Some people just don’t know when to say No. And their marketing suffers from it.

Just last week, I noticed an ad on the back of a bus with the headline, “Stop the Falls.” I couldn’t read any of the copy, but I could see images of children and a drawing of a window. I changed lanes so I could get a better look.

Every summer, we hear or read at least once about a child dying or being injured from falling out a window. So I was glad to see an ad that reminds parents of the danger of this happening.

The problem was that no one could get any information from the ad unless they were right behind the stopped bus. The message was lost in too much copy and too little hierarchy. The sponsors of the ad were easy enough to spot: lined up in a row at the bottom were their logos.

Ahhh, I thought. Therein could be the problem. I sometimes work on assignments where various teams provide direction and input, so I can easily imagine how this happened. In my mind, here’s how it went down:

A creative team was given the assignment to develop a bus ad with the objective of providing information to help reduce the number of falls out a window. They were provided with some research about why the falls happen, a list of things parents could do to prevent them, and a budget.

I see a meeting — no, several meetings — with up to a dozen people from the three teams gathered around a table. In the first presentation, the creative team explains the importance of simplicity. On a billboard especially, messages must be comprehended quickly and from a distance. Perhaps the writer chose the headline, “Stop the Falls”, because it was short and had that “made you look” quality. Following the main headline were three important messages – the maximum for effective messaging, according to some sources.

The points chosen (perhaps with help from a strategy person) were the ones that could make the most difference in changing behaviors that could save kids’ lives. They are:

1) Never open windows more than four inches;
2) Don’t be fooled into thinking a screen window can keep a kid in; and
3) Where to get more information.

The designer chose a visual. Perhaps it was a cute photo of a kid. That’s always an attention-getter and it helps to show children’s vulnerability and our responsibility to protect them. Perhaps the designer showed another concept that used an illustration of a window — also telegraphic and powerful enough on its own.

Then, at these imaginary meetings, one person points out that she has windows at home that raise from the top and down, so shouldn’t we tell parents to do that? Another person asks, “Shouldn’t we also tell them to move furniture away from windows? Our research – which we paid a lot of money for by the way – shows a lot of falls happen that way.” A third person says, “I like the photo and the illustration – let’s use them both!” And yet another person asks, “Don’t we need to show diversity?” And of course, there’s probably three voices crying out in unison: “Make my logo bigger.”

Because this ad was designed by a committee of 12, there was no accountability or strong leadership. No one stood up and said, “No, no, no. People, it’s a sign on a moving bus – not a brochure. Keep it simple! When you try to say too much, your message gets lost and you end up saying nothing at all.”

Save the children. Save your communications. Keep it simple. — Sharon, Associate Creative Director – Voice

Every woman knows that finding shoes that are cute, comfortable and affordable is nearly impossible. But, on a recently stroll through a local shopping mall, I think I may have found the holy grail of footwear.

United Kingdom-born Clarks Shoes have always seemed a little bit, well, frumpy. Sort of like the kind of shoes your bunion-suffering grandmother used to wear. But some time during the past few years, these comfy shoes started morphing into hip footwear for the comfort-seeking city girl (especially their Privo brand). I wandered into the store and discovered that the prices were fairly reasonable to boot.

I bought a pair and wore them non-stop for a week. I’m happy to say that no one mistook me for my grandma.

I was so impressed I wanted to buy more. So I went online and found other funky styles under the Clarks, Clarks Originals and Privo brands. Even better, I discovered that Clarks is a company with a conscience.

Soul of Africa is an organization started by Lance Clark, (a sixth-generation descendant of the guy who founded the company). On a visit to South Africa, Clark saw how many children had been orphaned by the AIDS epidemic, and he saw an opportunity to help by teaching them how to make shoes and footballs (soccer balls). Soul of Africa offers these children, many who are supporting their younger siblings, an opportunity to work for a fair wage. All of the proceeds from the sale of the shoes and soccer balls go to fund orphanages, hospitals and child care centers to help South Africa deal with the overwhelming number of AIDS orphans.

I typically don’t go out looking for brands that focus on humanitarian work, because most companies do some kind of charity just to look good. But when I find one that does it in a way that seems uniquely tied to the brand, is founded by one of the company owners who is intimately involved in the project, and seems to be sincere in finding solutions and not just throwing money at a problem, you can be sure I’ll be loyal.

Now both my feet and my soul feel good. — Karen, Copywriter

One of the most fun and challenging assignments a writer can have is creating a tagline. Recently, I was blown away by one created for the Illinois Bureau of Tourism: Illinois. Mile after magnificent mile.

Tourism is a crowded field in which many states and large cities compete for vacation dollars. To truly appreciate how insightful this new Illinois tagline is, check out what competing tourism boards are doing:

Pure Michigan.
Wisconsin. Life’s so good.
Texas. It's like a whole other country.
California. Find yourself here.
Only Vegas.
I love NY.

These taglines are nice but very generic. Basically, they can be interchanged with one another without deeply affecting the communication.

A great tagline should be unique. It should help position your product in the consumer’s mind. It should embody your company’s spirit. And it should also function as an internal rallying cry — like a company mission statement.

That’s why “Mile after magnificent mile” is genius. It promotes the entire state as a great place to visit, while giving a nod to our very famous Chicago shopping district. This is definitely one of those lines that make me think “I wish I had done that.” — Karl, Copywriter

Sometimes we think so much about what goes into what we want to say, and then how we go about saying it, how difficult an idea is to pull off, and so on, that we forget the feeling that a really good commercial can evoke. And how powerful that can be.

Here’s to one that never gets old:

I love discovery
I love to learn new things
I love myth-busting
I love exploding things

I love the whole world
And making sense of it
Boomdiyada, boomdiyada, boomdiyada, boomdiyada

I love to travel
I love old tribal ways
I love the space race
I love the frontier days

I love the whole world
And seeing it a million ways
Boomdiyada, boomdiyada, boomdiyada, boomdiyada

I love this concept
And its simplicity
I love the message
It’s so inspiring

I love the whole world
And knowing that you do too
Boomdiyada, boomdiyada, boomdiyada, boomdiyada

Thank you to the Discovery Channel and everyone who contributed to this commercial. I have been seeing forums everywhere that have done nothing but hail this ad. I love it every time I see it, and it’s because it shows how great all these shows are. Because one thing ties them together—a sense of discovery. As obvious as a principle as it seems, that doesn’t happen for a network without a great deal of work and dedication. And it’s worth celebrating. — Steve, Copywriter