By Jimmy Vee

Two heads may be better than one. And two ads for the price of one is good too. But two bad ads in one...isn’t ever good.

Check out the picture above. I got this postcard in the mail a couple months back. I found it so funny that I couldn’t throw it away. I added it to my “worst-of-the-worst” swipe file.

I find this thing totally ridiculous. It’s a postcard with picture of a billboard on it. As if the bad postcard wasn’t enough, they had to put a picture of a billboard on it—which by the way, they don’t even really have. It’s just some graphic designer’s brilliant idea, inspired by a 47 second search on a stock photo site.

Man, people are just dying to see another billboard aren’t they? This should stop you dead in your tracks when you get it in your mail box. This is really going to make a difference in your life. It will really be worth taking a look at. YEAH RIGHT!

I can just picture the construction of this ad taking place. Someone is searching a photo site, sees a billboard image and says…Eureka!!! Let’s do a postcard with a billboard on it. Nothing says “Grand Opening” better than a billboard. Let alone a picture of a billboard with a bad advertisement on it. This is just ego, vomit advertising.

Another reason why businesses complain direct mail doesn’t work. They expect this piece to actually produce results when it doesn’t even have a chance. It didn’t have a chance before it went out in the mail.

It’s a silly marketing attempt by a big dumb company with no real thought or strategy put into their marketing effort. It’s not personal, it’s not relevant and it’s not engaging, it doesn’t deliver any value and it doesn’t tap into what’s on people’s minds. It doesn't make we want to go to a grand opening. It doesn't make me want to create a relationship with these people. It’s just marketing for the sake of marketing.

I give it an F+

Major pet peeve of mine: advertising that wastes peoples’ time. Thanks for letting me vent.

Let me know what you think of it.