Posted on by Dave J.

How sucky are these B2B ads?

If you subscribe to BtoB Magazine, you probably got a survey request in your email. The survey is actually a review of recent full-page ads in their magazine. Check out the survey. You can just skip the survey questions and look at the 17 ads.

While the survey asked the very vague “What message or feeling do you get from this ad?” essay question, I felt compelled to write like one of their own ‘copy chasers’. Man, these ads sucked! Really! Only two I rated as winners, and 2-4 were okay…out of 17. A couple I commented look like they were created in Word. This is a magazine for marketers?

I guess I must normally flip past these ads and not pay attention. Most are selling services or magazine advertising, so having a picture of a real product not realistic. But you figure the exhibit booth vendor would at least have a picture of a show booth in their ad. Or the company selling ads in elevators would focus on explaining their product. The most effective and compelling was the Forbes.com two-page spread in black & white.

Going thru the survey a second time, I see they are rotating the ads in the survey. Click this image to see a full-size sample of suckiness.

6 Replies to “How sucky are these B2B ads?”

  3. Interesting that you picked the Forbes one. That one appealed to me the most. I think because it didn’t force me to interpret the message.My take is that B2B buyers are looking for information. They are technical people and these ads look too much like a commercial.Most of them feel like something you might read in the waiting room of a salon.

  4. Interesting that you picked the Forbes one. That one appealed to me the most. I think because it didn’t force me to interpret the message.My take is that B2B buyers are looking for information. They are technical people and these ads look too much like a commercial.Most of them feel like something you might read in the waiting room of a salon.

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