Sell Me Like They Used to With Cigarette Ads

By Mike McDaniel

On 1971 Congress banned Cigarette advertising on Radio and TV. And with it, one of the greatest benefit sells on the tube. Cigarette advertising was all about a call to action, all about buying and smoking the advertised brand.

All advertising works best when it sells benefits and not features. Cigarette advertising was all about benefits.

The cigarette ads on television and the ads on radio, too, painted a picture of the euphoric feeling you would get smoking that brand, How "smooth" it was, how it had "great taste". Cigarette ads on TV took selling benefits to the top level.

Advertising expertsd agree, the best advertising is centered on WIIFM; What's In It For Me?. The tobacco companies had it down. Every commercial was all about what was in it for the viewer. And they spent millions of dollars to get the point across.

Then there was the subliminal message about how cigarettes were the "in" thing to do and how all the "neat" people puffed. And if didn't you could never dream of "fitting in".

The cardboard box and filter tips were quickly converted from features into benefits.

Since January 1 in '71, no one has been able to come up with a benefits-laden commercial anywhere near the impact of the worst cigarette commercial. Decades have passed and still we know about the Marlboro Man. Talk about impact.

Yup, the product may have given you a deadly disease, but the commercials made you want to buy them more than anything else out there.

BIG Mike is America's Small Business Small Business Advertising Expert, Business Consultant and Professional Speaker. Read all about Benefits in another BIG Mike article http://snipurl.com/3x4hw ©2008 BIG Mike McDaniel, All Rights Reserved