We'll be finding that as the economy worsens, more boundaries will be falling away from online advertising. We'll be seeing banners get larger, more pre-roll ads before video clips, and more spyware. That's the downsize of a bad market. The pressure builds, and the intrusiveness of the web expands. Ad restrictions will be tossed aside in order to have more impact. In the process, I predict that ... read more

Ads proclaiming, "Why believe in a god? Just be good for goodness' sake," will appear on Washington, D.C., buses starting next week and running through December. The American Humanist Association unveiled the provocative $40,000 holiday ad campaign Tuesday. I reported on a similar campaign in London recently. I always get a kick out of campaigns that tell us not to believe in God, but then tell us to be good. I'm wondering where exactly, do they base their idea of "good?" ... read more

Are your commercials working? If they're not, it's probably because your writing needs real work. Most commercial writers fall into repeating the same old repetitive phrases that always worked before, and the truth is, today, when it comes to commercials on religious television, it seems like they're all written by the same guy. I've been writing spots for religious and non-profit television since the late 70's, so I've seen a few, and I'm growing tired of the same old "Christian Lingo." That's why this advice from advertising teacher Roy Williams hit a chord: ... read more

Michael Boerner at iQuestions shared an interesting chart with me recently on how Nielsen Media Research tracks the impact of internet advertising. It's a "visibility map" and I've attached it as a .pdf to this post. The chart reveals that the prime time viewing audience for TV is evening hours between 7-10pm (nothing new there). Likewise, the radio prime time is early morning drive time, and slowly falls off over the course of the day. But the internet brings a different perspective altogether. The internet "prime time" creates a ... read more

As we've been discussing "The Miracle Theater's" full page ads in USA Today, it's interesting to compare the effort to similar approaches for other causes. Yesterday, the Wall Street Journal posted a story on the ad campaign Italian label Nolita has done to call attention to the problem of anorexia in the fashion industry. It's an excellent article - no name calling, personal insults, or questioning anyone's integrity. It's simply an engaging discussion of ... read more

The Miracle Theater in Pigeon Forge, TN, continues it's very expensive advertising campaign, promoting their petition "standing up" for Jesus Christ. The AP estimated their original USA Today full page ad cost nearly $100,000, and today while I traveled through Ohio, another ad appeared. At least today's ad was more of a statement, rather than an attempt to sell tickets, as I commented on in my earlier post. I appreciate their boldness and their desire to honor God. The question (as it nearly always is on this blog) is one of strategy. ... read more