According to a story today in the Orlando Sentinel, the Florida State Bar nearly ruined the recipe for this ad by Orlando Law Firm Shuffield Lowman. The story reports that the Bar rejected the ad:

on the grounds that the phrase “Expect more from your law firm” created “unjustified expectations about results the attorney can achieve” and “compares the services of one attorney to another without factually substantiating the comparison.

GOOD GRIEF! Thankfully the Bar reversed itself on appeal. Brilliant Shuffield Lowman Marketing Director, Mellanie Bartlett,

unveiled the ad to the law firm’s entire staff in a ceremony that included a spoon and pint of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream for each person.

Food for thought: The head of a major bank confided in me that the ads they run on TV are as much to indoctrinate their own staff into the idea of serving customers as to attract business. I believe that a firm that publicly commits to serving its clients better and repeatedly communicates that message internally to its own staff will raise its own standards of service considerably and thus create competitive advantage. Launching the ad internally with some ice cream is the connection to the minds of the people at Shuffield Lowman, I see way too many neat ads for law firms that no-one in the firm knows anything about – so tell me, if they don’t know, how are they suppose to live the promises made. Bravo to Shuffield Lowman for having the imagination and courage to show the world their ice cream and the common sense to taste it themselves. I am a believer that your clients may indeed “Expect more from your law firm.”