The Rural Voice, 2019-04, Page 45pilot was standing there at the gate
waiting for him.
“I am the pilot flying this plane
and it wasn’t going anywhere until
you got here,” he said.
That concern for one customer
proved a huge long-term benefit for
Southwest Airlines when the story
became known, said O’Reilly.
He suggested a marketing
campaign should promote functions
rather than features of a product.
European car manufacturer BMW
advertised a new type of headlight
with an industry-leading brand name,
a macho product title boasting
cutting-edge technology.
The ad did nothing to increase car
sales. Not until it was later stated that
the headlights would allow a driver
to see 200 feet further in the dark did
consumers respond.
So much information is
downloaded on consumers
today that they tend to shut it
out after a while – even if it is
information that would save a life
such as “Change the batteries in your
smoke detector when the clocks
change.”
During his 40-year career in
advertising one of O’Reilly’s most
successful campaign ads was done on
behalf of the Toronto Symphony
Orchestra (TSO.)
He had never attended the TSO
but did so before designing an ad
campaign and was surprised at how
much he liked it, even though his
music interests were in classic rock.
Determining that the sophistication
and ceremony associated with
symphony music might be the reason
for falling attendance he created the
following tag line for the campaign:
“Be very afraid of the Toronto
Symphony Orchestra.”
The limited three-week long
campaign featured people expressing
their unfounded fears that they
wouldn’t know when to clap or how
to dress etc. because of the unknown.
The campaign with a limited budget
was half over before there was any
response at all but by addressing
what had been a barrier to attendance
that obstacle was overcome and
attendance increased dramatically
among a wider audience, said
O’Reilly.
Born in Sudbury, O’Reilly shared
that his connection to the dairy
industry was through his wife who
was raised on a dairy farm close to
that Northern Ontario city.
During his career in advertising he
has created campaigns for Labatt,
Molson, Bell and the Hudson’s Bay
Company. His earlier radio program
on advertising was entitled the Age of
Persuasion. In 1990 he founded
Pirate Radio and Television with a
staff of 50 overseeing eight recording
studios in Toronto and New York
City.
Following his presentation,
O’Reilly was asked by an audience
member what he thought of the
current Dairy Farmers of Ontario
television ad campaign featuring a
dairy farmer walking through a barn
while talking about his cows. The
questioner suggested that the dairy
farmer being portrayed looked like
“stumbling idiot.”
Not in agreement, “I like it,” said
O’Reilly of the campaign adding that
the self-deprecating humour used by
the actor portraying a dairy farmer
can be very effective.
He went on to state his approval
of the blue cow logo currently used
to promote the dairy industry,
suggesting it should appear on all ads
related to the industry from signage
to business cards to television.
An ad campaign is like a skewer
in a shish-kabob that brings all the
elements of advertising together, said
O’Reilly.
In reference to the previously
described dairy farmer he added, “It
is always easier to sell to someone if
you can put a smile on their face.” ◊
April 2019 41
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