Obviously in the last few months I haven't been a dependable small business marketing blogger. As '07 wound down, my work as a consultant began heating up. This seems to be the time of year when many small businesses are looking for assistance with marketing plans, ad campaigns and budgeting. As I've worked with a variety of small businesses, I've made mental notes of some observations I want to share here. The problem has been finding the time to write about them.

I'll get back to those observations in a future entry, but right now I want to focus on an article that appeared in today's news. It's a story I think we all, even as small businesses marketers without a huge advertising budget, can learn from.

Wendy's International Inc. announced today that they are scrapping their 8-month old ad campaign that features young men wearing a red wig with braided pigtails. The company noted the campaign has generated attention, but that attention hasn't translated into improved sales. The Wendy's Vice President of brand marketing said, "It was a love it or hate it kind of spot." Related message boards buzzed today with a common theme. As one commenter said, "We hated it."

Wendy's has followed Hyundai into the "annoying advertising" hall of shame. For those who recall, Hyandai became the subject of numerous YouTube parodies with their Christmas choir happy holi"duh" commercials. If you didn't see these "duh" commercials, well consider yourself spared.

There are some basic lessons to be learned here:

• Having a million dollar budget and a big name advertising agency doesn’t guarantee a successful ad campaign. Even if you’re working with a local ad agency, don't blindly follow their lead.
• Be cautious about using "humor" or attempting to be “cute” in your advertising. Humor comes in many forms, and what you consider to be funny, others may not. Wendy's said their red wig campaign was meant to rely on humor, but the audience wasn't laughing. While the campaign targeted Gen Y and X’ers, even they seemed puzzled by the helium-filled guy wearing a red ponytail wig as he floated on the ceiling. Humor can work, but it also provides many opportunities to fail.
• Ask yourself (and a test audience) if your “out there” ad insults or annoys them. In advertising, deviating from the norm can be the way to stand out. Think of the Geico Gecko or the AFLAC duck. Failure comes when an advertiser goes so far over the line that the majority of people can’t relate. In comment after comment on message boards, people complained that the Wendy’s ads were stupid and insulting. In fact, many said they were so annoyed that they made a mental note NOT to eat there.

Some might argue that commercials like the Hyundai “Duh” and Wendy’s red wig were successful, because they drew attention to the advertiser. It’s true. The Internet did buzz about them. But it was a negative buzz. And in their announcement today, Wendy’s said sales did not increase. Granted, many other factors, such as product and service quality, affect overall sales. Even so, it seems a shame to invest $300 million annually into an ad message that consumers say caused them NOT to buy your product.

To me, the Wendy’s red wig campaign gives all advertisers a reason to really stop and think before venturing into the risky world of so-called “humor” in advertising.