Welcome to the latest edition of our current weekly blog series, How to Ruin an Ad. As is most obvious from the title of this series, each week we’ll be identifying a key element of an ad that, when missing, is sure to reduce its effectiveness.

Last week’s ad was ruined by no call to action.

Today’s ad is ruined by: Not Fulfilling a Promise

Lots of advertisers make loads of big claims in their ads. The best this, and the greatest that.

Making promises in your ads is a good strategy. You can use those promises to show consumers why they should choose your brand over any other.

But those promises fall flat when you can’t keep them.

A wise person once said, “branding is the promises you make, your brand is the promises you keep.” People are never going to associate your company with the promises you make in your ads, they are going to associate your company with their experience doing business with you.

On its face, that makes it seem like it might be a good idea to make lots of outrageous claims on your ads to attract new customers, and who cares if those promises go unfulfilled. The problem is, consumers aren’t stupid, and they don’t live in a vacuum. Consumers talk to each other and will ruin your business if you make claims your products or service can’t live up to.

Advertisers and marketers must work hand in hand with the product and service teams to make sure the promises you make to consumers are promises your company is able to live up to.

Did you enjoy this post? Do you have a surefire way to ruin an ad you think we should cover in an upcoming post? Share it with us in the comments or by email.