The target

"Two men were duck-shooting - one a seasoned sportsman and the other out for his first bird. They looked up and saw a cloud of ducks above them.

    "Help yourself!" the veteran said. The novice fired. Not a feather fluttered.

     "How in the world could I miss all of them?" he exclaimed.

     "You didn't pick your duck," was the answer. "You fired at the whole flock."

      If an advertisement is to contain the consumer's viewpoint it must be made with a knowledge of the consumer's personality, sex, tastes, location and habits....One of the most vital facts for an advertising man to remember is that he must never let himself lose the consumer viewpoint which he had before he started studying a product."

     That was a passage from a book that I recently read. I share it, not because it states anything that we don't already know, but because it was written in 1928 by Roy S. Durstine (the "D" in BBDO) and is, what I believe, the fundamental truth of our business. We need to be reminded of that. Yet I hear that advertising is all about Innovation or Conversation or Technology or Delivery Systems or Making Things or Entertainment or God-Knows-What. Those things are only part of what it’s about. Front and center, it’s about Persuading a Consumer. 

     I’m thinking it's time for a reload.