How a Yahoo ad EMBARRASSED me in front of my coworker

Soooo I spent a lot of time trying to figure out a subject line for today’s email that wouldn’t instantly trigger a spam filter.

Here’s why:

I was reviewing copy yesterday with the other copywriter on my team.

We’re looking over some content on Yahoo — rife with ill-targeted display ads — when I see it.

In no less than 5 HUGE, glowing, animated boxes on the page, there’s an ad for …

🍆 GENERIC VIAGRA 😳

Now …

I don’t feel like I need to share this part of my life with you, but I don’t personally take Viagra. Nor was I researching it.

And fwiw I don’t think it’s a bad thing if someone does take it.

But it is, however, a private affair.

Best I can figure is that I’ve been doing competitive research on the “natural/herbal" anxiety cures market, and the company that makes the generic Viagra and served the ad (Hims) also sells medication for anxiety.

So some targeting wires got crossed and I got a Viagra ad. Occupational hazard, I guess.

Either way, it was embarrassing to get served such a seemingly “private” ad during a meeting with a coworker, even if it wasn’t accurate to me.

This is bad timing at it's finest.

Aka the unavoidable problem of marketing.

Here’s what I mean: You can craft the best email … the perfect native ad … hell, a freakin’ billboard.

But everyone — EVERYONE — has a regular life with all their own things going on.

Even if your ad is perfectly researched and crafted, you can’t control what state or situation someone is in when they receive it.

Like in a meeting with another person while sharing your screen. Lol.

Is there a solution for this?

The best I can offer is my own experience … which leads me to tell you that consistency is key.

A campaign that runs for 1 day to 100,000 people ONE time each has less opportunity to “match” with a reader — at least in terms of reception — than a campaign that runs for 10 or 20 or 30 days to the same amount of people MULTIPLE times.

In other words, consistency means more opportunity to get better reception (regardless of timing) with your market.

David Patrick