Can a good advertising idea be ruined in an elementary way?

The purpose of any advertising is to promote a product or service in order to attract people to buy it. It seems simple, but sometimes advertising fails. Where is the problem - in the execution or in the idea? Logically, the idea should not be the problem. So the culprit could be the presentation. What are the most common stumbling blocks in advertising?

Offensive advertising

No matter how successful a product is, if it is promoted in a way that is disrespectful, for example by demeaning a gender or race, let alone people with disabilities, it is unlikely to appeal to you as a consumer. It is also unacceptable that different cultures and beliefs are awkwardly explored. Care must be taken in the choice of advertising models to avoid creating a backlash in the audience. Even if the idea is provocative, it will still not pay off in the long run because it will also create negative emotions.

Short legs for liars

When advertising, don't get carried away with false information. Everyone likes to puff up their story a little to sell, but sooner or later the lies will come out and the ad will work against you. The same applies to plagiarism or copying advertising models. Don't rely on the general public knowing little about them and don't hope that no one will notice the similarities. There is always the risk that someone will have seen it.

Badly legible text

Choose the correct font, size and colour. Because, as we know, man is a lazy creature. If something is hard to read, we usually take the easy way out - don't read at all or focus on what is easier to understand. Don't forget to make the text easy on the eye - unless you don't actually want the customer to read it. 

If your ad is in video format, choose the right time metric so that potential customers can see what you have to offer. The timbre of the voice is important when creating an audio track. It can be ear-warming, but it can also make you change channels quickly.

The advertising principle - short and concise, not long and broad. This applies to both text and other formats. No one will be impressed by an advertisement as long as eternity, no matter how good a product it touts.

Attention - grammar!

It might seem like a ridiculous suggestion, but only until your ad text brings surprise to people's faces. Punctuation errors, misspelled words and inappropriate word combinations can stick in the memory for a very long time. That's why it's worth trusting the experts in their trade.

If you like to use different emoticons, be careful - not everyone perceives them in the same way. So if you want to look trendy, you could unintentionally shoot yourself completely wrong.

Available from

The visual and auditory design of any advertisement is of huge importance. Colours, appropriate music, background lighting - they can all lift or sink any idea. Don't forget to indicate where the product is available - without it, the whole idea of the ad will be thrown to the wind. 

It is just as important not to make your advertising too intrusive. At some point it will start to annoy potential customers and therefore have a negative impact on their opinion of your product. Everything must be in balance.

Don't be afraid to experiment when creating ads! Be creative, open and empathetic!