Advertising Science

In the forward to her book, Can't Buy Me Love, author Jean Kilbourne writes,  "Advertising in America really, really works." 
Let's harness that power and advertise science, and by extension, careers in STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) disciplines.

In 1984, Apple Computers launched its "Think Different" ad campaign. The ads saluted Picasso, Einstein, Maria Callas and others as "crazy people who push the world forward."

To make America competitive again in the sciences, we also have to think different(ly).

Let’s use advertising to create demand for science in schools and science careers, so that parents demand better science instruction and better science learning facilities with the same fervor they now seem to reserve for better sports facilities.

To do that we need to convince both students and parents that science is vital to their futures. The fact that there are scholarships available for studies in the sciences – scholarships a student may be more likely to receive than sports funding - should make that a bit easier.  Perhaps all we have to do is point that science fairs require a lot less driving than traveling team participation. 

Advertising in America

Corporate America wants to establish brand loyalty young, and spends tens of billions of dollars per year marketing to children. Why? It works. (CK: Consuming Kids, 2003).

Here are the five criteria of an impactful advertising campaign, according to the folks who brought you the "Got Milk?" campaign, from their book, Bang:

1. The ad must be elegantly simple. It must stick in people's minds.

2. The ad must sell something - in many cases, consumer goods.  In our case, an idea.

3. Ads should engender passion. Some people won't like them, some will, but everyone will notice and talk about them.

4. The ads should make the evening news. 

5. The idea should be audacious.