Advertising doesn’t work!

I’ve heard it a lot – “We tried advertising and it was a waste of money”. 
If this is your experience, then read on.

In my previous role as Creative Director at Remedy Creative, we were asked by a PR agency to pitch for the Sunshine Kids advertising account. Having already secured distribution through Mothercare and Halfords, they knew they needed to up their creative game to compete in the parenting and automotive press.

Our brief was to produce a campaign that clearly demonstrated product benefits and increased brand recognition.

Effective advertising doesn’t just rely on the agency, it needs a brave client too. The chosen route uses distinctive Ladybird book-style illustrations to add warmth to the brand. This visual approach is radically different to anything the competition were doing, so it took a leap of faith from Sunshine Kids.

Within a month of launching the campaign, sales were up 70%, so something was obviously working. Now, the same results can’t be guaranteed for every campaign I write or art direct, but with a bit of tender loving creativity, it proves that advertising really can work.

See a couple of the Sunshine Kids executions and other ad stuff here.

Jonathan Wilcock (that’s me) is a Senior Freelance Copywriter.
You can drop me a line here, or email jonathan@sowhatif.co.uk