Honesty in advertising... a good thing... or too dangerous for YOUR business?

This came across the newswires and I just had to write about it.

A young mother of "difficult" children posted an online ad to find a nanny.

Nothing unusual there. 

What was unusual was her incredible honesty in the advertisement...

Some of the best comments:

'My kids are a pain'

"If you cannot multitask, or communicate without being passive aggressive, don't even bother replying," Rebecca Land Soodak, a mother of four on Manhattan's Upper East Side, wrote Aug. 19 in her advertisement on Craigslist.

"I can be a tad difficult to work for. I'm loud, pushy and while I used to think we paid well, I am no longer sure."

Some other excerpts from the listing: "If you are fundamentally unhappy with your life, you will be more unhappy if you take this job, so do us all a favor and get some treatment or move to the Rockies, but do not apply for employment with us."

And this: "Also, if you suspect all wealthy women are frivolous, we are not for you."

And this: "I have all sorts of theories on how to stack my dishwasher, and if you are judgmental about Ritalin for ADHD, or think such things are caused by too much sugar, again, deal-break city."

It worked... she found a nanny through the advertisement... and she got a ton of publicity (not sure if she intended that!).

All the parenting blogs are afire with this one.  People are up in arms and don't know what to do. 

You either love the approach - or hate it - but it certainly got attention.

What does this mean for business?

Brutal truths and reality in advertising -- a novel concept whose time has come... or has it.

Instead of seeing the ads that say "Make $5,000 a day on autopilot, starting tomorrow"... you would start seeing ads like "work 18 hours a day for a year in this network marketing system and, if you are lucky, make enough to cover your phone bills!" 

Ok, maybe that is a little tongue in cheek. 

But, in reality, ads using this kind of brutal honesty would have to say things like

"Ya, I make a good income, more than I could ever make working for someone else.

But it took me years to get there, I still work wayyy too many late nights, and I still need more leveraged income... but the money is great!" 

Would that get buyers? 

Probably. 

It would attract a completely different type of person too, than the get rich overnight approach.

Here is another look at this approach in advertising..

Comments

[Andrew Breen]

Great article Troy - ties into other things you've said about good advertising NOT appealing to everyone. You have to know your target and speak to them, not try to appease everyone.

[Mira]

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