Good ideas can strike in the strangest places.
I was standing in a room in Ardrossan when this one struck and my colleague Gary was in full flow talking to a room full of business owners about social media. The discussion turned to the changing nature of advertising and the strange but undeniable truth that we have become a nation that enjoys watching videos of cats doing tricks on YouTube.
As the laughter rang out and a few heads shook at this silly, shallow world we now live in, I had my genius moment of inspiration and Rupert Murdoch, I hope you're reading this, because it's going to make you even richer. Never mind your paywall, Menzies Distribution won't be able to keep up with the demand for copies of The Sun when you put my plan into action.
So here it is. Page 3 – get rid of the ladies with their bits out. There are a multitude of places I can go to get that kind of thing now. And the excellent No More Page 3 campaign is gathering momentum and having some success persuading Sun advertisers to stop working with the paper.
So call time on the pictures of semi naked women. In their place, put in... pictures of cats.
Readers will clamour to send in pictures of their cats. Cute cats, cuddly cats, fat cats, ginger cats, weird cats..all manner of cats. Page 3 will be theirs and the nation will love you for it.
But here's the best bit.Alongside the picture of the cat each day, you keep the pull down current affairs quote that you currently display alongside the lady with her breasts on display.
So it looks like the cat is expressing a considered opinion on the state of the world and topical events.
Many will think I've lost my marbles. I think it gets across exactly what you would want your newspaper to be known for. And for those in any doubt, look at the number of views this video has had.
- Read more about the history of page 3
A new idea for The Sun's Page 3
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Menzies Distribution won't be able to keep up with the demand for copies of The Sun when you put this plan into action
This article was originally published on Colin Kelly's blog and is reprinted here with permission.
Colin Kelly is one of Scotland's best known broadcasters and regularly appears on television and radio. He runs Colin Kelly Media, which runs media training courses, social media training workshops, writes and distribute press releases and creates custom print, video and audio content.
Visit Colin Kelly's website
3 comments
James Cridland posted on Friday 29th March at 17:29
In fact, 16.2% of men in the UK read The Sun, while 11.5% of women read The Sun. (NRS is the source). We should probably surface this information in our readership pages.
Justin Macartney posted on Friday 29th March at 19:04
I stand corrected 45% of those who read it are women.
It’s quick and easy to read and précis the stories of the day or rather the day before.
Only the telegraph is worth a read.
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70 percent who buy the sun are women.
Comparing pussies seems like the natural step forward.