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..

The best marketing and advertising movie EVER

One of the best movies ever... especially if you own a business... or want better results from your advertising.

If you haven't seen Crazy People with Dudley Moore and Darrel Hannah yet - get it!

I am on my... ahhhh.... 10th time through it by now.

Every time I watch it - I pick up on something new (ok - maybe just have a great laugh every time).

Dudley Moore stars as Emory Lesson, an advertising genius who ends up in an insane asylum.

What made him "crazy"?

Emory had enough of creating phony advertising and hypy garbage (none of that on the web now, is there?) and decides to create his own campaigns that tell... the truth.

Advertising with truth - what a concept!

Since sex sells, Emory crafts an explicit ad campaign consisting of unadorned sexuality... "Jaguar-For men who want hand-jobs from beautiful women they hardly know"

His colleagues take such great offense to the honesty in the ad - they decide he is now unfit and commit him to an asylum.

Undoubtedly, he fights it - but soon settles in to find a beautiful new friend Kathy (Daryl Hannah), and bunch of whacky misfits that are eerily comforting to his new home life.

Where it starts getting really good is when his ad agency accidentally runs a bunch of his "honest ads" and finds that consumers absolutely LOVE them - and buy the products being sold in droves.

Emory also finds that the crazy people are natural-born advertising geniuses... and a new business is born. Honest Ads being creating out of an insane asylum. And they are major hits. The ads hit home run after home run... and the laughs are great.  A few more ads in the movie...

"Metamucil- It helps you go to the toilet. If you don't use it, you will get cancer and die."

"Porsche-It's a little too small to get laid in, but you get laid the minute you get out of it."

"Come in Jamaica"

Needless to say - if you are in marketing and want to pick up an idea or two on creating more effective advertisements... watch this movie.

The truth behind it is real - people want honesty - and will buy when it is given to them.

My highest recommendation. 

Pick up a copy and watch it soon - your bank account will thank you.