What Do Rodney Dangerfield and B2B Advertising have in common?

Or take this other ad by Siemens, a company for whom I have the greatest admiration. Again, this ad could be for anything: technology, new medical processes, nursing schools, student loans for doctors, a hospital building company, a pharmaceutical company or a company making beds that prevent bedsores.

• It’s even sadder when you read it, because then you realize that Siemens did have a unique product to advertise (an mMR scanner), but the agency chose to waste that golden opportunity by not explaining: What the mMR scanner is
• What it does
• How it is uniqueHow it improves the lives of patients to ensure that “happily ever after” promise

In contrast to the Mutual of America ad, which at least has a phone number and a Website, this Siemens ad has only a generic site (siemens.com/answers) that takes you, of all places, to a landing page with turbines, not mMR scanners. But there’s good B2B advertising that does deserve respect. B2B That Gets it Right This ad, arguably the best B2B ad ever written shows how B2B advertising essentially follows the same rules that apply to any good advertising by:

• Cleanly segmenting its target audience (sales people)
• Being relevant to the target, which need to sell something to that tough guy sitting there
• Clearly stating a benefit of the product (and, no, you don’t have to be literal to understand that by using McGraw-Hill magazines, that tough-looking buyer will know what your company stands for and why he should consider your product)
• Being memorable, because we’ve all been in those kinds of situations

Let’s look at three modern ads that clearly make it. Delta has one simple, relevant and important promise: more room. Enough said.