The Lost Cat Poster Theory

[Joe Ditzel]

NickN linked to a blog on another thread recently. Following that link I also saw this post:

The Sell! Sell! Blog: The Lost Cat Poster Theory

While the blog discusses general advertising, this post makes an interesting point that also applies to direct response--that creativity can get in the way of the message.

The author's cat got lost one day. Eventually the owner decided to put up those little one-sheets you see in the neighborhood that say "Lost Cat" or "Missing" with a photo of the cat.

He writes:

"Afterwards I thought about what would happen if you gave the brief of a lost cat poster to a typical creative department. If they applied the same methods to the poster as they do to their clients' communications, what would the end result be like? Would it be shot by an obscure Brazilian photographer they'd always wanted to work with? Would the main point be obscured by a joke, or by an obtuse idea that got in the way?

Would the focus of the creatives be on the poster's absolute effectiveness? Or would they be obsessed with creating a poster that 'had never been done before', or that their peers would be impressed with? Would they have avoided using a picture of the cat because 'it's a bit of cliche innit'? I'll leave you to your own conclusions. But if they had to design a poster to get their own loved pet back, would they approach it differently?"

Is the main theme of your latest copy obscured by an obtuse idea?

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As an aside, this page on their main site just gave me a headache:

http://www.sellsell.co.uk/who_the_hell_are_sell_sell

[angiecolee]

I tend to agree that simple is best.

I have lost my cat before - a combination of simple posters with pictures and "LOST" with a number, plus me scouring the neighborhood and local shelters is what ultimately worked.

That story helps make my overall point: even with a simple piece that gets attention, that can't be the only strategy, both in life and in finding lost cats

[Steve Hill]

That's a good point about always being sure to include the core elements. In the Case of the Missing Cat, even Sherlock Holmes would say it's elementary to at least include a picture of the cat.

But to get attention, it's always good to address the issue of "what's in it for me?" A good old-fashioned REWARD across the top (and details below) would help; when every cat looks like a potential pile of money, that gets people looking. Trying to capture and return a hissing spitting cat suddenly gets a lot more worthwhile.

Of course, animal lovers would often return it for free, in which case LOST would work fine, but what about engaging the attention of everybody else? Even the postman could probably use an additional bit of cash, and he's all over the neighborhood every day.

(And yeah, that page on sellsell.co.uk's main site sure was painful to read, I stopped after just a few lines.)

[John_S]

Don't worry about whether the cat is actually found or not ....it's building the brand.

[RickDuris]

Originally Posted by Steve Hill

That's a good point about always being sure to include the core elements. In the Case of the Missing Cat, even Sherlock Holmes would say it's elementary to at least include a picture of the cat.

Years ago, I had a project which included multi-variable testing of the page. There was a picture of a cat as part of the page. We had to figure out which picture of a cat was best.

The picture that won was a calico kitten sleeping.

Who knew?

- Rick Duris

[agc]

seriously, you have to see the original "lost cat poster" from which the picture above was liberated.

"yeah thats not what I was looking for at all."

[monkeytrousers]

How about:
"Learn the secret to making millions! Just find the cat pictured below and unlock the secret to unlimited success!"

[Jason Kanigan]

I want to see Mr. Subtle's riposte to this one.