Despite the constant cry that advertising effectiveness is dying, creativity is still critical in driving someone to notice and read your message. I am a huge fan of the online liquidator Woot. For those of you unfamiliar with Woot, they sell one product per day and when it’s gone, it’s gone. Occasionally, they will have a “Woot Off” where they will try and blow out all of their extra inventory by selling several products in a day or there is always their 2 for Tuesdays where you can get two of the same product for one price. What has really endeared me to Woot, however, is the blog they write for each product they sell.

I was just reading their blog this morning promoting the Mark of Fitness Wristwatch Blood Pressure Monitor. The blog is a story right out of a fairy tale involving a medevel village, an angry mob, and a child born with the “Mark of Fitness”. I couldn’t stop laughing. It would be great if this were only once in a great while, but this is an every day occurrence. It is this snarky commentary combined with great prices on random items that has created a rabid following for Woot.

Seth Godin does a good job of pointing out how creativity helps “to find the right people in the right frame of mind at the right moment”. His example is even a paid search ad by Woot that shows up when you do a Google search on the stock symbol for Google (GOOG).

Woot has created a following by delivering a great product, but it keeps people coming back because it is more than a place to buy cheap stuff. It is the hilarity of the experience that keeps me checking it every day.