Why are there so many toothless, uninteresting ads?

Why do you see so many ads that sell the category instead of the brand?

Because these brands have absolutely nothing unique to talk about but they still need to advertise to survive.

Search Califia’s “Calilujah” on YouTube and you’ll see an example of what I’m talking about. In a trade press article, the Califia client said they found that people were confused by the many milk alternatives available these days. So this commercial simply says, “Try ’em all. See what you like.”

Califia found a truth. But it’s a category truth. And, if someone is out to experiment with different “plant-based milk alternatives,” category leader Silk has FIVE varieties and challenger Califia has only three.

But, let’s face it. Oat milk is oat milk. If Califia doesn’t have any difference to talk about – richer taste, less calories, thicker consistency, greater commitment to sustainability – then all they could do is try to bring new people into the category and shove their brand assets in everyone’s face in an attempt to win them over.

Here’s another example: search “Kids Retirement MassMutual” on YouTube. This is a hilarious commercial inspired by the truth that parents have an ongoing, nagging awareness that they’re not doing enough to save for retirement, but daily expenses and saving for college take precedence. I know this is true because I saw similar research when I was given the same brief at another company.

It’s true. But it’s another category insight. This commercial does an excellent job driving this category insight home. It’s a fresh and fun tone for this category. But they can’t offer much in the way of a brand insight. No tangible remedies, just a promise to “feel comfortable about tomorrow.” Then they flash the woefully forgettable company name. (I had incorrectly remembered this spot being for Northwestern Mutual when I first tried to track it down.) They probably didn’t go further into the service MassMutual offers because it’s boring and undifferentiated.

One time a planner, account director, and I were looking at a brief a client sent over. On the client’s brief form, under the question, “What is the single most important thing we should communicate?” the client wrote a paragraph with about 10 things. We set up a conference call to try to to determine the single most important thing.

After some deliberation, our client answered, “We meet with people to understand their needs and come up with a customized solution to help meet their goals.”

“Isn’t that what everyone does?”

Long pause.

“Our people are really great. It’s our people that make the difference.”

“And their people are incompetent?”

Even longer pause.

So there we were. Nothing unique to talk about. Hoping our attempt at selling an entire category based on well-known category truths would still be worth putting on air.

This continues every day. Ads tell us that banks help you save for your financial goals. Beer is for good times with friends. Chocolate is an indulgent treat. Smartphones have good cameras. SUVs can drive over big rocks. Universities have labs.

For all of you who will spend your day creating ads based on a category insight because there’s nothing that makes your client’s product unique, you have my sympathies. I’ve been there.