The Cat's Meow To really be noticed, you've got to break the advertising mold and come up with an idea that's unique in your industry.

"Think different," the headline Apple Computer hoistedonto a million billboards a few years ago to get PC users to switchto Macintosh, happens to be a more compelling message to otheradvertisers. The message is: You'd better think differently ifyou want to separate what you sell from that of your competitors,especially if it's a parity product.

Onecompany that's succeeded in this regard is Hunter Fans, whichinvented the ceiling fan back in 1886. Nowadays, besides stillselling devices that blow the air, they're peddling items thatclean it. With a sizeable market for air purifiers, Hunter figuredit should be leveraging its century of goodwill as air-qualitymerchants to jump into the fray. But instead of falling into stepwith all the other purveyors of dander, pollen, dust and odoreaters, Hunter's brain trust cocked its collective head anddecided to ask consumers, humorously, "Ever Tried To Vacuum ACat?" This is an A+ example of breaking the mold. It's anad concept that comes right out of left field to ultimately delivera message similar to that of other purveyors, in a totally freshway. Coupled with the visual of a miffed Muffy, it's a bonafide stopper and funny to boot. The white headline against a blackbackdrop, floating just above the head of the frosted feline, makesfor a very interruptive ad, executed in just half a page.

I regularly beseech readers to think differently when it comesto advertising. It's not simple. One can't easily sit down,turn off hackneyed thinking and ponder in a totally new and freshdirection about one's product. This is especially true ifit's a product you live with 24/7. So what to do? Or who toturn to? There's an old saying--"Out of the mouths ofbabes come gems"--that refers to the precociously wittycomments kids often blurt out. That same sort of unplannedcleverness can come from anyone and can create mold-breakingadvertising. You just have to be there to capture it. Put a bunchof people from your target market together, and get them to startjabbering about your product. A gem is bound to fall offhandedlyfrom someone's lips. It wouldn't surprise me to learn that,under similar circumstances, someone at the Hunter Fan officesblurted out "Ever tried to vacuum a cat?"