Aducation is defined by the Urban Dictionary as:

An education derived from TV, Magazine, and Bill Board advertisements.

It’s a concept (an art, perhaps) that I think you’ll be exposed to and see a lot more of in the future. Teaching sells. Not only does it sell, but it spreads too. You’re more inclined to pass along an ad to your friends that teaches them something cool, more so than just any ‘ol regular ad.

Look at this JC Penney ad in the June/July 2011 issue of Esquire Magazine:

Rather than just saying “Hey, check out this suit…buy this suit.”, they included a teaching element in the ad…a pocket guide to playing blackjack. This does a few things for them.

For one, it makes the ad more memorable. It stands out because unlike most of the other ads they aren’t just saying “Hey, check out this suit…buy this suit.”

They’ve also given you, the reader, something of value. This is the Law of Reciprocity at work – I give you something, you feel more compelled to give me something.

There’s also something to be said for putting the reader in the right frame of mind, picturing themselves in a casino perhaps with that suit on.

Now, I think they could have made the ad a little better by showing the model actually in a casino. And if that were the case, maybe a darker color suit would have been good too. I think these two slight changes would have been a better fit with the blackjack guide, but hey, somebody’s getting paid the big bucks for a reason. What do I know.

But all in all its a great example of aducation in the wild. Everyone wanting to get more clients and customers should find ways to employ the art of aducation.