The weird mystery of Angela…

>> With an idiot’s guide to evaluate your advertising.

If you travel on the London Underground, or indeed anywhere in the UK, you will see this advertisement and variations of it.

Here is your first test.

If you understand the reversed out headline, will you do me a favour?

Will you tell me precisely what cruk.org does?

David Hodson sent me the picture and this comment…

“…I had to read it over and over again to finally understand what it was saying. I thought they can’t have got it that wrong so decided it must be me and kept trying to make sense of it. Now, you may get it right away but to make sure I wasn’t being stupid I asked a friend and they didn’t understand it until I told them how to read it.

I’m sure when it was ‘read’ to the client it was done in such a way that it made sense and then that’s all the client saw. Perhaps they should have asked some ordinary people.”

Clearly cruk.org helps people.

But what kind of people, and what kind of help?

My PA Kelly, who knows many things I don’t, tells me that the word “Angela” is used in a very special context.

“…Angela is code in the service industry for men and women who are out on a date and they find themselves in a scary or uncomfortable situation - they can go to the bar and "Ask for Angela" and the bar staff will help get that person to safety without a fuss.

It was implemented a few years ago and is widely known - incredible to me that their entire marketing department didn't know about this, and they managed to pick this name and not have it flagged up. I noticed immediately so you can assume I'm not the only one.”

The advertisement below is a good example of how to get your message over dramatically and effectively, rather than obscurely and incomprehensibly.

Well, I'm sorry to say that the first waste of money was run by charity called Cancer Research UK.

They were squandering their donors money.

They can afford to, because cancer attracts vast amounts of money, but this doesn't excuse this criminal waste.

After all, every penny not squandered on stupid advertising could go to helping patients - and as two of my family died of cancer I feel strongly about this.

If people can't tell in seconds what your message is about you just wasted money - whether you’re a charity or not.

But enough carping: let me be helpful

Here's the easy way to know in advance if your advertising, direct mail or emails will work.

The Idiot Test - developed many years ago, even before my time.

Just show what you’re planning to run to an idiot, and ask if they can understand it.

You may say that your prospects aren’t idiots.

It doesn't matter, for two reasons.

1. I guarantee a fair percentage of them are. Just study what they watch on TV.

2. And the ones who aren’t idiots will be thinking as if they are.

No sane person spends time trying to puzzle these things out, squandering their grey cells on the meaning of advertisements.

There are many other things you can learn about how to get better creative.

Stuff that runs and makes money, or at least doesn’t lose it.

You will find them on AskDrayton.com.

But there is a catch.

You have to invest the prodigious sum of $1 to discover everything I know about this.

Best,

Drayton