Ad Shops: ‘Be Careful’
By JENNIFER BELLANTONIO
Joyce Ukropina has a simple answer for broadcast clients asking if they should advertise on Sept. 11: don’t.
“We’re recommending that no commercials air on the 11th,” said Ukropina, partner at Irvine-based Johnson/Ukropina Creative Marketing, which counts Carl’s Jr. restaurants and Smart & Final Inc. among its clients.
Many of the networks have turned to a different strategy, where programs are being “sponsored” by advertisers, in lieu of conventional 30-second commercials, Ukropina said.
But she’s recommending her national retail clients be wary of advertising on Sept. 11.
And Ukropina is not alone.
At least two clients of Marshall Advertising and Design in Costa Mesa have chosen not to advertise on that day, according to the ad shop’s business development chief, Hank Blank. They are Orange-based St. Joseph Health System and Nationwide Lending Corp. in Irvine.
“If they ask for my recommendation I advise them not to advertise on that day,” he said. “I think consumers are going to be very reflective. I think the depth of the tragedy will again resonate and that people will be very somber and focused on other priorities.”
A month or more before the first anniversary of the terrorist attacks, local and national advertisers were already grappling with the weighty question of what to do.
It’s no simple answer for advertisers, and it has a big impact on an industry that is still struggling to stand after a two-year downhill slide.
On a national level, television networks have already said they’re planning to go with special programming on Sept. 11, many opting for a commercial-free day.
The move means networks could stand to lose a collective $32 million alone in primetime advertising on Sept.11, according to trade magazine Advertising Age.
For instance, News Corp.’s Fox Broad-casting Co. and Fox News Channel have announced they will not take any advertising for the entire day, a $5 million hit, Ad Age reported.
And many large retailers have said they want to sit on the sidelines.
Target Corp.’s Target Stores and Sears, Roebuck & Co. have chosen not to air regularly scheduled TV commercials on Sept. 11. Others that will stay away from television, print and radio advertising include the Coca-Cola Co. and General Motors Corp.
Local ad players have varying views.
Some brands, such as Lincoln Mercury, part of Ford Motor Corp.’s Premier Automotive Group in Irvine, are going ahead with their normal advertising,but steering clear of commemorative-type ads.
“If dealers or regional folks have ads that would normally run that day … they’ll continue with their regular advertising,” said Nancy Carollo, Lincoln Mercury’s public affairs manager.
“We’re not doing anything dramatic to avoid the day, but we’re also not doing commemorative things either.
“We’re looking at is as a traditional business day,” she added. “The rest of the businesses are open and we’ll be treating it that way.”
Other businesses, such as Mission Hospital Regional Medical Center in Mission Viejo, have pulled all their marketing.
“(The issue) we are concerned about is primarily respect,” said Paula J. Serios, vice president of marketing and communications at the hospital. “In honor of the lives lost on Sept. 11 last year, we felt it improper to market in any manner.”
Instead, Mission, which is part of the St. Joseph Health System chain of hospitals, is holding a blood drive for the city of New York “as a way of further honoring the city,” she said.
RiechesBaird Advertising in Irvine says it hears some companies are pulling ads they would’ve normally run in major newspapers.
“We are hearing that many larger companies (and parent companies of some of our own clients) who advertise daily in the Wall Street Journal, for example, opted not to run on Sept. 11 out of respect for the victims and in observance of this national tragedy,” said Ray Baird, the agency’s president.
But most of RiechesBaird’s clients and those of Costa Mesa-based ad shop neoBrands Inc. are going ahead with their routine advertising schedules, the companies say.
Many of these clients are business-to-business companies.
“While it would certainly be in outrageously bad taste to do anything to promotionally capitalize on the tragedy, the worst thing we could as an industry,and as a country,is to ‘go dark,'” said Rich Sharga, neoBrands’ executive vice president and general manager. “Better that we show the world that we are still in business and thriving. Better that we salute the courage of the heroes on Sept. 11 and mirror their resolve by doing whatever we can to jumpstart this economy and keep the wheels of commerce humming.”
A major sticking point: companies are afraid they’ll come across as opportunistic or exploitative, particularly if they run strongly patriotic ads without having a direct connection to the tragedy.
The move backfired for some last year.
Some automotive companies, for instance, got mixed feedback in the weeks following the tragedy when they ran commercials promoting special financing offers on new cars, which were laced with patriotic messages.
This time around advertisers are being extra careful.
According to a poll recently conducted by Ad Age, 51% of U.S. consumers believe marketers should stay away from the tube and other media on Sept.11.
The survey, conducted by WPP Group PLC’s Lightspeed Research in the United Kingdom, found that 34% of U.S. consumers believe it’s acceptable to run advertising on the anniversary of the tragedy, while 15% had no opinion.
The poll also found that if companies ran ads on Sept. 11, 62% of respondents would not change their view of the company.
It’s a complex issue, and as a result agencies are being extra sensitive.
“Any commercials we air before and after Sept. 11 have been carefully chosen and produced to avoid being perceived as opportunistic,” marketer Ukropina said.
