We often tend to overcomplicate things. But, usually the best answer to anything is the simplest one. This is the principle behind Occam’s Razor. The idea is that the answer to any problem is usually the simplest solution possible. We read an interesting article by Jess Wheeler on the overcomplication in our industry. Usually, the best and most memorable ads are those that are simple and entertaining. It’s not the ads that someone took all this time working on programmatic or re-targeting and lots of CTA’s. A lot of times less is more in this biz. She uses the analogy of, “Will it make the boat go faster?” in which the 1998 British men’s row team applied this question to every aspect of their lives. If the answer was ever, slower, then it was out. If the answer to the question was, faster, then do more of said thing. Guess what? 2 years later they won gold! We love this analogy applied to advertising. Does the idea make the ad better or worse? Because often times the best answer is the simplest one so if the idea doesn’t add value to your campaign, then it time to scrap it.
