Dehype U. -- Great Marketing Exemplified.

Good marketing starts with a great product. I used to tell my ad clients, It isn't magic. It's just communication--if you have a lousy product and service, advertising will only accelerate your demise. First, make a great product. End of lecture.

Now, a great marketing example: Dyson. Imagine, innovation in vacuum cleaners. We all knew vacuums clogged up and lost suction. But nobody wanted to fix that because they made so much money selling those wonderful paper bags. Dyson is the perfect example of a true advance, an actual improvement, something really new--the most powerful thing in advertising. You don't have to make tremendously creative ads, just get out of the way and give the news. It's worked bigtime for Dyson. But he's also done it with style. Take a look at his Web site--a stunner, with Flash animation that actually works on a dialup connection. And, of course, his new product, The Ball vacuum, and the TV spots for it. Really well done. See it all on his site.

Dyson's been so successful, Hoover is now running attack ads--"satirizing" Dyson's stylish vacuums with actors saying things like "My vacuum cleaner is purple." Excellent, guys, always tell the potential customer he's superficial and stupid for liking the competition's product. Then Hoover claims their vacuum is tested and proven best under real-life conditions in "American homes." Oh, good, xenophobia! Does Hoover realize they're running a compelling ad campaign for Dyson? Their campaign has the whiff of desperation about it--a textbook example of bonehead advertising. By the way, early on Dyson had to sue Hoover UK for patent infringement, and won. As you can see, I'm a fan. I want a Dyson vac.