Ruminations

Okay, I'll say it.  I am sick and tired of advertisements that claim to offer "the ultimate this" or "the ultimate that."

Why?  Because it sounds like hype.  It's cheap and it's unconvincing.  Do they honestly think that people will read this and say, "This is the ultimate <fill-in-the-blank>?  Wow!"?  Of course not. They'll respond by thinking, "Ultimate?  Yeah, right.  That's what they all say."

The same thing goes for ads that say "We are the very best" or words to that effect.  Of course, companies are going to say such a thing.  Talk is cheap; an effective ad will demonstrate that a particular company is the best.  More importantly, it will demonstrate why that company's products and/or services are what the reader needs.

As the saying goes, Show. Don't tell.  Don't focus on telling them that you sell the very best stuff.  Rather, focus on communicating the qualities of what you have to offer.

Also annoying are ads which prominently feature group photographs of the company's employees. Sometimes, this approach is justified.  Most of the time, it is not.  The author of this short article talks about that annoyance in greater detail.