Remember that? What company did it advertise? Of course, it was AT&T. The credit goes to Marshall McLuhan for the tag-line. It has become on of the most famous and effective (most importantly) one-liners in American advertising. But why? What made is so effective and what does it have to do with design?
In our conversations, EVERYTHING I talk about involves design in some way. We were talking about how to deliver on a promise last time, and this slogan, this campaign absolutely delivers. Another thing I like about this slogan is that it allows the graphics to be adapted to speak to very specific audiences. Same message, different packaging. Since this particular product has such an enormous market, the success of a campaign depends on making it personal and specific, yet consistent across the whole campaign.
Samples from print ads
So the question is, how can we reach out and touch your market? How can your message be tailored to appeal to your potential clients? Does it have emotional appeal? That’s key, and we’ll talk about it further next week. But more than just a “feeling”- it must still be based on truth, and you must understand who you are trying to reach. To touch someone is both a physical and an emotional promise. If the phone had not been shown, would it have had the same impact? Remember this was back in the seventies, the world was not yet virtual. The phone represents the connection between you and business, you and family, you and those you love. AT&T delivered on that, and their marketing communicated that very clearly.
