NOISEMAKERS

I like the Beatles. My wife doesn’t. For reasons that have eluded me since I’ve known her, I don’t know why. Our debate rages on every time a song of theirs comes on. However, like ‘em or not, the Fab Four would be “Nowhere Men” (ouch… sorry about that), if they’d never played a note. Neither loved, nor hated. Just four lads from Liverpool.

Would a politician get elected, or even become a candidate, if he said nothing at all?

Would Richard Pryor be considered a genius if he never told a joke?

Would your baby have her diaper changed if she didn’t cry on occasion?

Would your broken toilet get fixed if you didn’t hear it running?

Would you wake up on time if the alarm didn’t ring?

People respond to noise, both pleasing and irritating. That’s the key: Whether it affects them positively or negatively, people respond. True, not everyone likes Richard Pryor. But like him or not, you gotta admit he was a revolutionary. Because the noise he made caused an emotional reaction from those who heard him. Maybe they laughed, maybe they bought his records, or maybe they got angry and walked out of the club where he was performing. But what most people didn’t do, was nothing.

As an advertiser, do you want your commercial to make people do nothing? Obviously not. An ad that doesn’t compel is an ad wasted. Compel me to buy. Compel me to call. Compel me to stop in. Compel me to complain. But make some noise – something that gets people to respond, in some way.

I promise you this: You’re gonna hear me making a lot more noise in the coming months.