A stitch in time saves nine.

A penny saved is a penny earned.

Level playing field.

Raising the bar.

All the above are bromides–yesterday’s quiz word. Do bromides–trite phrases–have a place in advertising, marketing materials and sales collateral?

The reflexive answer is most likely, NO! Marketers, being in the creativity business, naturally incline toward originality. But what do customers prefer?

A few years back, Apple did good by putting a creative twist on a commonplace phrase–

Think different.

Enormously effective because it appealed to Apple’s target customers–people who value creativity.

But how about Chevrolet’s …

Like a Rock.

The recently dropped but highly successful truck campaign was about as bromide-y as you can get–Bob Seeger, Red, White and Blue, etc. “Like a Rock” spoke to Chevrolet’s core audience. My guess is a “Drive different.” campaign would have bombed.

Creativity for creativity’s sake puts us on dangerous marketing ground. Understanding the customer–that’s as good as gold, the path of least resistance, the ace in the hole.

If you need help coming up with bromides, help is a click away!