules apply when working to optimize on-page text for search rankings:

Create and make the primary phrase/term stand out.

Keyword density is now considered useless. General frequency is what helps ranking.

Create web content that is high quality and on-topic.

Search engines are sophisticated and analyze content to find quality pages. They also have teams of researchers that work to find quality writing.

Structure your text/document.

A journalistic format is common and preferred. The copy starts with a description and then moves from broad to narrow in subject and content.

Cozy content works so keep website text together.

When creating a document or on-page content, it’s important to avoid breaking text through coding. One way to do this is by using tables that have text sections like content, ads and navigation that flows.  Too many “nested” tables can create broken sentences and paragraphs that are not search-friendly.

Layout and keyword usage has little value.

Website layout and keyword usage used to be considered important in search engine ranking. That’s no longer the case. Structure and keywords offer a slight boost in ranking, but the overall benefit is low.

By following these basic search friendly rules when creating your online copy content, you will enjoy higher search engine rankings, increased traffic and possible income potential and growth. The World Wide Web is forever evolving and keeping up with the newest and most up to date information is crucial to successful website design and development. Search Engine Optimization is for people, businesses and organizations that want to grow their online presence through the use of technical, creative and structured content.

We welcome new ideas and you might inspire us for our next blog post! Share your thoughts and tips by posting comments for us. Thanks for reading!

By Sara Hassler

Trick Google by Tricking Out Your Website with SEO — Search Engine Optimization!
It’s not hard to figure out why there’s so much buzz about SEO (Search Engine Optimization) lately. With information pouring from every direction, all points lead to the King of Content: Google.
To fully understand how to make the most of your website and drive traffic home, first we should take a look at how Google works.
• The most popular search engine is Google
• 90% of internet traffic flows through Google
• Google AdWords drive more traffic to your website
• Google regularly crawls social network sites looking for backlinks
• As a popularity search engine, Google “sees” sites loaded with backlinks as being “popular”
• The more popular a website appears, the higher ranking Google will make that website
• Text and images are indexed by Google

Trick out your website by focusing on the key points that will make you look successful in Google’s crawlers. Like a spider web, connect all your threads by following this simple To Do List:

1. Register with Google
By submitting your site to Google you automatically get listed on websites to be crawled.
• Get website traffic flowing through your site by signing up for Google AdWords
• Budget your AdWord program costs by capping your monthly budget
• Start small and build up to a larger budget when the money starts rolling in

2. Become Popular
Google loves a popular website and will offer a higher ranking to your website if its crawlers think you’re important.
• Make some friends and get them to backlink to your site
• Create a blog and post comments on other blogs; this can also backlink to your website
• Offer special deals or affiliate programs to sell your products and you get more backlinks

3. Content is King
Google crawls the World Wide Web like a spider crawls its own garden web. Looking for food, Google considers text and images good to eat—or index, as techies call it. So, make your website copy content the king of your site:
• Create extra pages—like about 100—and you’re wearing Emperor’s Clothes
• Add articles, make comments, create blog pages, offer areas for comments, split up your articles and resize them to be smaller so you use more pages; spend as much time as you can afford creating your text copy because Google indexes each page as a separate entry—the more the merrier
• When designing your pages, create keywords and phrases that you think surfers will try to look up, then use those keywords and phrases as much as you can in your text content
• Entitle your pages with important keywords and phrases too because Google considers a title more valuable to index and offers it a higher level than a description
• Add images to your pages to make your website pages stand out—not only to Google, but your surfers as well

4. Be Social
Rumor has it that getting your site listed on Google is enough. It’s not. Google loves the social network sites.
• Get your site listed on the social media network sites
• Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn are great social network sites to join
• Once you join as many social network sites as you can, list your website on your profile page
• Get others to link to you and your website and Google will automatically think your website is popular

It’s not hard to come up with new ways to market your website. The key to unlocking the mystery of SEO, Search Engine Optimization, is to understand how search engines work, what they look for and how they rank websites. To be on top, you will need to work your way there. One by one, by following a few simple steps you can look forward to weaving your own spider web and getting listed as a top website that attracts heavy traffic.
We’re all in this together because the web was created to catch social butterflies. We welcome new ideas and you might inspire us for our next blog post! Share your thoughts and tips by posting comments for us. Thanks for reading!

by Sara Hassler

Some of the latest news in advertising and marketing proves that the business is a study in contrasts. In this tech-savvy era of split-second attention spans, forward thinking is an absolute essential. On the other hand, some of the tried-and-true maxims of marketing still hold true.

Is that a David Bowie making a web on your porch? Probably not, as he’s indigenous to Malaysia.

If you’re confused, you missed the story on German arachnid expert Peter Jager, who named his most recent discovery Heteropoda davidbowie, after the rock icon who brought us Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars.

Jager has intentionally given the arachnid an attention-getting name in the hopes of drawing public awareness to endangered spider species. It’s working. The Heteropoda davidbowie scored an article in the LA Times and several other media outlets. When was the last time you read about an arachnid expert?

Jager is not just a scientist, but a master marketer.

Microblogging service Twitter, which many businesses are now taking advantage of as a powerful and simple ad tool, may soon start carrying ads. A recent change to the terms of service opens the door for targeted ads to appear on users’ pages.

Twitter reached 44.5 million unique visitors last June, proving that the possibilities for reaping ad-generated revenue are through the roof.

It’s not just Twitter that’s evolving. A recent article in the UK’s Guardian profiles media owner Vice. Says the Guardian, “A new breed of agency is not just making ads, but creating ready meals, signing bands and blurring the boundaries.” They mention Vice’s “global network of writers, photographers, designers and artists.” (Hmm, sounds familiar.)

But, at the same time that marketing ideas are catapulting into the future, there’s something to be said for continuing the use of traditional mediums, too. In a recent USA Today column , business expert Steve Strauss emphasizes the importance of newspaper ads at a time when many are saying the medium is losing ground.

Strauss shows that for specific types of advertisers, newspapers can be an integral part of their ad campaign, especially to reach niche markets. Says Strauss, “62% of those with postgraduate degrees said they read a newspaper in an average week.” Newspaper readers also tend to be more affluent these days.

Addressing the issue of fewer readers, Strauss says there’s an upside. Less ads means that yours stands out even more.

“In addition, lower circulation means that the people who do read the paper are more committed to it and more likely to read it closely. Moreover, since these discerning readers tend to have more disposable income, that means they make better potential customers.”

It can be difficult to strike the balance between progressive thinking and time-honored sensibility. Oozil is up to the challenge. Are you forward-thinking enough to recognize it?

By Elizabeth Kelly

As Oozil stays on the cutting edge of creative micro-marketing, we constantly keep our eyes opened for what’s happening in the world of advertising. Here’s a brief round-up to keep you in the know as well.

Sunday night’s premiere of AMC’s hugely acclaimed series Mad Men has the Internet buzzing as the show begins its third season. The flagship show for AMC, Mad Men takes place in the center of the world of advertising, during the period of post-war affluence that defined the concept of the American Dream: the ’60s.

In William Bradley’s Huffington Post article , he argues that even though Mad Men takes place in the past, it’s every bit relevant to the present. Says Bradley: “Advertising is a fascinating industry, an intriguing window into our society and ourselves. It’s how we are sold, and how we sell ourselves, on things. It both reflects and mutates life’s fundamentals. ”

In the New York Daily News , writer Patrick Huguenin argues that Mad Men’s main character Don Draper would have a hard time surviving in today’s marketing world without making some modern adjustments. To step it up, he’d have to “…get on Twitter, address increasingly specific minority and youth audiences, throw even sexier parties and – here’s the rub – try not to drink so much at work.”

Huguenin goes on to give us stats on five real-life advertising geniuses –the modern day Mad Men and Women– who would give Don Draper a serious run for his money.

British Airways hasn’t yet resorted to advertising in the waterways, but they have decided to use ad placement to help counter their recent slump. The airline recently announced that they would begin placing ads on their boarding passes (making them the first major European airline to do so), and also open up their web page to ads. With 500,000 hits daily, BA expects third-party advertisers to pay well for placement on their site, and Jaguar has already anted up.

Advice to British Airways: use some of  the money earned from selling ads to generate your own.  All too many financially-strapped companies cut their ad budget in times when they need it the most.  A good campaign has been known to completely turn around a business. (Another thing Oozil knows.)

By Elizabeth Kelly

Reading Oozil’s blog is one way to keep up with what’s new in advertising and creative work, but there’s an even better way. Join the site. Become a part of Oozil and don’t just read about it in the news; be a newsmaker yourself.

As Oozil prepares to move us into the future, it’s interesting to think about the past and its relationship to advertising. As much change as we’ve experienced in the last hundred years, from technological advances to social, cultural, and political changes, some of the main components of advertising are still surprisingly the same.

Take a look through the advertisements in 19th century copies of Harper’s Weekly, and while you’ll see unfamiliar products like laundry ringers and velocipedes, you’ll find that the techniques used are similar to ones still in use today. People still buy for the same reasons that they did one hundred years ago, looking for products to enhance their lives in some way.

An 1866 ad for a family sewing machine includes a written testimonial from Mrs. Ulysses S. Grant, who says that “…I can hardly see how any thing could be more complete or give better satisfaction.” The celebrity endorsement was in full swing long before radio or television.

Other ads used clever wording and verses to sell their products. Dr. Wolcott’s Pain Paint is proof that there’s always been room for unusual health cures (remember “Head-On. Apply directly to the forehead?”) Dr.Wolcott’s clever poem also alluded to current events, mentioning the impeachment of 1868.

Today, some ad campaigns even reach into the past to find their sales hook. Building a brand can be hard, but if you can associate a product with a pre-existing icon, one that has already established an image, then you’ve built a product image in an instant.

That’s what GAP did a few years ago when they used film footage of Audrey Hepburn in black capris to almost singlehandedly make the look popular with women again. Prior to that, GAP launched a successful ad campaign using actual photographs of legendary people wearing their khakis. And not just any famous names, but some of the most famous names of all time: James Dean, JFK, Marilyn Monroe, Bogart, Picasso.

The effect was more controversial when Dirt Devil chose to splice footage of Fred Astaire dancing with images of their product, making it appear that Astaire was dancing with a vacuum cleaner. While many were appalled and thought it was disrespectful of the movie icon, Dirt Devil left the commercial on for a whole year, enjoying the added attention the controversy brought.

Author Kinky Friedman says that no matter what obscure, jungle-deep, untouched-by-civilization place you travel, the people there will still recognize Elvis, Jesus and Coca-Cola. If that doesn’t show the impact of an icon, I don’t know what does.

While today we’re marketing iPods and phone apps and tomorrow it might be hovercrafts, the message is the same as it was when we were hawking mustache wax. If anything, it only emphasizes the importance of finding creatives who can deliver that message again and again in new and exciting ways.

And where to find them? You’re in the right place.

by Elizabeth Kelly

A few weeks ago, I posted about the success of three very different television commercials: the McDonald’s singing fish, Subway’s “Five Dollar Footlongs” campaign, and Burger King’s revamp of a classic rap to sell Spongebob Squarepants toys. What I didn’t realize at the time was that these three commercials have something in common you wouldn’t even think about while watching TV.

They all rely on the importance of timing.

It’s no accident that Subway launched its campaign during an economic recession. Offering a memorable deal on a filling sandwich just when many people are having to cut back on meals out means that Subway can continue to do brisk business even in a crunch –possibly even better business than before. Burger King’s marketing of the Spongebob Squarepants kids’ meal toys didn’t just coincidentally appear at the end of school year, either. More kids at home translates to more kids clamoring to go to Burger King.

And what about that singing fish? McDonald’s purposefully released the commercial with the infectious jingle just before Lent, when some religious denominations eschew meat but still eat fish. McDonald’s sells about 300 million Filet-O-Fish sandwiches each year, and one quarter of those 300 million are during the Lent period. While even McDonald’s couldn’t have foreseen the success of the ad, its timing was every bit calculated.

It’s not just advertisers that are concerned with the “when” of a big release. You’ve probably noticed how many big movies come out in November, just in time for the huge surge in movie attendance. Do you think that many movies just happen to be completed and ready for release all at the same time? Sometimes a movie is even held back to take advantage of the season.

Sometimes books or movies are held back intentionally so that they won’t have to compete with a bigger and better title that they know will get everyone’s attention. They make their debut in a slower season to make a bigger splash. Some products do the opposite, intentionally releasing a similar product at the same time as their competitor to take advantage of the current interest in the subject matter.

You’ll see more weight loss ads in January, when dieters are still trying to stick to their resolutions, and a second surge in late spring, when women panic about bikini season. A large percentage of weddings are in June, but not many bridal shows are; they’re held in January to give brides-to-be a six-month lead to buy their wedding supplies when they plan for those summer weddings.

What’s the lesson here? It should be clear.

The next time you’re working on a project, ask yourself some questions. Would it be beneficial to hasten the work to get it out sooner? Could you maximize profits or interest by holding it back a few months to take advantage of a holiday or event? It’s all in the timing.

Don’t just consider the quality of the work, the budget, and the audience. Consider the calendar.

by Elizabeth Kelly

Speaking of timing, what’s more exciting than being part of a creative community with actual earning potential? Being part of it from the beginning! Oozil is near launch, and you can be there at the countdown. Share your ideas with us by registering for the Oozil forum today.

If you’ve been anywhere near a television set recently, you’ve seen it. From his perch on a garage wall, a fish sings a song that has become insanely infectious. “Give me back that Filet-o-Fish,” he sings to one sandwich-munching guy while his friend looks on. “If it were you in that sandwich, you wouldn’t be laughing at all,” the creature continues.

The new Filet-o-Fish commercial has been an explosive success for McDonald’s, who timed the ad to coincide with Lent, which accounts for 25% of their fish sandwich sales. If you’ve been lurking under a rock, you can view the ad on YouTube , but you won’t be alone. The clip has now been viewed over one million times. That’s one million people who have voluntarily watched an ad that McDonald’s doesn’t even have to pay to run.

There’s a certain genius to the commercial, which people seem to love or hate. Even the haters are not immune to the message, though, and still report having the song stuck in their heads days after hearing it. While the key to the success of the commercial is partly in the catchy hook of the song, it’s also in its absurdity. Would the song have been as noticed if it hadn’t been sung by a dead fish? It’s doubtful.

Another recent commercial that is currently enjoying success because it so easily sticks in consumers’ heads is the Subway “Five Dollar Footlongs” campaign. In the case of Subway’s campaign, though, there’s something slightly different at work. The song is catchy (though not absurd like a singing fish), and the price cut is also a selling point, but neither factor alone would be good enough to boost sales like this campaign has.

The magic is in the message. Subway didn’t take out ads that announce “For a limited time only, Subway is helping you through the recession by selling all of their tasty footlong sandwiches for only five dollars.” If they had, not nearly as many people would have noticed. The brilliance behind the Subway campaign is in the simplicity of the words: five dollar footlongs. What does Subway have? Five dollar footlongs.

Burger King has a commercial in current rotation that features women with box-shaped rear ends dancing to “Baby’s Got Back,” but with the words “square butts” subbed for “big butts.” It’s almost a shocker on the first viewing, and it’s doubtful that it’s going to become the next stuck-in-your-head sensation. It works fantastically, though, on its first viewing, when the watcher thinks “What the…?” Then, after learning that Burger King is packaging Spongebob Squarepants toys with its meals, all becomes clear.

While each of these commercials is vastly different, they all have something in common that can be an important lesson for those in creative fields. The shared component is: they would all sound stupid on paper. Think about it.

Would you have the guts to propose an ad with a dead fish singing to two silent actors to stop eating him? If a client asked you for some fresh copy for a new sandwich promotion, would you think “Five dollar footlongs” was too simple and instead turn in some overwrought text? And would you ever in a million years have the creative bravery to suggest box-shaped butts?

There’s always a temptation to appeal to the mainstream that is so great that we tend to pitch variations on the same theme again and again. But, what these ads prove is that risk-taking pays off much more than playing it safe. The mainstream is unpredictable. Do you have the guts to pitch against the stream? You’ve got more on the inside than that taxidermized fish has. Use it!

by Elizabeth Kelly

What are the strangest ads you’ve seen that actually worked? Share your thoughts with Oozil.