Four-Year-Old Wisdom

My four-year-old has finally figured out what daddy does all day. So now, he pays close attention to every spot that comes on the air.

Two nights ago, the family was watching something -- I don't remember what. Jackson, though, was watching commercials. Occasionally, right after a spot he particularly liked, he would stand up, and explain, in earnest, to my wife and I, that there was a very special widget out there that could do very special things -- precisely the things that were outlined in the spot.

He did this occasionally. Only when a spot got to him. Over time, I started noticing that he was only paying attention to the spots I would consider the best, creatively.

Mostly, they were the best, because they were the simplest. One thought. Thirty seconds about that one thought. Jackson got it. But he didn't get the ones that had too much information -- too many different directions. Neither did I, most of the time.

How many times have you, as an advertiser, or producer, or agency creative or marketing person, dissected a 30 second spot you were making -- to put this message here, in the beginning, then tell this story in the middle, then finish off with that....?

It doesn't work. You wouldn't do it in print, but you percieve 30 seconds as time enough to try to tell people too much.

A spot is a thought. One thought. Thirty seconds is a short time for one thought.

Don't write to a four-year-old's level of understanding. Write to a four-year-old's attention span.