Innovation in advertising: copy the masters!

One of the hardest things to do when establishing a brand is choosing the one idea that your brand stands for. Coming up with a list is easy. Narrowing it down. Rejecting. Now that's the hard part. I recently had to do this for a muffin business and it took a long time. In the end, though, it was a very satisfying experience and it really helps you clarify whatever you're trying to do with the business.

I came across an old ad for a breakfast cereal that exemplifies getting one idea across. I used to eat this stuff before I did my paper round in the morning before high school in Scotland. The cereal is called Ready Brek.

Check out the ad and notice two things:

1) The tagline: "Central heating for kids." It states who it's aimed at (kids). At the same time, it doesn't state that adults shouldn't eat it. Also, it positions itself as a hot cereal -- thereby re-positioning other cereals.

2) The ad exaggerates visually a key dimension of the brand. The kid who has Ready Brek for breakfast has a red glow around him. This is sometimes called "concretizing" and is something that often gets overlooked -- it's a powerful technique as it hammers home the message. You can do this with the following formula: It's so (adjective) that it/you (VERB). Just take it to the extreme and visualize. Enjoy the ad!


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