Terminal Cool
If you do ads for a dotcom, be wary. Your client may think he invented the digital age.

It happens with every changing tide. People who are favored by the laws of chance begin to think they’re smarter than everyone else.

We’ve seen it all before. The stock market goes up, and politicians take full credit. Crime goes down, and police chiefs start kissing babies on camera. Middle-age America goes on a fitness binge, and Richard Simmons becomes an authority diet and exercise

And now that the digital rush is on, all the hotshots of the dotcom world are suddenly saints and seers. They make pretentious proclamations, conveniently forgetting that they’re standing on the shoulders of Boole, Babbage and Shockley. They not only claim credit for the new economy, but they also think they can re-write the books on politics, advertising, marketing and sales.

Well, if you happen to work with any of those folks, you may have to administer an occasional helping of tough love to keep them straight. And, that is always difficult when you deal with such incandescent visionaries.

They’re so cool, they’re numb.

Luckily, they have a weak spot. They have a deep need to look super-cool at all times. Unfortunately, their particular idea of cool requires that they can’t be seen trying hard to sell anything. That’s why so many of their advertising and marketing communications don’t work.

Therefore, before you begin any work, be sure you can get them to sign on to a mission statement for the advertising. If your client can agree that the ad budget is not intended as a fashion statement, but is actually supposed to attract new customers, you might be able to avoid some of the pitfalls.

The mission statement should list three goals: to establish the brand’s presence, to declare its product advantage, and to get customers. In advertising terms, that means your message must have a memorable sight, a descriptive tag line, and a clear call to action. As simple as 1, 2, 3.

1. Memorable sights
Words are only a recent invention of our species. We still learn best by what we see. So, you’ve got to have an unusual, preferably astounding sight in your spot. Here’s a good example: Sun Micro Systems has a wonderful TV spot on the air, where the climax is the appearance of a huge, three-dimensional dot. It’s an unforgettable sight when the colossal ball lands on a conference room table, smashing everything else around it.

2. Descriptive tag lines
Once the almighty dot appears, the stage is set for the tag line, “We’re the Dot in Dot Com.” It works so well with the visual, it etches itself in your memory. And a good tag is vital. It’s what a brand wants to be known for. (If a tag line doesn’t tell the world who you are and what you do better than the other guys, give it up.)

3. Clear calls to action
As the Sun spot comes to an end, their Web address forms on screen. The message is clear. If you want your company to be a factor in dotcom, get on to this site. Once the viewers do that, the site takes them the rest of the way.

Remember that every address or number you give is an open door to someone. In print ads, be sure to list your telephone, web or email address, or even an olde tyme street address. They’re all the doors to your sales department. In TV, select just one, but keep it on screen long enough. When it flashes on for only a second it may look cool, but you can’t take cool to the bank.

Dennis Altman is an advertising consultant and a UK Professor of Advertising and Public Relations

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