This is the fourth in a weekly series of posts from one of our PPC Hero Allies, Jeff Sexton of BoostCTR, where he’ll dissect and analyze ads he sees various places online. Jeff’s “Ads In The Wild” series will give an in-depth look at the philosophy and strategy behind these ads and will provide a lot of actionable advice for anyone looking to improve their ad copy.
First, if you’re unfamiliar with Seth Godin’s book, Purple Cow, here’s a quick quote that’ll give the essence of the idea:
“While driving through France a few years ago, my family and I were enchanted by the hundreds of storybook cows grazing in lovely pastures right next to the road. For dozens of kilometers, we all gazed out the window, marveling at the beauty. Then, within a few minutes, we started ignoring the cows. The new cows were just like the old cows, and what was once amazing was now common. Worse than common: It was boring.
Cows, after you’ve seen them for a while, are boring. They may be well-bred cows, Six Sigma cows, cows lit by a beautiful light, but they are still boring. A Purple Cow, though: Now, that would really stand out. The essence of the Purple Cow — the reason it would shine among a crowd of perfectly competent, even undeniably excellent cows — is that it would be remarkable. Something remarkable is worth talking about, worth paying attention to. Boring stuff quickly becomes invisible.”
So, with Facebook ads, the idea of leveraging our hardwired impulse to pay attention to faces has been around for awhile now — that’s why so many Facebook ads feature close-up of faces, typically the face of a pretty woman. And at first it was eye catching, but now that it’s caught on, the average face close-up has become like Seth’s storybook-but-boring cows.
And that’s why Marty Weintraub unleashed this beauty:
And you better believe it stands out every bit as well as Seth Godin promised.
It’s pretty much impossible to ignore, in fact. And isn’t that the goal?
Even better, since the ad is pushing Marty’s ability to teach you how to create your own “Killer Facebook Ads” this purple-cow ad works as an instant credibility builder and proof of competence.
And that’s doing Facebook ads right.
So what’ll be your Purple Cow when it comes to Facebook Ads?
