There’s a local chain of tobacco shops here in St. Louis, Missouri called “Dirt Cheap Fun Fun”. In your city they may be called “C-Stores”, “Sin Stores”, etc.
They were formerly known as simply “Dirt Cheap”, but through ownership changes, lawyer interactions, etc…they had to add the “Fun Fun” to their name.
Their mascot is a chicken wearing an early 1900’s bathing suit with knee-high black boots…
“Dirt Cheap Fun Fun official logo”
Right now they’re running a competition for you to “Be The Director” in an upcoming television commercial.
The grand prize? The winning idea gets produced and shown on the television (more on that in a minute).
Your mission, should you choose to accept (directly from their website):
“I am looking for greatest, most creative concepts. To do so, I am collecting short :30 second videos. From there, I will choose a select few, open them up to a vote and video with the most votes wins!!!”
The Problem
They’re looking for “creative“.
Remember: the goal of the commercial is not to “entertain”. It’s to convince the audience to visit.
Whether or not they buy is up to the business once the consumer enters.
Here’s what to expect (probably):
- Videos of flatulent animals
- Poor singing/acting
- Most likely – very little to do with the store itself
Here’s What The Instructions Should Be:
- The entrants should be told to tell how going to “Dirt Cheap Fun Fun” makes their life better.
- How going to the store saves them time/money
- Do they carry a hard-to-find product? That’s advertising gold.
But, give the audience what they want (not what they need)… right?
After all, it’s “Dirt Cheap Fun Fun” footing the bill for the t.v. time.
As for the “prize”, don’t you think giving away (at minimum) gift cards of varying denominations to the finalists would be fitting? After all, the fans of Dirt Cheap Fun Fun are most likely going to be coming up with ideas for this contest…
;
Business owners are like teenagers, they don’t know what’s best for them.