What Oscar Wilde can teach us about advertising

There is no denying the fact that we are living in turbulent times: ecologically, politically and economically. The planet is facing collapse (or isn't, depending on your news source), politicians are publicly bargaining our voting choices and there are glaring signs that we are on the precipice of recession. All so much doom and gloom and Merry Christmas everyone. In the face of all of this, we advertisers still have a job to do... wheels keep on turning, factories are still producing goods and all this has to leave the shelves or drop into an online checkout, ready to be opened on 25th December, and hopefully not returned on 26th.

Our work is to put our or our client's brand into people's conscious or sub-conscious so that when they need or want to buy something, they buy us. The people we want to attract as our customers don't have time or inclination to analyse what we tell them, or go to our microsite to watch the full-length film of our TV ad. They are concerned about the big things that matter to them and so their needs are more pragmatic than we give them credit for. Can they buy reliable / delicious / fashionable / affordable things from you and will they remember your name.

People are surrounded by ads all the time: from the moment they wake up and see Instagram Sponsored Stories and the Capital FM Breakfast Show - a morning podcast while flicking through the Metro on the tube - 6 sheets at each bus stop they walk past - casual Amazon shopping before the Evening Standard and then prime time TV viewing double screened with social media. Whatever you do, you need to stand out and be different. The last thing you must be is the same as everyone else, and people mistaking you for last year's John Lewis Christmas ad. Be bold, make people laugh, make them gasp, make them send strongly worded letters to the Daily Telegraph and the ASA. But just make people remember you. After all, there is only thing in life worse then being talked about, and that is not being talked about.