#2: Ads need to be meaningful, memorable and motivating.

Thing about advertising that I’m pretty sure is true number two:

The difference between something being an “ad” and being a “cool thing” is that an ad has to be meaningful, memorable and motivating. All three things. No exceptions.

We need to make a very important distinction between ads and content. I want to talk about ads, first. At the end of this, we will talk about content as well. But first, ads.

Effective ads wrap a value-generating product/brand idea inside a creative concept. That’s the single, simple idea behind the practice of advertising. But “simple” isn’t the same thing as “easy”. Clearly, creating great and effective advertising is hard, as evidenced by the fact that there is so much terrible advertising out there.

The thing to remember is that every ad is built to do a particular job. It needs to go out into the world and achieve a goal. Or at least attempt to. And to be successful at that job, the ad is going to need a few qualifications. Think of these as the Three Ms, and they make the distinction between something that is simply cool or interesting and something that is an ad.

The first thing the thing needs to be is Meaningful. There has to be a very specific idea at the very core of the thing. And that idea needs to be about the product or service. A lot of brands want to create an association with a feeling or a cultural movement. That’s fine, but that can’t be the core idea of the thing. You may want the brand to have an association with an alternative vibe (for example). Great. Use that vibe as a feeling for the ad. You’re advertising your product, not the particular piece of culture you want to be associated with.

The second thing the thing needs to be is Memorable. Ads work because they create a memory structure in the consumer’s brain. They are most likely not in a shopping mode when they see the ad, so the ad needs to establish an idea in their brain so when they are shopping—in the grocery store for example—the idea of the ad reappears.

This is why creativity is so important to this business. A funny line or interesting character or catchy jingle works because they are memorable. Here’s a classic example: there’s exactly no reason for a consumer to remember a list of the products in your store. But Linda Kaplan Thaler, a junior copywriter, took that store inventory, rhymed it and put it to music. Decades later, a generation can still tell you that Toys R Us has bikes and trains and video games because it is the biggest toy store there is (gee whiz).

The last thing that the thing needs to be is Motivating. Simply put: ads are not meant to be appreciated. They are meant to compel an action. This is the biggest distinction between something cool and an ad. You simply watch a movie or read an article or look at a painting and that’s the entire experience. You may want to look up more information on the director but you don’t have to. There is no need for anything to happen after you view the thing.

Ads are exactly not that. For something to be considered to be an advertisement, it has to make you want to do something else. The ad works as a gateway to that next thing. It should increase your desire to want to do that next thing. Which should be to try out the product. Even the highest-level branding campaigns are still designed to compel that next action, even though that action may just be to think more or more favorably about the brand. Ads can never just stand alone.

Here’s a proof point on that: consider the single most free-standing ad ever made: Apple’s iconic 1984 commercial. Gorgeous and shown only once during the Super Bowl, you still can’t see it as anything more than a way to increase desire to check out their new computer. The point of the art was to generate massive awareness and deep desire.

1984 also was clearly Meaningful and Memorable. There was one clear idea behind it, dramatically demonstrated: Mac was going to break computing power out of the soul-less corporate world and give it to the people. And, in addition to its incredible visuals, it is deeply memorable because it has a dramatic crescendo—watching the hammer smash the video screen grabs your attention and resonates in your memory.

About “content”. There’s a really big exception to this rule, which is the development of content that aligns with your product or brand that isn’t an ad, but still generates value. For example, the work Red Bull does putting on events. You can simply enjoy the events they put on the same way you would any sporting event or show. As good as those are, and as much value they generate for the Red Bull brand…Red Bull still does ads. In fact, they make sure those ads stand out with their simple animation and quirky scenarios. The line is even meant to give you a reason to use the product: to give you wings, which we understand to mean “give me energy”.

Red Bull is an incredibly sophisticated marketer. They have a solid base of 3m ads. But they build on that to engage in content and experiences that, in many ways, expand what their brand means to their audience.