| Title: | Do Dancing Skeletons Sell More Mortgages? |
| URL: | http://www.rimmkaufman.com/rkgblog/2008/10/21/dancing-skeletons/ |
| Printed: | July 4, 2009 |
| Source: | The Rimm-Kaufman Group Blog, info@rimmkaufman.com |
- October 21, 2008
- 6 comments
Noticed a strange ad this morning on the business page of msnbc.com.
LowerMyBills ran a small blurb ad about mortgage rates. Identified as an ad, but at first glance looks like an article. Relevant headline. Relevant copy. Relevant rate calculator gadget.
But they matched their copy with a dizzying flash movie of a circle of dancing skeletons.
Skeletons? I’m not sure I get it.
What are they trying to say?
- “The mortgage industry is dead; refinance now at a favorable rate”?
- “Halloween is coming, always the perfect time to refi your house, trick or treat”?
- “Lenders have skeletons in our closets; truth is the ultimate sales tool“?
Perhaps I’m looking for meaning when it isn’t there. Perhaps MLB went with a random shock image to grab a click.
Hmmm… other folks have called out strange LMB video ads on YouTube.
Videos which don’t match the ad.
You think LMB tested this idea, or not?
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- Pingback: Do Dancing Skeletons Sell More Mortgages? | Mortgage Refinance Blog on October 21, 2008
Some more winners:
http://brokerscience.com/marketing/lower-my-bills/lower-my-bills-hall-of-fame/
This is along the same lines as the dancing baby, whack the monkey and silhouetted dancers on a rooftop: just eye catching gimmicks that probably don’t sell more mortgages but get people to talk about how annoying and irrelevant the ads are…which may actually be valuable to the advertiser after all.
They catch the users eye. I’m sure they are working; this company has been running variations like this for years.
As long as they aren’t paying CPC, these ads will yield more clicks and thus they are getting more bang for their buck out of their display ads. It’s not necessarily quality traffic, but it’s a numbers game for these guys.
Here is some background on these ads from the NYT:
“Don’t Like the Dancing Cowboys? Results Say You Do”
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/18/business/media/18adco.html
If its works works Mortgages will it woirk for sat nav ;o)
Thanks ill give that a try