I was given that photo by a jewelry client. In a moment we will look at the 60-second radio ad I wrote for the client before I issued the AI prompter challenge. But first, here are 10 things I have learned from the advertising results (and lack of results) I have seen during my 40 years as an ad writer.
AI is great at a lot of things, but effective ad writing is not among them.
Radio cannot reveal visual images except in the imagination. That’s what makes radio the perfect medium to deliver this ad. It is the radio ad I wrote to sell that specific pendant:
JACOB: David, have you seen it?
DAVID: Oh yes! I’ve seen it.
JACOB: What did it say to you?
DAVID: There is only one thing it CAN say.
JACOB: Sometimes an artist will say something incredibly specific without using any words at all.
DAVID: We’ve all heard music that can tell a story without words.
JACOB: And we’ve all seen paintings that can tell a story without words.
DAVID: But this time a jewelry designer did it.
JACOB: The moment you see it, you know what it is saying.
DAVID: I understood the message immediately.
JACOB: [slowly] “The long and the short of it is we’re in this together.”
DAVID: “The long and the short of it is we’re in this together.”
JACOB: It has wit, and whimsy, and humor, and warmth
DAVID: and commitment.
JACOB: It made me smile when I saw it.
DAVID: Me, too.
MONICA: [SFX cell phone ring] Hello.
SARAH: Did they see it?
MONICA: Oh yes, they saw it.
SARAH: Did they understand it?
MONICA: Even my little brother David saw the love in it.
DEVIN: See the Life Partner diamond pendant at [name of client.com.]
MONICA: Just 99 dollars. [SFX scream]
© 2024, Roy H. Williams
After hearing that 60-second radio ad, the curiosities of a huge number of listeners will drive them to my client’s website to see the pendant and solve the mystery of how the pendant “says” what it says.
To indicate that an inanimate object can speak is personification: the attribution of human abilities to an inanimate object. Personification instantly takes the mind of a reader, listener, or viewer into a world where anything is possible.
You are evesdropping on two conversations. Your imagination is called upon to figure out what these people are talking about. Two of the people say the pendant communicates a specific message without words. That message is, “The long and the short of it is we’re in this together.”
The pendant is called “The Life Partner Diamond Pendant.”
Do you remember observation number 8 on my list of 10 observations? “Specifics are more persuasive than generalities.” The specific message of that pendant is based upon specific elements in the design. Today’s AI isn’t going to extract that message by examining the symbolic elements of the pendant. It currently takes a human to do that.
Without the aid of an observant human who can see the symbolic meanings that a computer cannot detect, AI can give you little more than cute scenarios where you give a woman a piece of jewelry and it makes her happy because it shows her that you care. And if the subject matter is romantic, AI will cover your ad with cliches and schmaltz like a kid putting syrup on pancakes on Saturday morning. AI will do this because the public archives are full of jewelry ads that sound like they were extracted from a Hallmark movie.
If you want ads that sound like ads, just ask your favorite AI to spit some out for you. But if you want ads that are new, surprising, and different, you’re going to need more help than a computer can give you.
AI might be able to write exceptional ads in the future, but that future is not today.
To see the radio ad that AI swears is the best, click the image of Alfie the Elf at the top of this page. The person who asked AI to write that ad will receive $1,000.
If you know a highly talented 20-year-old, perhaps you should give them a call instead.
Roy H. Williams
NOTE: Steve Huff got an email this week that will blow your mind. The wizard gave you enough information in today’s Monday Morning Memo to help you write significantly better AI prompts. But he did not tell you everything he knows. My name is Nonny Mouse and I am a member of the Tiny Tribe of Indy Beagle, emperor of the rabbit hole of the wizard’s Monday Morning Memo.
While most consultants focus on improving a company’s mechanics — sales, marketing, human resources, and the like — Charles Rose advises his clients on the best ways to unload the personal baggage that limits their bottom line and personal satisfaction. Charles Rose built an e-commerce company and sold it for 10 million dollars. He has since spent the past 20 years instructing CEOs and entrepreneurs on all the different ways ways to strike a productive balance between business success and life satisfaction. Listen in as Charles explains to roving reporter Rotbart, “On the path to business fulfillment, you must examine every aspect of your life, including physical health, mental health, and personal relationships.” MondayMorningRadio.com