Craftsman’s Attempt At The Everyman

I found this print ad in the most recent issue of Sports Illustrated and thought it did a great job of targeting the everyday man. Most of the yard maintenance advertisements you see coming out now show people smiling and excited to get out into the spring weather and breathe life back into their yards. That may be a certain percentage of the population. The other percentage sees the lawn as a drain. The lawn is a tiring obstacle standing between you and the rest of your weekend. This ad does a great job of speaking to that percentage.

The ad’s headline is succinct and straight to the point. “Cuts grass and time”, lets you know everything you need to know about the lawn mower. It will do a good job cutting the grass and it will help you do it faster. The body copy goes on to explain exactly how this mower helps you cut your mowing time. It does a fine job, but I don’t even need it. The headline does it all for me.

The second impressive thing about this ad is the placement. As I said, I found it in the most recent issue of Sports Illustrated. That is the perfect target audience. Men who most likely are taking care of their lawn, but most likely aren’t weekend lawn warriors. They are more concerned with getting the lawn done and catching the rest of the baseball game or getting to their kid’s soccer game. Better Homes and Gardens, for instance, would be a bad placement for this ad. People reading Better Homes and Gardens generally take more pride in their lawns and might be put off by a lawn mower that helps you rush through the job.

What do you think about this layout? Does it do a good job of conveying their message?

-The Ultimate Account Guy