When I wrote yesterday about ads missing the mark, I should have included Nextel in the mix. They had the perfect opportunity to show how they help real people work smarter and decided to go for humor instead. Let me set the stage.

Nextel has two new commercials. One is a group of firefighters representing some sort of legislative body, attempting to show how easy things would be if a group of them were in a room talking through their phones. The other shows steelworkers acting as workers for the Department of Motor Vehicles. Through both, they show that blue-collar workers just care about getting something done-whether it's good or not, with no discussion or debate, because, of course, life should be that simple.

If the point they hope to make is that using their service improves how people communicate, then show it in action. Find an organization bogged down in bureaucracy and lag times in decision-making. Give them phones and your service for a month, two months, a year. Then show how they became more efficient and effective and communicated better because of your product.

Showing people the real benefits to using good or service actually works.

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