A woman in a very plain, orange-collared, button down shirt looks forlornly at her young daughter from behind glass. With a tearful expression, the child asks, “Mommy, will I ever see you again?”

The scene is set to make the viewer believe that the action is happening within a prison visiting room, and it’s believable (aside from the mid-day time slot), until we realise that the ad is for a bathroom cleaner and the mother is, simply, in the shower, scrubbing the bathtub.

The concept is great and it’s quite funny, but for the life of me, I have no idea about the name of the product being advertised.

I discussed this with a friend of mine who, also, couldn’t remember the product but effortlessly recalled the commercial’s storyline.

That is the problem with commercials that are too funny.

So how can you effectively make the product the focus of the ad without producing something boring? In this bathroom cleaner ad, the name of the product is rarely mentioned, and the audience hardly sees the package.

I applaud the creative team who came up with this ad, however, it was unsuccessful in its attempt to sell me their product.

I don’t profess to be an advertising expert, however, if a person like me with a keen eye and a fairly decent working memory can’t remember the product, then that company failed in their effort.

Saturation of the audience’s mind is crucial to a successful ad campaign.

As a former publicist, I learned to get my client’s name out there as much as possible. I was responsible for their advertisement and marketing, and therefore, I tried to make the pitch as potent as possible. I used short, concise information that got my message through to my client’s audience, and as a creative writer, it was not easy trimming the frills, but I quickly learned its efficacy.

An ad can still be funny, but as with any work, it is important to keep refining it until it can pointedly support you to reach your goal.

It’s all about the sale, and the market is fickle.

SATURATE! SATURATE! SATURATE!