10 April 2007 ~ 1 Comment

Believe What I Do, Not What I Say

I must repeat that line 15 – 20 times per week–generally in the context of analytics, usability testing, focus groups (or limitations thereof) and, of course, messaging and advertising. AMD’s new ad in the Wall Street Journal is an excellent example of how even people who get it still don’t really get it.

Observe as the ad opens- a full page spread, all black, with white text in at least 48-point font:

Saying you’re the ‘World’s Best Processor’ is one thing.

Actually being the ‘World’s Best Processor’ is another.

Then there’s the obligatory creative “hero” shot. Simple, concise and to the point. Great ad, right?

It would have been… had it simply ended right there. If it had, I’d be pointing this out as an excellent example of transparency in messaging, and having enough confidence in the product to simply lay it all out there and trust in the wisdom of crowds.

But alas, it didn’t.

Somehow they felt compelled to say, yup, you guessed it, that they’re the “World’s Best Processor”:

The AMD Opteron processor continues to lead the industry in x86 dual-core performance. Under the newest SPECcpu2006 benchmarks, AMD Opteron processors continue to set the standard in x86 dual-core processor performance, besting our competitor by up to 15%. We credit that to our superior native dual-core design, with its Direct Connect Architecture, DDR2 memory, and industry-leading…

…blah, blah, blah! They can’t seriously believe a single WSJ reader cares about Direct Connect Architecture or DDR2 memory, can they? Remember when you talk the talk, you may want to walk the walk. If you’re looking for a helpful tool to do just that, don’t forget to run your ad copy through our We-We Monitor.

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