Taxi Examination: Assessing the Skills of Taxi Drivers
In the rapidly evolving world of advertising, creating memorable and widely recognized campaigns has become a challenge. The "Taxi Test," a measure of an ad's fame and memorability, especially among the general public, has been a guiding principle for successful advertising. However, the industry's shift towards digital obscurity has led to campaigns that, despite winning prestigious awards, fail to pass the Taxi Test.
Successful advertising campaigns often employ clear, simple, and direct messaging, as seen in the Taxi Test principle. The core idea should be conveyed in a brief, casual conversation, making it easily understandable for everyone, including taxi drivers.
Emotional and intellectual engagement, personalization, boldness and controversy, humor and cleverness, cultural and celebrity references, and a strong call to action are other strategies that help create memorable ads. For instance, Coca-Cola's #ShareaCoke emotionally connects with customers by making them feel personally involved, while Old Spice's "The Man Your Man Can Smell Like" uses humor and quirky scenarios to stand out.
Unfortunately, many modern advertising campaigns, such as taking over a brand's social feed for a day with the Cookie Monster writing Instagram posts, do not become widely recognized, despite winning advertising awards. The desire to avoid seeming out of touch has led the industry to prioritize new media channels over creating reliably famous work.
Goodhart's Law, which states that when a measure becomes a target, it ceases to be a good measure, is applicable to the advertising industry. The success of an advertising campaign was once measured by the question "Anything I've seen?" from taxi drivers. However, the number of Cannes Grand Prix winners seen by taxi drivers or regular people is even lower.
To regain fame and realign priorities, it is suggested that taxi drivers judge Cannes. Advertising creatives are currently rewarded for winning awards rather than increasing sales or creating memorable ads. The industry's shift towards digital, obscure award-winning work has moved away from creating famously remembered ads.
In the past, advertising work typically appeared in places like billboards, newspapers, magazines, and TV, visible to "regular, everyday people." The conversation then shifted to a different topic, but it is clear that the advertising industry needs to reconsider its focus and return to the principles that create memorable, widely recognized work—similar to the concept behind the "Taxi Test."
- Memorable and widely recognized advertising campaigns often utilize strategies such as emotional and intellectual engagement, personalization, boldness, humor, cultural references, and a strong call to action, as exemplified by Coca-Cola's #ShareaCoke and Old Spice's "The Man Your Man Can Smell Like."
- Contrary to this approach, many modern advertising campaigns, like taking over a brand's social feed for a day with the Cookie Monster writing Instagram posts, may win prestigious awards but fail to become widely recognized, such as the campaigns not seen by taxi drivers or regular people.
- The industry's emphasis on digital media and winning awards, rather than creating memorable ads, has led to a disconnect from the core principles that make a campaign widely recognized, such as those reflected in the Taxi Test principle.
- To reestablish the focus on creating memorable, widely recognized work, it is proposed that taxi drivers judge the annual Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, helping to realign the industry's priorities and forever reconsider the value of old media in creating famous advertising campaigns.
