I have never experienced such cocktail of emotions in my professional life. As my bladder stretched and cried for some relief I quickly got off my lazy bum and briskly walked into office washroom. I was busy getting relieved and then something hit me. There was an A3 size laminated poster staring at me, rather shouting in my face and reminding me of being ethical. It went ahead and told me that how submitting fake bill submission was a punishable offence. All this time I was busy getting relieved..Expressionless....holding on to my devil smile as others around me wondered why is this guy having a hard time getting relieved. The moment I had finished doing my thing....I broke into a hysterical laugh riot and walked into office area with people staring at me as I struggled to reach my desk with my both hands on my aching stomach. As I settled into my chair I wondered "Who could think of this ingenious way of making sure that the message gets read ...digested and to ensure that it stays on top of people's mind all the time”. Just then I had a flashback and was reminded of my MBA days as I yawned my way to glory in a boring lecture on Advertising Principles.
The purpose of something I witnessed in the washroom is to be effective especially when people like me prefer to press shift delete as we brisk through our email and treat majority of mega distribution emails as junk. Here is a quick analysis of how this little “in your face as you get relieved” campaign stands when rated against 10 principles of what an effective ad consists of.
Grab People
Well everyone around me needs to go to relieve themselves more than once a day, so the audience is clearly available. And you don’t need to grab me, I come to you. That 90 second something time slot is yours and I don’t have a chance in hell to run away from you. So there you go …you have a significant chunk of my attention at a time I would not think of anything but rather stare at the wall in front of me.
Be Clever and Creative
I hail the ingenuity of the guy who came up with this Idea of slapping a poster full of ethical rant in front of me as I was doing a favor to my bladder. That’s call choosing your vehicle creatively. Can I ignore it …no way in hell.
Speak Loudly
Well with a A3 size poster staring at your face 10 inches away at your eye level is the most difficult thing to miss. Full marks to that. Add to it a bold combination of Blue, Green and Red(Primary color-remember class 8 Physics), and this will be a perfect eye candy.
Don’t Make Them Think (Too Much)
Really….ohhh…come on, when was the last time I went to washroom to think. That’s the time of the day that I am with myself. My mind is practically revving down and I am whistling on mute so that other’s won’t think of me as a self obsessed, over indulgent low life. Yes, I am not thinking at all, so that would be a perfect time for a quick refresh on ethics.
Colors That Pop But Make Sense
Though the only thing popping out at that time would be my eyes as I tried to control my snorts and giggle. The color combination was perfect and in line with what my 7 the grade teacher told me …Primary colors are heard to miss in any combination of color. And it made perfect sense as the text in bold red reminded me of how so many people have lost their jobs by trying tot be unethical over last 6 months.
Be Informative
To my surprise the amount of text and Information in there was enough to keep me busy for the exact duration. Has Gartner done a study - how much time does an average employee spend relieving himself and handed over the research to my ingenious campaign designer.
Stand Out and Be Memorable
After spending a good 20 minuts doing a ROFLMAO and finding it difficult to sit on my chair for another 20, I don’t think will ever forget something like that. Full marks to our ingenious campaigner for making me laugh on a Monday morning, a time when most of us are cursing Monday for being the very first day in a work week.
Give Off a Feeling
The placement of the poster and the content that I was being forced to read at a time when a single feeling supersedes all my senses made me realize how serious this issue of ethics is to our organization.
Show Not Tell
Well, I was not expecting a hands being chopped off kind of a picture at the time I am supposed to be relaxed. But the medium is what did it for me. It made me realize that ethics are as important to your work life as other biological activities like eating, drinking and in this case getting relieved are to your life in general. So Mr. Genious cheers to you for making people like me realize that value.
Use Humor: Use a Metaphor
This for me is the biggest element of the entire experience, so much so that it inspired me to write this blog post.
Unknowingly, in his innocence our genious campaigner has thrown open a whole new medium to advertising industry. Imagine a poster of new launched beer inspiring you to have another one as you stare at the wall next time you are doing the thing.
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