With the announcement of the OBIE Awards, the annual awards from the Outdoor Advertising Association of America, came a brief interview in Adweek with this year’s chief judge, Mark Tutssel at Leo Burnett. Tutssel summed up quite succinctly for readers the three criteria that deemed an advertising campaign an award-winning work of art:
- “The work has to surprise and delight.”
- “It has to bear repeated viewing.”
- “It has to be rewarding each time you look at it.”
I liked this 1-2-3 of successful creative, because I think it sums up the formula of all successful communications. A B2B product brochure may not “surprise and delight” the same way that McDonald’s “Fresh Eggs” billboards (the winner of this year’s OBIEs) do — making people laugh or intriguing them to watch the mechanical egg “crack” each day at dawn.
Yet each communication, whether it’s a Web site, a brochure or an email campaign, has the potential to engage audiences in the same way: with a new way to talk about an old problem, a fresh approach that makes people sit up and engage, and rich content that draws in audiences and keeps them coming back for more.
The Adweek article is a reminder that we should never fall into a rut. No matter what you’re working on, always aim for top honors.
