Your Ad is a Heartworm Pill

Persuasion, dogs, and people.

You ever tried serving your dog a heartworm pill? At first you usually smear some peanut butter on it, then watch the lil guy just lick the pill clean. The second attempt involves an overpriced pill pouch and the third implements last night’s spaghetti, a human finger, and the “f word” — all of which end with the damn pill untouched.

Now you’re really pissed. So you smash the pill to smithereens and bake it into an Oreo cheesecake, garnishing it like a chef. Congratulations; your dog probably won’t get heartworms. Also, you’ve gotten a peek into the world of advertising.

People used to act like a pack of starving, stray dogs and they’d eat as many pills as they could get their paws on (what else were they going to eat). But nowadays, they live in Cici’s Pizza. It’s not great, but it’s a hell of a lot better than heartworm pills.

Replace food with digital content — videos, photography, blogs, etc — and you’ve arrived at the analogy we’re trying to make. There’s a large amount of entertaining content out there, so if you want someone to voluntarily listen to your ad, you’re gonna have to bake it into an Oreo cheesecake.

The strategy here is holding your ad to the same rigorous standard that we hold movies or art exhibits or home decor. Start by thinking of a concept for an interesting photo or video, and then figure out how you can incorporate your product into it (rather than the other way around).

This method of production isn’t conventional. However, it’s going to lead to a consumer response (genuine enjoyment) that also isn’t conventional.