Silence Get’s You No Where

Week four and the drama continues with a surprising sudden death of Betty’s dad midway through episode four. The effects of his short time with the Drapers is sure to be exposed in coming weeks.

The most true-to-life story line this week was conclusion of the Bye, Bye Birdie campaign for the soft drink Patio Cola. If you’re behind, in episode two Pepsi brought to the table the idea of finding an Ann Margaret look-a-like to introduce their new diet cola. The following episodes find the team searching for the perfect actress and ultimately shooting a spot that is frame-for-frame identical to the Ann Margaret performance.

So, great. The client should be happy and leap for joy - right? Wrong. After the spot was complete, the client recognized that the idea was wrong for their target audience and scratched the campaign.

OOPS, been there, seen that. One of the most difficult tasks as a marketing partner is to push back when you feel the client is making a poor decision for the brand. But if there is one thing I have learned, it’s that as a true partner it’s your responsibility to stand up and speak your mind when you see a possible wrong turn. Keeping silent can put your client at risk of spinning their wheels and in today’s economy, their’s just no time for that.