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Howard Speaks Howard Farran, DDS, MAGD, MBA, Publisher, Dentaltown Magazine

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Got Teeth?
– by Howard Farran, DDS, MAGD, MBA, Publisher, Dentaltown Magazine

Just about everyone in the United States is familiar with the famous "Got Milk?" advertising campaign that was launched in the mid-1990s by the California Milk Processor Board and developed by the ad firm Goodby Silverstein & Partners. I mean you'd have to have been living under a rock for the last 15 years to not know about these ads. You still see them in newsstand magazines with Batman or Angelina Jolie or LeBron James wearing their bright white milk mustaches.
Do you remember the original "Got Milk?" commercials? Like the one where a skinny guy is sitting in the library, listening to the radio and eating a peanut butter sandwich. The radio announcer says, "Now let's make that random call for our $10,000 question: Who shot Alexander Hamilton in that famous duel?" Turns out the skinny guy is sitting right next to a painting of the duel and the actual bullet that mortally wounded Hamilton when his phone rings. The guy picks it up – he's the random caller and he knows the answer! It's Aaron Burr! But his mouth is so sticky with peanut butter his answer comes out "Awuh Buh!" The radio announcer says he can't understand him, so the skinny guy goes to pour a glass of milk to clear his mouth – but he's all out! While he's freaking out, the announcer says, "Sorry, time's up," and hangs up. The poor guy sits there whimpering into the phone, still with peanut butter in his mouth. Then you see, "Got Milk?"

Or what about the commercial with the rude, egotistical businessman who gets hit by a bus and ends up in a heavenly room with comfy furniture and a plate full of gigantic chocolate chip cookies. After a bite, he opens the gigantic refrigerator to find carton after carton of milk – but they're all empty. After he freaks out tearing all of the cartons out of the fridge, exasperated, he pauses and says, "Where am I?" Then you see, "Got Milk?" …and the logo's on fire. Welcome to hell, buddy.

Brilliant! So brilliant the campaign contributed to a significant jump in sales of milk in the state of California and is not only lauded as one of the most effective series of ads in the last 20 years, but still sticks around in people's memories to this day.

Why doesn't dentistry get together and do the same thing?

Millions of dollars in membership revenue alone are pumped into a handful of influential dental associations around the United States like the ADA and AGD. Just think of what a tiny fraction of that money could do for dentistry and oral health if it were used for a clever, memorable, 30-second spot during the Super Bowl!

Imagine starting a national dental campaign with the same impact as "Got Milk?" Imagine a series of advertisements that showcases all of the reasons why you need to keep and take care of your teeth. Imagine millions of viewers watching this during the Super Bowl.

Can you imagine, out of the roughly 100 million people who see an effective and memorable national dental ad campaign, how many of them will sit back and think, "I never floss! I haven't been to the dentist in years! I don't want to lose my teeth. I don't want to have dentures. I don't want my teeth soaking in a glass of water next to my bed stand at night. I don't want my spouse to see me without teeth. This is mortifying!"

Why is a national dental ad campaign important? Bottom line: Americans are going to spend about $14 trillion this year, and do you know where they're going to spend that $14 trillion? On whatever they value the most – iPods, iPads, soft drinks, fast food, cars, DVDs, etc. and if we can help it, their teeth.

The dental profession does zero national advertising. In fact we have been at the mercy of the same message that's been handed down by "Amos 'n Andy" and the Pepsodent Company since the 1930s. The message "see your dentist twice a year" became popular then, and has remained sewn into the fabric of American society through further advertising by oral health-care giants Crest and Colgate, the latter of whom boasted "Maximum Fluoride Protection" in its products. Good thing these companies carried on the message, because if it weren't for them we'd never have the sacred and sovereign profession of dental hygiene. There'd be no demand for it!

Right now no one is addressing the fact that the majority of Americans believe that their bad teeth were inherited from their parents and their grandparents. A majority of Americans strongly believe that they come from a long line of people with bad, soft teeth. Walk into any dental office in America and you'll dig up an average of 4,000 charts of people who have not been to the office once in the last two years. There are millions and millions of Americans who don't value dentistry. Why? Because no one is selling it! No one is educating them on why they should value their teeth.

Getting the dental profession on board for a national ad campaign is one thing – but putting together an effective ad campaign is something else. Something like this cannot be decided upon by a committee of dentists. We need the expertise and talent of an advertising agency who has and would utilize focus groups and invest in hundreds, if not thousands of hours of research. Dentists don't know how to create an effective ad. Case in point: I watched Mark Dilatush of New Patients, Inc., (NPI) give a seminar recently where he displayed two ads – one designed by a dentist that hired a custom graphic designer and the other designed by his firm. He asked the room which ad they preferred. The majority of the room, which was entirely populated with dentists, hygienists and front-desk personnel, preferred the ad that was designed by the dentist to the ad by NPI. Mark measures the results of every single ad that gets sent out, and when he mailed out those two ads to identical demographic groups, his ad got 10 times the response than the ad designed by the dentist who hired the custom graphic designer. Let the numbers speak for themselves. You are a dentist. Be a dentist. You are not a dental consumer. It's not about you! It is about dentists pooling their resources and utilizing the right people to promote the benefits of oral health! In that scenario, everyone wins!

What I'm asking is pretty big and risky. In fact something like this will require the "buy-in" from just about every single dentist in the country. No joke. But remember, we also have allies in dental manufacturers! Dental companies want there to be a greater value placed on oral health as much as dentists do! We're not alone.

While we were sleeping, someone else came in and scooped up the dental market – dental insurance. Because we didn't step up like the dairy farmers of America did and effectively promote the benefits of our profession directly to the American people, we lost control and dentistry became low-cost entitlement paid for by employers instead of value-added service people would gladly pay for out of their own pockets.

It's time to wake up!

I know this is nothing new. Twelve years ago, the American Dental Association was deciding on whether to develop a public awareness campaign designed to make oral health relevant while enhancing the image of dentistry. The campaign messages would have been inserted into several venues, including a national TV campaign. According to a July 1998 report in the Journal of the California Dental Association, a campaign of this magnitude was projected to cost the association $30 million a year for three years, thereby increasing ADA dues $300 per year for each member.

Needless to say it did not pass.

But that was 12 years ago! A lot has changed in 12 years. Granted, $30 million today doesn't go as far as $30 million in 1998, however now there are even more outlets in which you can get your message across – and with the Internet you can target all of it! Wouldn't an annual $100 investment over 10 years be worth it if it meant it was influencing more patients to take their own oral health seriously and would increase the amount of patients who enter your office with a renewed desire to fix, improve or keep their teeth?

I want to continue this discussion on the message boards of Dentaltown.com. I want to know how many of you are willing to chip in and ensure the future of the sacred and sovereign profession of dentistry.

I want you to log on to the home page of Dentaltown.com, click on the button that reads "I'm in!" underneath the image of this month's issue of Dentaltown Magazine, then vote "Yes" or "No." I'd like to gauge the support for a mandatory $100- per-year ADA dues increase for the next 10 years which would contribute to a national advertising campaign! I want the more than 157,000 ADA members to chip in an extra $100 for the next 10 years when they renew their membership dues. I want to leave politics out of this and hire the very same advertising firm the California dairy farmers did for the "Got Milk?" campaign. We need a tried and true national advertising campaign; we don't need to reinvent the wheel! If we come together, this will be the most significant investment in American dental history!

Are you in?
Howard Live
Howard Farran, DDS, MBA, MAGD, is an international speaker who has written dozens of published articles. To schedule Howard to speak to your next national, state or local dental meeting, email colleen@farranmedia.com.

Dr. Farran’s next speaking engagement is October 29, 2010, at the Ontario Academy of General Dentistry in Ontario, Canada. For more information, please call Colleen at 480-445-9712.

Seminars 2010
October 29, 2010 • Ontario, CA
Ontario Academy of General Dentistry
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www.ontarioagd.org		 November 12, 2010 • Las Vegas, NV
TBSE • 888-88-MADOW
www.madowgroup.com
www.tbse2010.com		 Nov. 29 – Dec. 1 • New York, NY
Greater New York Dental Meeting
www.gnydm.com
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