The 12 Kinds of Ads: Can You Make Them Work for You?

By Loren Skaggs, Vice President, Marketing and Business Development, Lux Worldwide

There are a few features online that I make a point to read regularly. One of these is Seth Stevenson's regular column in Slate Magazine called "Ad Report Card." Stevenson uses this column to assess the quality and effectiveness of current television ads. This is one of the few places outside of the trade press where you can get this kind of analysis, which I find a little puzzling, given the ubiquity of television advertising in our lives.

The most recent Ad Report Card column is very interesting, and warrants a read (or, rather, a look -- it's in the format of an online slide show). In the column, Stevenson explores ad-man Donald Gunn's 12 categories of advertising, or "12 Master Formats," as Gunn calls them. As Stevenson explains, Gunn developed the notion that there are really only 12 basic formats for television ads, and if you are familiar with the formats, it will make it easier for an ad creator to develop a new campaign.

Stevenson swallows the concept whole, which is fine, because it really is a useful way to analyze ads. However, it's arguable that Gunn's model may be missing a few types, or that some of them are difficult to distinguish. So be it; that topic may be fodder for future blog entries and for endless debate among us marketing types.

The question is: Do these categories apply to your online marketing efforts? Has the new media rendered Gunn’s ad types model to be moot? Probably not. I’ve tried to wrap my head around all 12 categories, and when I look at marketing-centric sites, I still see echoes of the 12 basic types.

So, if you’re looking to redesign your website and you’re a little stumped on where to begin with a messaging approach, you might want to consider the 12 types and try to figure out if employing one of them as a format will help you conceptualize the direction of your site.

More in future posts … stay tuned.

Cheers,
Loren