“Most ads aren’t written to persuade, they’re written not to offend.” — Roy Williams

What do you do when people don’t like your ads?

Photo Credit: Hermano Gris via Compfight cc

Not long ago an ad agency pulled a home improvement commercial off the air in Portland and Seattle because several listeners had called the client to complain about it. The client was concerned that he was offending potential customers, and the agency had to  scramble to come up with something else.

So what happens when some people don’t like your advertising?

[bctt tweet=”They don’t have to like your advertising — they just have to buy.”]

Sunny Kobe Cook, whose relentless pitches for Sleep Country USA in the 90’s irritated thousands, once told a seminar audience that she would occasionally work behind the counter at one of her stores.

Customers would walk up to the counter after choosing a bed, hand her their credit card, and then do a double-take. She described the typical encounter like this:

Customer: You’re Sunny Kobe Cook!

Sunny: Yes, I am.

Customer (leaning forward, whispering): I hate your commercials!

“They’re standing in my store,” said Cook, “and making a purchase for a thousand bucks or more. I want everyone to hate my commercials like that!”

Cook annoyed people with her voice and relentlessness. Rob Christensen, by contrast, deliberately pushed the envelope of good taste. Christensen ran Apple Auto Sales of Charlotte, North Carolina. In his TV ads, he played “Reverend Rob”, a televangelist who would “HEAL your credit.” They’re cheesy, poorly-acted, and have the ability to offend on multiple levels.

They also sold cars. You can watch one here.

According to Mike Drummond of the Charlotte Observer, Christensen began running these ads since 1997. Viewers  complained, and some stations  refused to run the spots.

Christensen aired the commercials on stations who would accept them, and took his money to the bank. “I’ve had people tell me they hate my ads — hate them,” Christensen told Drummond. “And yet they still bought a car from me.”

Roy Williams echoes the sentiment:

Ninety-eight point nine percent of all the customers who hate your ads will still come to your store and buy from you when they need what you sell. These customers don’t cost you money; they just complain to the cashier as they’re handing over their cash.

A caution is in order here: An annoying campaign may get you noticed, but you can’t forget to sell within the commercial. The Sleep Country and Apple Auto Sales commercials were more than just exercises in irritation. Each one contained a powerful sales message and a call to action.

Don’t reject an idea simply because some folks might not like it. They don’t have to like it — they just have to buy.

Question: If you work in advertising, have you ever had to deal with a client who wanted to bail on a campaign that was generating heat? How did you deal with it? You can leave a comment by clicking here.