MASTERPIECE EDITION:
Marketing and Promotion
October 1996: The BAD AD rears its head.
Toward the end of the 1996 GI Joe Convention in Florida, Don Levine surprised me - - as he was beginning to do with alarming regularity - - with a newspaper ad mockup he had prepared for Target and Chronicle to consider. It seems they were contemplating a USA TODAY ad with an 800 number, and Levine wanted to "show them how it's done." On or about the our last day together at the show, he elected to give me a peek at his handiwork.
Unfortunately, the ad he unfurled before me was dismal. While it utilized some of the copy I'd suggested in discussions months ago, it looked like something that would have gone over well in 1959, complete with price "burst" graphic. At first glance it appeared to be a furniture outlet store ad.
And, it should be noted, the ad included in the lower right corner a picture of "Donald M. Levine, Creator of G.I. Joe." His picture was only a little smaller than the actual product shot, and the caption beneath it was rendered in fancy-schmantzy cursive script.
(Now, I have nothing against self indulgence, but I feel those impulses are better satisfied with, for example, a self-serving web site. Wink, wink.)
In the meantime, there was the distinct danger that our Masterpiece Edition ad placed in USA TODAY would look like a promotion for a tire sale. I was in the very uncomfortable position of having to tell Levine that his ad stunk.
When I returned home I immediately camped in front of the Mac and whipped up two sample ads that I thought better encapsulated the vibe I was after. I didn't have a lot of time to pretty them up, but I was able to get them done in one afternoon and copies out to the people that mattered within 24 hours.
In the end there was no USA TODAY ad, but you can click below to see what might have been if the ads I created in October of 1996 were used.
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(© 2002 John Michlig
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