The Outlaw Josey Wales............. much better than a man in green tights and hat

While the Outlaws are at it, how about a Robin Hood themed ad for the 990 processor that hints at it's roots: " From out of the Sherwood Forest comes a high-end home theater processor with an amazing array of features ...... "

That's it then. Cancel the kitchen scraps for lepers and orphans, no more merciful beheadings, and call off Christmas.

I still like the old-west motif you started with. How about something like this for the next ad?

Try a front and back add. Picture: Black-hat cowboy, waist up, gun drawn with a 1070 (or 990) under the other arm - yeah it can be on its side. The front page shows the front of the unit and the story text; while the back page view of the same scene shows the back of the unit and has the bulleted specs (use "bullet" bullets instead of dots) and URLs. The trick will be showing a big-enough product image.

Big bold title: "It don't cost much, just buy it!"

Story text: "At Outlaw it doesn't take a six-shooter to get the quality and performance you want. Introducing the fully featured 7.1 channel Model 1070 A/V receiver from Outlaw Audio.
The comprehensive design of the Model 1070 delivers astounding audio performance at a price that could almost be considered a steal. We can offer such low pricing on all our products because we design them ourselves and offer them direct to you. Best of all, for thirty-days, you can audition the 1070 in your own home risk-free. At just $899, you can put your six-shooter away and still get your own Outlaw 1070."

Yes, a bunch of the text is directly from the Ad PDF.

"OutlawAudio.com" needs to be noticeable - big and bold.

I like Hullguy's idea for a URL to the Forum Saloon and Prefect's note on the lip sync specifying the range: "Variable Lip-Sync Delay (0-200ms)"

As an Internet only seller, Outlaw has a couple of challenges:

1) There is no presence other than the web site. All marketing materials should make as a central function driving customers to the site. If they don't visit Outlaw.com, they don't buy anything. So, placing the URL prominently seems like a requirement. The lower left corner is going to be the least noticed part of anything, so it seems like a bad choice for the URL.

2) Nobody can try the product withou buying.
There are no retail outlets or listening rooms to visit, so someone would have to plunk down thier $900 to see if it's any good. That means everything about the marketing materials needs to convey "Our quality is as good as anything you've ever seen". The desktop-published look of the ad isn't bad or ugly, but it does look inexpensive, which many will interpret as "cheap and low quality" Getting rid of the snazzy fonts and the "front-on" picture of the product would probably help, but I'm no graphic artist.

Beyond those points, I don't know about the hat. It doesn't relate to any branding identity that I know of (not a logo or anything else). Also it dosen't have that strong of a cultural reference. Most people would give you an "Oh yeah..." sort of response once you told them it was a Robin Hood reference. The forest picture, I think, would get much the same reaction.

I'm really interested in buying one of these myself, so from a customer stand point I want to know three things:
What is it?
How much is it?
Where do I get one?

Once I get to the web site...well Outlaw caters to a largely enthusiast community so: specs, specs, and more specs for the unit and lots of pictures!

Just my opinions, take 'em for what you paid for 'em.

-MG

I think the Ad is OK… it looks different from many advertisements in audio/video magazines. It reminds me of the Gateway 2000 ads in the early 1990’s with the CEO and several employees dressed up in silly costumes, like robin hood, or jousting knights, etc. Those Gateway ads did not look too slick or professional, but were effective and fit with the image of a small mid-west company that delivered value in personal computers.

Nonetheless, Outlaw needs to determine how to effectively position its product(s) against the competition. I believe the answer is VALUE in terms of quality relative to price. More specifically: quality of sound, quality of service and quality of construction/components, which together give Outlaw and edge over its competitors.

The ad does not communicate the concept of value; for example, the first technical line (lower right side) mentions 7 x 65 watts per channel… well, Yamaha (a recognized brand with a long history) has a HT receiver priced at $350 less than the 1070 and rated at 95wpc, that was recently written up in the Absolute Sound/Perfect vision. Would a potential customer rather buy an unknown brand that has “less” power and is more expensive, or buy a well known brand with more power that costs 1/3 less? A similar argument could be made with Denon products and many others that have lots of bells and whistles and/or high power ratings. This needs to be considered.

Other thoughts for improvement…
a) The ad layout is a bit busy with roughly 5 sections on the page. One option would be to have one background image: all white, all black or a light image of the forest. Also, the “even robin hood would be proud” text seems to distract from “how to steal like an outlaw.” Finally, people’s eyes are often drawn to areas with the most contrast, as in the lower center of the advertisement (black area that borders the white area). Is the lower center the intended focus of the advertisement or should the focus be on some other area?

b) The web site and saloon discussions are very helpful to new/existing customers and a good sales tool. The web site should be more prominently displayed on ads.

c) I’m also a fan of seeing the back of the unit as several other people mentioned above.

I like the add, but would suggest a few changes.

The title font should be spiffed up a bit - shadowing, outline, etc.

I'd use a picture without the blowouts found on the left side across from the title font.

The feather on the cap should be re-shot, to eliminate the colored fringes found on the edges.

I like the ad copy itself.

Scott

The Outlaws were supposed to randomly select a participant yesterday to win $250 Outlaw bucks.....any word yet?

We'll be posting the winner shortly.

Thanks for the feedback!

Scott

Well?.........

Ummmm......tap...tap...tap....

Is this thing on?