Using Back To School in Advertising

I really like this MasterCard commercial. It’s a good one: Short, simple, memorable. Oh, and adorable. And it’s on a timely topic — back to school.

It occurs to me that advertising ought to be targeted. You want to approach people from a place they can recognize. And right now, that place is back to school. Especially for the women that make up a large portion of the consumer public. So it’s smart to emphasize the back to school theme, without pushing it too much. A nice balance between reminding you, and hitting you over the head with it. MasterCard’s “priceless” commercials do this really well.

And it’s important to keep advertising. Even during times of recession, you need to advertise. You won’t remind people that you are there, just waiting to receive their money, if you don’t. It’s an important part of savvy business practices that can help you keep things moving. In corporate finance, it really is true: If you want to make money, you do have to spend it first.