In a recent poll ad people are ranked the as the worlds 2nd least trust worthy professionals.
Carton Donofrio Partners, a small Baltimore advertising agency has created a ambitious campaign that bring advertisers, agencies and the media together to stop advertising madness. The campaign is also providing a unique way to build some national buzz and awareness for the agency.
“Advertising simply isn’t working as well as it could because the social contract, the implicit agreement advertisers and consumers have established to support a productive exchange, has been violated,” said David Smith, executive creative director at Carton Donofrio Partners. “The average person’s exposed to over 5,000 ads per day. Advertising professionals are now the second least trusted professionals in the world after politicians.”
The Carton Donofrio Partners launched a campaign”www.StopTheAdness.org.” By taking a stand against intrusive advertising practices and positioning itself as an agent for change is a very appealing new business strategy.
Their campaign interactive Website allows them to start conversations with consumers and with the marketers who are trying to reach them and provide ways to easily make the campaign viral. This is a very effective way for arton Donofrio Partners to gain insightful feedback and also share their inspiring point of view, which I’m sure will generate an appeal for this agency’s services.
The goal of this campaign is to improve advertising and features ways for visitors to participate and interact:
- Sign the Pledge and get everyone you know who makes or approves advertising to sign it, as well.
- Opt in for reports and updates from us on how to stop the adness and make advertising better.
- Give a shout-out to brands and agencies that are doing it right by uploading their advertising on the Wall of Fame.
- Expose those who are contributing to the adness by uploading their work on the Wall of Shame.
- Give us more examples of adness you’d like to stop in the Join the Conversation forum.
- Click on one of our examples of adness above, and tell us what you think should be done to make it better.
The site also showcases videos demonstrating “adness.” These videos show how bad advertising:
- Bombards consumers’ personal space
- Serves inappropriate material to the wrong audience at the wrong time.
Additional ad agency promotional articles that may be of interest:
- Ad Agency’s New Business Initiative: $1 Million Brand Ad Campaign
- Social Media Tools: Promote Your Ad Agency With SlideShare
- “Mindsalt – Magic ‘09 Ball” Used to Promote Ad Agency
- Ad Agency Creates Online Film Festival on YouTube
- Social Media Marketing Map Used For Ad Agency’s New Business
- Using Video to Promote Your Ad Agency
- ADBOWL: Ad Agencies Should be “Creative” Promoting Themselves
Nice job of taking something that a lot of us have been talking about–the broken push-advertising model–and turning it into a seemingly bonafide movement. Yes, it’s self-serving as there’s no doubt the agency is hoping to get some good buzz and work out of this, but it’s done in a very smart and disarming way. I’ve got to give these guys some major kudos.
I agree Tom. I like their thinking.
Tom,
Sorry I hadn’t seen your comment earlier. Thanks for the positive feedback. You are correct. While buzz never hurts, the stop the adness initiative is one we believe in and one we believe that advertisers must address. Marketing must connect with customer and deliver welcomed and wanted materials. If we push messages that are intrusive and annoy people we will never connect our customers. And if brands and marketers aren’t connecting with customers today, they are doomed to fail.
Thanks again for the positive feedback. Look for updates to the site shortly.