+ Tripp, "a luggage-maker, has been criticised for an advert that appeared to encourage people to steal from hotel rooms. The newspaper advert for Tripp's expandable suitcases read: "Now you can steal the bathrobe as well as the toiletries." The Advertising Standards Authority upheld 11 complaints that it encouraged people to break the law. The company said the advert was a "tongue-in-cheek" reference to the way people raid hotel toiletries."
+ Top 10 UK ads that made the news in July. "Martin Loat, director of Propeller Communications, said: "Controversy continues to be a factor that turns adverts into high-profile campaigns. It is rarely clear to what extent the publicity is planned -- whether the ad was created with the intention of being banned or whether the brand is genuinely surprised by the ban." Load said banned ad campaigns often made a greater short-term impact on the public consciousness than if they had not been so controversial. "It is a technique worth noting as it becomes increasingly difficult to achieve standout," he said."
+ Sunday Times "domination" ad called misleading by the ASA. "An ad for the Sunday Times that asked 'What turns businessmen on?' has been cleared of being sexist, discriminatory, irresponsible and offensive. But the ad, which prompted a string of complaints from the public, was deemed to be misleading because it used the word "businessmen" to cover both men and women.
The ad appeared in the Sunday Times' appointments section and claimed the paper was the most read publication among businessmen. After posing the question "What turns businessmen on?", the ad read "Domination". This prompted a rash of complaints from readers, who said it was discriminatory because it excluded businesswomen, was sexist and could encourage bullying and sexual harassment."
+ RIP. According to mediapost.com, Maxwell (Mac) Dane, the last remaining founder of legendary ad agency Doyle Dane Bernbach, died Sunday after a brief illness. He was 98. In 1949, he joined with Ned Doyle and William Bernbach to form Doyle Dane Bernbach, the agency whose work was renowned for its wry wit and credited with defining an era in advertising through such campaigns as 'Think Small' for Volkswagen, 'We Try Harder' for Avis, and 'You don't have to be Jewish to love Levy's Rye bread.'"
+ 'Guerrilla' marketing stalks Olympic sponsors. "Welcome to ambush marketing, where you can cover yourself in Olympic glory without having to pay a cent. The practice, also known as guerrilla marketing, describes how companies try to associate themselves with an event without paying sponsorship fees or steal the show from the official sponsor, particularly where that happens to be a competitor."
Caffeinated posts from a Creative Director/Copywriter/Strategist.
Wednesday, August 11, 2004
:: quarks and quasars :: meteors, life and pictures
+ Perseid Meteor Shower Peaks August 11th & 12th. "Every year during mid-August, when the Earth passes close to the orbit of Swift-Tuttle, the bits and pieces ram into our atmosphere at approximately 37 miles per second (60 kps) and create bright streaks of light. According to the best estimates, in 2004 the Earth is predicted to cut through the densest part of the Perseid stream sometime around 7 a.m. ET on Thursday, Aug. 12. Activity could be high for a few hours on either side of that time.The late-night hours of Wednesday, Aug. 11, on through the first light of dawn on the morning holds the promise of seeing a very fine Perseid display. The bright light of a Full Moon almost totally wrecked last year’s shower, but this year it will be a lovely crescent, about 31?2 days before New phase. Moreover, it will not rise until around 2:30 a.m. local daylight time on the morning of the12th, hovering to the east of brilliant Venus." Also check out the Top 10 facts on the Perseid meteor shower.
+ Life on Mars? The saga continues. "McKay said it is now clear water flowed across Mars. A lot of water, in fact. Furthermore, there may still be water spurting out onto the planet at certain times. "The same pendulum may be swinging back toward life," he said. "We’ll wait and see. These are exciting times." The Mars rovers represent an incredibly successful mission, McKay said. Moreover, they seemingly have "uncovered" a major find. He points to pictures taken by the rovers that show areas of the martian surface disturbed by the retraction of landing airbags. Patches of surface "acted as a cohesive blanket of some sort" when the airbags pulled back, McKay explains. "It wrinkled…and pulled along rocks with it. It didn’t simply crack apart like a dried-up crust." Why the soil reacted in such a manner remains obscure, McKay admits. "But one possibility is that this is the fossilized remains of a biological mat of some sort," he speculated. The mat would be made up of bacterial parts and pieces."
+ Are you a fan of the Hubble images? If you're looking for a fix of cool images from space, check out the pictures from the Cassini-Huygens of Saturn and Titan while it's out of order. The Cassini-Huygens has recently ended it's 7 year journey and is now in the orbit of Saturn.
+ Life on Mars? The saga continues. "McKay said it is now clear water flowed across Mars. A lot of water, in fact. Furthermore, there may still be water spurting out onto the planet at certain times. "The same pendulum may be swinging back toward life," he said. "We’ll wait and see. These are exciting times." The Mars rovers represent an incredibly successful mission, McKay said. Moreover, they seemingly have "uncovered" a major find. He points to pictures taken by the rovers that show areas of the martian surface disturbed by the retraction of landing airbags. Patches of surface "acted as a cohesive blanket of some sort" when the airbags pulled back, McKay explains. "It wrinkled…and pulled along rocks with it. It didn’t simply crack apart like a dried-up crust." Why the soil reacted in such a manner remains obscure, McKay admits. "But one possibility is that this is the fossilized remains of a biological mat of some sort," he speculated. The mat would be made up of bacterial parts and pieces."
+ Are you a fan of the Hubble images? If you're looking for a fix of cool images from space, check out the pictures from the Cassini-Huygens of Saturn and Titan while it's out of order. The Cassini-Huygens has recently ended it's 7 year journey and is now in the orbit of Saturn.
Monday, August 09, 2004
:: adgruntie :: Say wha?
+ Millions in US wave bye-bye to overtime. Ok. So here's the part that made my jaw drop, "Reporters, photographers and other news media and advertising workers are among those who may be reclassified as exempt from overtime by being placed in a category of exempt workers known as "creative professionals." "For the first time, classifying them as professionals is discretionary," Anstandig said." I've never, in the 5+ years I've worked in advertising, received overtime pay. So I'm wondering which advertising workers they are speaking of. Because, I would hazard a guess (yea, I know that's dangerous) that the creatives were already a part of that "creative professionals" category. But I wonder why that was to begin with. I could so easily slip into a rant right here about multiple thousands of rounds of changes (ok, ok, I'm exaggerating, a little), last minute jobs that shouldn't have been last minute, and the like, which would eliminate the excessive need for creatives to work insane hours, but I won't. It's been too long of a day.
+ On a separate note, if anyone who comes along here has any links to weblogs/blogs/etc for ad agencies, please post them in the comments. I'm looking to get a list of them going in my links section. Thanks!
+ On a separate note, if anyone who comes along here has any links to weblogs/blogs/etc for ad agencies, please post them in the comments. I'm looking to get a list of them going in my links section. Thanks!
:: Adgruntie :: Movin' on up
+ Emap buys Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival in a £52.5m deal and "plans to integrate it into its Emap Communications media business. The event, first held in 1954, was put up for sale at the beginning of July by the Hatchuel family, who ran the festival as a privately owned company.
The sale of the festival, which had operating profits of £7m this year, is reported to have come about after a disagreement between its owner and chairman, Roger Hatchuel, and his son, Romain.Derek Carter, chief executive of Emap Communications, said: "Working with the international advertising community, it is our intention to ensure the festival continues to reflect the rich diversity of this tremendously exciting market."" We'll see if change in ownership does have any affect on the show, but, it will probably take until next year's show to see how or what that will be. Here's some of the backstory to this news.
+ HipHop Admen - From the article:"Mr. Harrell, co-founder of the ad agency and talent company Nu America, is one of many former and current hip-hop producers and performers who have turned their attention away from the Top 40 and toward Madison Avenue. While hip-hop performers have been running marketing divisions as part of their business, Mr. Harrell and others are building successful full-service agencies with a roster of clients that they run apart from their other businesses. "We're going after leads and contending with the big agencies," Mr. Harrell said. Labeling Mary J. Blige as the "Queen of Hip-Hop Soul" is like labeling a product "cool," he added. "We can do that for products, as well." Some hip-hop admen are following the path to Madison Avenue laid down by entrepreneurs like Russell Simmons and Sean Combs, who was previously called Puff Daddy and is now known to fans as P. Diddy. Mr. Simmons is the founder of Def Jam Records, and Mr. Combs, whose ad company, Blue Flame Marketing and Advertising, part of his Bad Boy Worldwide Entertainment Group, has taken on outside campaigns for, among others, a fragrance for Calvin Klein called Craze...Emil Wilbekin, who spent 12 years at Vibe magazine in various posts, including editorial director, said that there was nothing unusual about music executives promoting corporate brands."This is part of a bigger picture about how urban America is changing, not only in the way advertising looks and feels, and the way the country looks and feels, but also how you reach this new consumer and get a piece of the pie," Mr. Wilbekin said. "That's all it is. They're being very smart business people.""
+ Boo to Adage.com for requiring registration, even if it's free, to access the articles. And boo to the Media Guardian for the same reason. This free registration thing is really very annoying. Unfortunately it seems like a trend that is not slowing down. It's bad enough when older articles require registration, but to make the entire site that way, well, it's just poopy.
+ Another lame attempt at using money as media. "In a promotional stunt using U.S. currency as a vehicle for marketing messages, an online coupon service is sticking circular ads on the reverse side of 16,000 quarters it plans to scatter around Minneapolis. Boodle, owned by San Diego-based Consumer Networks, will distribute the $4,000 worth of quarters in vending machine change dispensers, pay telephone slots, and on the street over the next few weeks to publicize its service. Ken Harris, partner in Cannondale Associates, an Evanston, Ill.-based strategic marketing and sales consulting firm, called the Boodle tactic "very creative" and noted that consumers picking up the quarters already will have gotten "their money's worth." However, he said, Boodle will get its 25 cents worth if the story is picked up by newscasters. "The target audience definitely is watching the news, and if it goes national, they've spent only $4,000 in quarters," he said. He added, "It can't lose even if they get negative publicity." Very creative? Hah. Please. This is nothing new, as mentioned in this January article at Adland.
The sale of the festival, which had operating profits of £7m this year, is reported to have come about after a disagreement between its owner and chairman, Roger Hatchuel, and his son, Romain.Derek Carter, chief executive of Emap Communications, said: "Working with the international advertising community, it is our intention to ensure the festival continues to reflect the rich diversity of this tremendously exciting market."" We'll see if change in ownership does have any affect on the show, but, it will probably take until next year's show to see how or what that will be. Here's some of the backstory to this news.
+ HipHop Admen - From the article:"Mr. Harrell, co-founder of the ad agency and talent company Nu America, is one of many former and current hip-hop producers and performers who have turned their attention away from the Top 40 and toward Madison Avenue. While hip-hop performers have been running marketing divisions as part of their business, Mr. Harrell and others are building successful full-service agencies with a roster of clients that they run apart from their other businesses. "We're going after leads and contending with the big agencies," Mr. Harrell said. Labeling Mary J. Blige as the "Queen of Hip-Hop Soul" is like labeling a product "cool," he added. "We can do that for products, as well." Some hip-hop admen are following the path to Madison Avenue laid down by entrepreneurs like Russell Simmons and Sean Combs, who was previously called Puff Daddy and is now known to fans as P. Diddy. Mr. Simmons is the founder of Def Jam Records, and Mr. Combs, whose ad company, Blue Flame Marketing and Advertising, part of his Bad Boy Worldwide Entertainment Group, has taken on outside campaigns for, among others, a fragrance for Calvin Klein called Craze...Emil Wilbekin, who spent 12 years at Vibe magazine in various posts, including editorial director, said that there was nothing unusual about music executives promoting corporate brands."This is part of a bigger picture about how urban America is changing, not only in the way advertising looks and feels, and the way the country looks and feels, but also how you reach this new consumer and get a piece of the pie," Mr. Wilbekin said. "That's all it is. They're being very smart business people.""
+ Boo to Adage.com for requiring registration, even if it's free, to access the articles. And boo to the Media Guardian for the same reason. This free registration thing is really very annoying. Unfortunately it seems like a trend that is not slowing down. It's bad enough when older articles require registration, but to make the entire site that way, well, it's just poopy.
+ Another lame attempt at using money as media. "In a promotional stunt using U.S. currency as a vehicle for marketing messages, an online coupon service is sticking circular ads on the reverse side of 16,000 quarters it plans to scatter around Minneapolis. Boodle, owned by San Diego-based Consumer Networks, will distribute the $4,000 worth of quarters in vending machine change dispensers, pay telephone slots, and on the street over the next few weeks to publicize its service. Ken Harris, partner in Cannondale Associates, an Evanston, Ill.-based strategic marketing and sales consulting firm, called the Boodle tactic "very creative" and noted that consumers picking up the quarters already will have gotten "their money's worth." However, he said, Boodle will get its 25 cents worth if the story is picked up by newscasters. "The target audience definitely is watching the news, and if it goes national, they've spent only $4,000 in quarters," he said. He added, "It can't lose even if they get negative publicity." Very creative? Hah. Please. This is nothing new, as mentioned in this January article at Adland.
Sunday, August 08, 2004
:: Adgruntie :: Lazy Sunday
+ Quiznos pulls black-oriented ads- "Denver's Quiznos Subs has stopped advertising on radio stations that emphasize hip-hop and rhythm and blues, the Washington Times reported Friday.The move followed an internal study showing such music is associated with a lifestyle the company does not want to be seen endorsing." Whatever that means.
+ Companies find they can't buy love with bargains. "Too many companies confuse selling clever gadgets at good prices with delighting customers. When so many products get cheaper every year, offering customers a great bargain will not necessarily win their loyalty. Someone else is bound to offer a better bargain, and besides, most customers have come to expect good deals. "Price has an effect on whether you buy or not," Dr. Fornell says. "It has less of an impact on whether you're satisfied or not.""
+ Yipes! Things to avoid when presenting to a potential or established client. From the article: "Little things do indeed count, as other executives learned from their own experiences. One executive left major portions of the ad presentation back at the office, while another placed presentation materials in a rented car, then took a different car to the meeting. A seemingly diligent ad executive tried too hard, apparently, and sprayed the presentation board with insecticide, instead of adhesive. A relatively unobservant executive didn’t recognize the client’s president when he walked into the building. An executive who didn’t attend to details “thought he had put the phone on mute — but had not — and was talking about the client.”"
+ Ad Icon, Smokey the Bear turns 60 tomorrow (8/9). And after 60 years, he's still relevant, even if his tagline has changed from forest fires to wildfires.
+ When the Olympic Games begin, Chevrolet’s long-running “Like a Rock” advertising campaign will be put to bed as General Motors Corp. embrases their new catchphrase, “An American Revolution" with a "blitz of 10 new commercials airng the 2004 Summer Olympics. Wes Brown, an analyst at consumer research firm Iceology in Los Angeles, says the slogan, "Like a Rock", has long outlived its usefulness. “There’s no doubt almost every consumer would recognize what brand goes with that song,” said Brown, “but it didn’t really translate into increased sales.”" I'm not quite sure how an American Revolution will translate into sales though. But who knows.
+ Companies find they can't buy love with bargains. "Too many companies confuse selling clever gadgets at good prices with delighting customers. When so many products get cheaper every year, offering customers a great bargain will not necessarily win their loyalty. Someone else is bound to offer a better bargain, and besides, most customers have come to expect good deals. "Price has an effect on whether you buy or not," Dr. Fornell says. "It has less of an impact on whether you're satisfied or not.""
+ Yipes! Things to avoid when presenting to a potential or established client. From the article: "Little things do indeed count, as other executives learned from their own experiences. One executive left major portions of the ad presentation back at the office, while another placed presentation materials in a rented car, then took a different car to the meeting. A seemingly diligent ad executive tried too hard, apparently, and sprayed the presentation board with insecticide, instead of adhesive. A relatively unobservant executive didn’t recognize the client’s president when he walked into the building. An executive who didn’t attend to details “thought he had put the phone on mute — but had not — and was talking about the client.”"
+ Ad Icon, Smokey the Bear turns 60 tomorrow (8/9). And after 60 years, he's still relevant, even if his tagline has changed from forest fires to wildfires.
+ When the Olympic Games begin, Chevrolet’s long-running “Like a Rock” advertising campaign will be put to bed as General Motors Corp. embrases their new catchphrase, “An American Revolution" with a "blitz of 10 new commercials airng the 2004 Summer Olympics. Wes Brown, an analyst at consumer research firm Iceology in Los Angeles, says the slogan, "Like a Rock", has long outlived its usefulness. “There’s no doubt almost every consumer would recognize what brand goes with that song,” said Brown, “but it didn’t really translate into increased sales.”" I'm not quite sure how an American Revolution will translate into sales though. But who knows.
Friday, August 06, 2004
Creative, Schmative
+ "Marketers must market, creatives create" is a nice opinion piece on agency pitches. Here's an excerpt: "In the normal course of business the agency is selling access to its intellectual property, and like most intangible services it is consumed instantly - once presented the idea is gone and the agency can only hope to earn income if it can convince the client to pay for its peripheral products, such as production and media. In the pitch situation the message the agency sends is: “The creativity is worthless, we’ll just give it away.” For a business whose stock in trade is creativity this is sad – maybe even dare I say even STUPID." He also makes mention of the fact that by giving away ideas for free, it lessens the value of the product- ideas and creativity. Which is probably one of the many reasons why many clients tend to not value the creativity of agencies. In a related article, "Agencies need to buy some backbone", another author states "But pitches aide, another problem is that when they actually get the business, some agencies are so desperate to keep it that they will do anything the client wants. Or anything the client's wife wants." And that's quite true too. It goes back to something I'm sure I've said before about you wouldn't pay to go to a doctor for a diagnosis and then tell him he was wrong. And actually I can't really think of any other profession where it's acceptable to muck about the way clients do in advertising. Sure, they are the customer, and the customer is always right- to a point. Because letting them change the font, kill a concept because they don't like a color or are missing the point that their target audience might not like exactly what they personally do, leads creativity in ads down a very slippery slope. It shows a total lack of respect for what creatives do. Do other professionals get the same kind of "let me tell you how to do it" thrown at them? Let's see. Accountants? No. Firemen? No. Lawyers? No. Therapists? No. General Contractors/Carpenters/Plumbers? No. I think I could go on and on because I don't think there is a "Yes" out there. So why do we let this be the case? It happens to every creative- from the hottest agencies to the individual freelancer. There has to be a point where someone stands up and says "Wait a minute- WTF?" Of course with the economy still on it's way to improving, no one is going to do that. They will continue to be the patsies to the clients whims, no matter what the cost- just as long as it's not at the cost of losing the client. And I can see why one would have to do this sort of thing in the current climate. But then when do you stop? When can you stand up if you're always in fear of losing a client? There's something to be said for respect as well. And this chipping away at ideas- good solid ideas- as well as new business pitches where ideas are given away for free- s a lack of respect for what we do. Not that it's news of any kind. But who can you go in day in and day out, putting in 100% into something, when you don't have any respect for what you do coming back at you? It definitely makes it harder. It just creates more disgruntled workers. Overall the result is not good. Which is probably why there is popularity in sending in spec work to award shows. The temptation is too great and the great clients are too few. And a good majority of all this stems from the pitch- the gift of free ideas, the devaluing of an agency's and creative's most important commodity.
+ Ad Icon competition is heating up. came across this press release for the michelin man and this one for Mr. Clean. And Adland has the story on Charlie the Tuna looking for your vote.
+ Apparently CP+B's Subservient Chicken, Ugoff, etc has helped Burger King out. "Miami-based Burger King Corp. said its July results show U.S. systemwide same-store sales up 12.9 percent. The fast-food chain said U.S. franchise sales were up 12.4 percent and company restaurant sales were up 18.4 percent, year over year. July marks the sixth consecutive month of positive U.S. same-store sales, Burger King said." Proof that good creative is effective. :D
+ Adland reports on the reports of Forbes.com serving paid links within articles written by journalists. Just what is needed, another reason for the public to distrust advertisers, journalists, and media outlets. To me this seems like a cop-out. Is there no other way to reach your target than by manipulating the information from reliable sources? It's bad enough with product placements, advertorials in magazines and the like.
+ Ad Icon competition is heating up. came across this press release for the michelin man and this one for Mr. Clean. And Adland has the story on Charlie the Tuna looking for your vote.
+ Apparently CP+B's Subservient Chicken, Ugoff, etc has helped Burger King out. "Miami-based Burger King Corp. said its July results show U.S. systemwide same-store sales up 12.9 percent. The fast-food chain said U.S. franchise sales were up 12.4 percent and company restaurant sales were up 18.4 percent, year over year. July marks the sixth consecutive month of positive U.S. same-store sales, Burger King said." Proof that good creative is effective. :D
+ Adland reports on the reports of Forbes.com serving paid links within articles written by journalists. Just what is needed, another reason for the public to distrust advertisers, journalists, and media outlets. To me this seems like a cop-out. Is there no other way to reach your target than by manipulating the information from reliable sources? It's bad enough with product placements, advertorials in magazines and the like.
Tuesday, August 03, 2004
You should know
+ The Good Brand over at Fast Company take a look at "trends shaping the current branding landscape, identifying seven trends that are likely to influence the conversation for the year to come." They include these theories: "Brands will be authentic. The experience will be the expression of the brand. Brands will be hard-wired in our brains. The line between entertainment and brands will blur. Increasingly complex brands will require new organizational structures. Brands will create social and cultural values. America will be reborn as a more culturally sensitive brand." Fast Company also presents a branding challenge. "The Fast Company team has developed a list of aging brands that could use reinvention -- as well as some successful brands that could still improve further. Readers can choose to help reposition and rethink one brand -- or all of them." (hat tip to hiddden and Adland.)
+ Young people no longer believe TV ads. Have they ever? (free reg req for story)
+ Moveon.org spoofs BK's Subservient Chicken with Subservient President. And in related news, the folks at CP+B do another web site for BK- the Angus Diet, to promote their Angus burgers.
+ Young people no longer believe TV ads. Have they ever? (free reg req for story)
+ Moveon.org spoofs BK's Subservient Chicken with Subservient President. And in related news, the folks at CP+B do another web site for BK- the Angus Diet, to promote their Angus burgers.
Wednesday, July 28, 2004
Hump Day Doldrums
+ Art Years has an interesting advertising section on their site.
+ Adforum's forum.
+ Aguilera does Skecher's campaign. More here at Adland.
+ Bud's Real Men Of Genius campaign is about to pass thier 100th radio spot.
+ Daydreaming takes over the new Diesel print advertising campaign, created by KesselsKramer."The agency has created 30 new print ads to promote Diesel's autumn/winter collection and used the images as briefs for 30 creatives to make short films, which are to be hosted on Diesel.com. The advertising campaign will run globally in fashion and lifestyle titles, starting this week. Each of the images uses the idea that anything is possible in the world of daydreaming -- all the models are shown eyes closed and lost in their own worlds, often in surreal situations and positions. Taking up from this point, the short films also feature many surreal images, such as barking grandmothers, antique pornography and people who have animals living inside them."
+ Reason #1 to be careful when using stock photography. Yipes! Wonder if it lead to the Gateway account going into review. ;)
+ The Metropolitan Transportation Authority, the keeper of the region's mass transit system, is exploring selling naming rights to its subway stations, bus lines, bridges and tunnels. "Perhaps the most obvious existing example of a corporate name on a subway station? Times Square, formerly Long Acre Square, renamed in honor of The New York Times a century ago after the company moved its headquarters there."
+ Red Sox's Damon poses for Puma in their latest ads." Martin Bil, creative director at Renegade Marketing in New York, said the quiet way in which Damon does his own thing gives Puma a natural spokesman - distinctive, but not a real character. Bil, who also sports long hair and a beard, "but not the lantern jaw," views the Hello campaign as Puma's effort to "maintain that insider cool hipness without looking like (they're) trying to appeal to everyone all the time." "You have to be very careful when you grow a brand that started out (grassroots). It can very easily seem like you're selling out," he said. Other athletes tapped for the campaign were pro skateboarder Scott Bourne and Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt, neither of whom is that well-known. Said Puma's Barney Waters: "We don't necessarily look at the statistics as much as the personality of the athlete." "
+ Scot stereotypes in advertising.
+ Buglife, the organisation committed to the preservation of all invertebrates, has hired FCB London to create an integrated campaign to publicise its mission in preventing extinctions. "The campaign's direct element consists of three invoices from bugs. For example, one is from Worm & Son and invites the recipient to donate £25 to Buglife for ploughing the soil allowing penetration of air and water so that fruit and vegetables can grow...An ambient element of the campaign, which will be placed on London pavements, features speech bubbles declaring lines such as "Hello! I'm walking here! I'm walking here!" and "I'd like to see you carry your house around everywhere". There will also be similar street posters and stickers on sandwiches and disposable coffee cups. Real dead insects will be featured in the ambient campaign on posters. Above-the-line work includes a series of billboards, a radio campaign and a print ad featuring the strapline: "Please don't use this newspaper as a weapon.""
+ Adforum's forum.
+ Aguilera does Skecher's campaign. More here at Adland.
+ Bud's Real Men Of Genius campaign is about to pass thier 100th radio spot.
+ Daydreaming takes over the new Diesel print advertising campaign, created by KesselsKramer."The agency has created 30 new print ads to promote Diesel's autumn/winter collection and used the images as briefs for 30 creatives to make short films, which are to be hosted on Diesel.com. The advertising campaign will run globally in fashion and lifestyle titles, starting this week. Each of the images uses the idea that anything is possible in the world of daydreaming -- all the models are shown eyes closed and lost in their own worlds, often in surreal situations and positions. Taking up from this point, the short films also feature many surreal images, such as barking grandmothers, antique pornography and people who have animals living inside them."
+ Reason #1 to be careful when using stock photography. Yipes! Wonder if it lead to the Gateway account going into review. ;)
+ The Metropolitan Transportation Authority, the keeper of the region's mass transit system, is exploring selling naming rights to its subway stations, bus lines, bridges and tunnels. "Perhaps the most obvious existing example of a corporate name on a subway station? Times Square, formerly Long Acre Square, renamed in honor of The New York Times a century ago after the company moved its headquarters there."
+ Red Sox's Damon poses for Puma in their latest ads." Martin Bil, creative director at Renegade Marketing in New York, said the quiet way in which Damon does his own thing gives Puma a natural spokesman - distinctive, but not a real character. Bil, who also sports long hair and a beard, "but not the lantern jaw," views the Hello campaign as Puma's effort to "maintain that insider cool hipness without looking like (they're) trying to appeal to everyone all the time." "You have to be very careful when you grow a brand that started out (grassroots). It can very easily seem like you're selling out," he said. Other athletes tapped for the campaign were pro skateboarder Scott Bourne and Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt, neither of whom is that well-known. Said Puma's Barney Waters: "We don't necessarily look at the statistics as much as the personality of the athlete." "
+ Scot stereotypes in advertising.
+ Buglife, the organisation committed to the preservation of all invertebrates, has hired FCB London to create an integrated campaign to publicise its mission in preventing extinctions. "The campaign's direct element consists of three invoices from bugs. For example, one is from Worm & Son and invites the recipient to donate £25 to Buglife for ploughing the soil allowing penetration of air and water so that fruit and vegetables can grow...An ambient element of the campaign, which will be placed on London pavements, features speech bubbles declaring lines such as "Hello! I'm walking here! I'm walking here!" and "I'd like to see you carry your house around everywhere". There will also be similar street posters and stickers on sandwiches and disposable coffee cups. Real dead insects will be featured in the ambient campaign on posters. Above-the-line work includes a series of billboards, a radio campaign and a print ad featuring the strapline: "Please don't use this newspaper as a weapon.""
Tuesday, July 27, 2004
Copy Ploppy
+ Adding smell to advertising. Could this be the beginning of smell-o-vision? Just think of the implications this technology *could* have on advertising. If you were selling something like burgers, you could get that grill smell in someone's livingroom, or the smell of baking Cinabuns. For food marketers this seems like it could be a gold mine for them to work on this type of technology.
+ Ad shows coming to a screen near you. Seems like not just us ad grunts like watching ads.
+Fuse parodies two campaigns in one- Apple gets miffed. Shame that this parody does nothing for the Fuse brand. Sure they are trying to create a buzz with the types of images they have in the ads. But as people are confusing the ads with real Apple ads, it's not doing much for their own branding effort. Plus, Fuse is supposed to be a non-mainstream music channel. What's non-mainstream about lighting farts, wanking, and beer bongs? Maybe 10 or 20 years ago it was "shocking" and all. But now it's trite and going to hit a mainstream of young men. Not the non-mainstream they claim they are after. To be fair, they did a nice job on the art direction and design. But their Sally campaign was a lot stronger.
+ TBWA steals from itself? Check out these Badlanders for Sony "Mountain" and Adidas "Carry".
+ Edinburgh's Royal Mile sandwich board advertising problems heat up even more.
+ Undoing of classic brands- namely AT&T. "This increased competition in many industries underscores the new reality that few brands can be all things to all people these days. "The metaphor for American society is no longer the melting pot - it's the quilt," Donatiello said. "People no longer want to watch the same television show or use the same toothpaste." Judy Hopelain, managing partner at Prophet, a San Francisco-based consulting company that focuses on brands, added that big companies with iconic brands "are often too conscious of preserving their fat margins to realize they should be leading change." In fact, for some companies, a strong brand identity has been as much hindrance as help. Smith Corona was a leader in manual typewriters, and Polaroid had a lock on the instant camera market, but both companies wound up in bankruptcy when they could not extricate their identity from antiquated technologies."
+ Cult Brands- BusinessWeek/Interbrand's annual ranking of the world's most valuable brands shows the power of passionate consumers.
+ Ad shows coming to a screen near you. Seems like not just us ad grunts like watching ads.
+Fuse parodies two campaigns in one- Apple gets miffed. Shame that this parody does nothing for the Fuse brand. Sure they are trying to create a buzz with the types of images they have in the ads. But as people are confusing the ads with real Apple ads, it's not doing much for their own branding effort. Plus, Fuse is supposed to be a non-mainstream music channel. What's non-mainstream about lighting farts, wanking, and beer bongs? Maybe 10 or 20 years ago it was "shocking" and all. But now it's trite and going to hit a mainstream of young men. Not the non-mainstream they claim they are after. To be fair, they did a nice job on the art direction and design. But their Sally campaign was a lot stronger.
+ TBWA steals from itself? Check out these Badlanders for Sony "Mountain" and Adidas "Carry".
+ Edinburgh's Royal Mile sandwich board advertising problems heat up even more.
+ Undoing of classic brands- namely AT&T. "This increased competition in many industries underscores the new reality that few brands can be all things to all people these days. "The metaphor for American society is no longer the melting pot - it's the quilt," Donatiello said. "People no longer want to watch the same television show or use the same toothpaste." Judy Hopelain, managing partner at Prophet, a San Francisco-based consulting company that focuses on brands, added that big companies with iconic brands "are often too conscious of preserving their fat margins to realize they should be leading change." In fact, for some companies, a strong brand identity has been as much hindrance as help. Smith Corona was a leader in manual typewriters, and Polaroid had a lock on the instant camera market, but both companies wound up in bankruptcy when they could not extricate their identity from antiquated technologies."
+ Cult Brands- BusinessWeek/Interbrand's annual ranking of the world's most valuable brands shows the power of passionate consumers.
Saturday, July 24, 2004
Tidbits
+ Office Stamps every creative needs. Beautiful.
+ Foil office. It was probably a bit easier to do this cubicle than to do that whole apartment. (hat tip Dab.)
+ God violates Intel trademark. Hah!(hat tip Dab.)
+ Apple.com does an article on CORE, St. Louis. Check out the gallery they put together for some nice design work. And yes, it was all done an a Mac. :)
+ Edinburgh agency, Family, does well, even though they started up as the market was tanking.
+ Foil office. It was probably a bit easier to do this cubicle than to do that whole apartment. (hat tip Dab.)
+ God violates Intel trademark. Hah!(hat tip Dab.)
+ Apple.com does an article on CORE, St. Louis. Check out the gallery they put together for some nice design work. And yes, it was all done an a Mac. :)
+ Edinburgh agency, Family, does well, even though they started up as the market was tanking.
Thursday, July 22, 2004
Ad mumbo jumbo
+ Moveon.org goes after "Fair and Balanced" claims. "The controversial US documentary, Outfoxed, which claims to uncover the Republican bias of Rupert Murdoch's Fox News, has become the top-selling DVD on Amazon.com, as the liberal political campaign behind the film gathers pace in the US. The number one ratings come as the liberal campaigning group MoveOn.org, which contributed £43,000 to Outfoxed's £163,000 budget, took out a full-page advert in the New York Times, declaring: "The Communists had Pravda. Republicans Have Fox". MoveOn and another political organisation, Common Cause, have also called on the US media regulator, the federal trade commission, to investigate whether the Fox News slogan "Fair and Balanced" amounts to deceptive advertising."
+ Saatchi & Saatchi branding executive Brad Stritch rebrands himself for the ladies. Just another reason to love The Onion. :D (hat tip to holger)
+ 25 workplace buzzwords and euphemisms making the rounds in the boardrooms and cubilces (supposedly- thankfully most of these are new to me.) "Corporate jargon and clichés are so pervasive that their use - or abuse - has yielded a buzzword of its own: "Deja Moo" (the feeling you've heard this bull before)."
+ Kmart attempts to revamp itself with new tagline and logo. "Kmart Holding Corp. has dumped its slogan — “Right Here. Right Now.” — and is tweaking its red-block K logo in the retailer’s latest attempt to fashion a message that resonates with consumers."
+ Superbrands in India names 101 of the top consumer brands in the country.
+ Ad billboards, trash cans hit Toronto. Not everyone is thrilled with the idea. "Councillor Joe Mihevc said the city's goal is simply to make it convenient for people to deposit their trash. "Our interest is the garbage can. They're not a garbage can. They're a billboard with a little garbage can attached. Why don't we just get the garbage can we need rather than buying a billboard and having the side benefit of a garbage can?" "Dave Meslin, of the Toronto Public Space Committee said, "It's a bit like a bus shelter with the bus shelter cut off. It's a garbage can inside an ad, there's no question about that.""
+ 'Rubberband Man' gives Office Max it's first Emmy nomination. Ad was created by DDB Worldwide. The other commercials nominated include 'Born A Donkey' for Budweiser- Production Co: Biscuit Filmworks, Ad Agency: Goodby, Silverstein & Partners, 'Dominoes' for Miller- Production Co: MJZ, Ad Agency: Young & Rubicam, Chicago, 'Door Music' for Saturn- Production Co: Anonymous Content, Ad Agency: Goodby, Silverstein & Partners, 'Interview' for United Airlines- Production Co: ACME Filmworks, Ad Agency: Fallon, and 'Outfit' for Citibank Identity Theft Card Protection- Production Co: Thomas Thomas Films, Ad Agency: Fallon.
+ Saatchi & Saatchi branding executive Brad Stritch rebrands himself for the ladies. Just another reason to love The Onion. :D (hat tip to holger)
+ 25 workplace buzzwords and euphemisms making the rounds in the boardrooms and cubilces (supposedly- thankfully most of these are new to me.) "Corporate jargon and clichés are so pervasive that their use - or abuse - has yielded a buzzword of its own: "Deja Moo" (the feeling you've heard this bull before)."
+ Kmart attempts to revamp itself with new tagline and logo. "Kmart Holding Corp. has dumped its slogan — “Right Here. Right Now.” — and is tweaking its red-block K logo in the retailer’s latest attempt to fashion a message that resonates with consumers."
+ Superbrands in India names 101 of the top consumer brands in the country.
+ Ad billboards, trash cans hit Toronto. Not everyone is thrilled with the idea. "Councillor Joe Mihevc said the city's goal is simply to make it convenient for people to deposit their trash. "Our interest is the garbage can. They're not a garbage can. They're a billboard with a little garbage can attached. Why don't we just get the garbage can we need rather than buying a billboard and having the side benefit of a garbage can?" "Dave Meslin, of the Toronto Public Space Committee said, "It's a bit like a bus shelter with the bus shelter cut off. It's a garbage can inside an ad, there's no question about that.""
+ 'Rubberband Man' gives Office Max it's first Emmy nomination. Ad was created by DDB Worldwide. The other commercials nominated include 'Born A Donkey' for Budweiser- Production Co: Biscuit Filmworks, Ad Agency: Goodby, Silverstein & Partners, 'Dominoes' for Miller- Production Co: MJZ, Ad Agency: Young & Rubicam, Chicago, 'Door Music' for Saturn- Production Co: Anonymous Content, Ad Agency: Goodby, Silverstein & Partners, 'Interview' for United Airlines- Production Co: ACME Filmworks, Ad Agency: Fallon, and 'Outfit' for Citibank Identity Theft Card Protection- Production Co: Thomas Thomas Films, Ad Agency: Fallon.
Tuesday, July 20, 2004
Feel the funk
+ The Can is a collaborative art novel, being created by professional illustrators. Looks cool so far. If you're an illustrator you can submit work to be considered for your own page.
+ Effective advertising is all about pleasing the aural sense. "With the catchy session title 'Aural Sex', the session had to be quite a hoot. Armed with some good sound effects, Bruce Dunlop and Associates Australia's creative director Jens Hertzum's post tea break session did just more than just play by the ear. The session was a crash course in the audio element of the advertising. "Audience may not necessarily be watching but they are listening," he said. He spoke on tips and techniques that one can use on a daily basis to beef up their spots and deliver knock out sonic impact.While talking about the steamy world of promo and sound design, music sweetening and voice-over direction, track laying and mastering, Hertzum emphasised that you don't really need much special effect aka more moolah to prove that the ad is effective, good use of the audio feed will do the trick."
+ A potato chip war starts to sizzle in Chicago. Jays Foods Inc. filed a federal lawsuit Monday asking for a permanent injunction against a Frito-Lay Inc. billboard in Chicago, radio ads and other advertising that claim Chicagoans want to crunch on Lay's over Jays. Jays wants evidence for the claims that "Chicago prefers the taste of Lay's over Jays," as a billboard at La Salle and Chicago roars. The lawsuit alleges it is false and misleading advertising and that Frito-Lay is required to turn over its research if it wants to make that claim.
+ Effective advertising is all about pleasing the aural sense. "With the catchy session title 'Aural Sex', the session had to be quite a hoot. Armed with some good sound effects, Bruce Dunlop and Associates Australia's creative director Jens Hertzum's post tea break session did just more than just play by the ear. The session was a crash course in the audio element of the advertising. "Audience may not necessarily be watching but they are listening," he said. He spoke on tips and techniques that one can use on a daily basis to beef up their spots and deliver knock out sonic impact.While talking about the steamy world of promo and sound design, music sweetening and voice-over direction, track laying and mastering, Hertzum emphasised that you don't really need much special effect aka more moolah to prove that the ad is effective, good use of the audio feed will do the trick."
+ A potato chip war starts to sizzle in Chicago. Jays Foods Inc. filed a federal lawsuit Monday asking for a permanent injunction against a Frito-Lay Inc. billboard in Chicago, radio ads and other advertising that claim Chicagoans want to crunch on Lay's over Jays. Jays wants evidence for the claims that "Chicago prefers the taste of Lay's over Jays," as a billboard at La Salle and Chicago roars. The lawsuit alleges it is false and misleading advertising and that Frito-Lay is required to turn over its research if it wants to make that claim.
Sunday, July 18, 2004
Hot & Humid. Yum.
+ Animals on the underground is a neat site by Paul Middlewick showing the animals hidden in the tube lines of London's Underground system. It started off with an elephant 15 years ago and now there's a menagerie. Found at Creative Generalist.
+ Visual Thesaurus is a funky tool to visually show the connections in related words. Found at texturl.net.
+ The organisers of Penrith’s Saturday and Sunday open market have used "banners welcoming lap dancers, nudists and customers with smelly armpits to the Penrith market in the UK. The 13 banners, which were introduced after customers asked whether smokers and dogs were allowed, have been in use on market days and face the A66 next to junction 40 of the M6. Other members of society who are “welcome” at the market include asylum seekers, cross dressers, royalty, twitchers, Carlisle shopkeepers and Appleby residents." Sadly these banners "will have to come down from tomorrow after the local council decided they posed a risk to motorists".
+ Advertising critics from Canada.
+ Clampdown on A-board advertising on the Royal Mile in Edinburgh. So much of the business in that area is reliant on tourists and it's true that few would venture into a close without knowing what shop or shops are there.
+ If you're in London (or going to be there between now and October 10th), head to the Design Museum and check out the Saul Bass exhibit. "Often called the master of the film title sequence, American designer Saul Bass created an incredible array of titles over a career that spanned 50 years. Bass's best-known work was with directors such as Otto Preminger, Alfred Hitchcock and Martin Scorsese, but he created instantly recognisable images for many others."
+ The BBC reports that Marks & Spencer has been voted top retail brand in research carried out by the Superbrands Council. The nation's other favourite brands were Gillette, British Telecom, Duracell, Heinz and Jaguar cars. From the Superbrands site: "The definition of Superbrands that the judges bear in mind when scoring is as follows: “A Superbrand has established the finest reputation in its field. It offers customers significant emotional and/or tangible advantages over its competitors, which (consciously or sub-consciously) customers want and recognise."
+ Visual Thesaurus is a funky tool to visually show the connections in related words. Found at texturl.net.
+ The organisers of Penrith’s Saturday and Sunday open market have used "banners welcoming lap dancers, nudists and customers with smelly armpits to the Penrith market in the UK. The 13 banners, which were introduced after customers asked whether smokers and dogs were allowed, have been in use on market days and face the A66 next to junction 40 of the M6. Other members of society who are “welcome” at the market include asylum seekers, cross dressers, royalty, twitchers, Carlisle shopkeepers and Appleby residents." Sadly these banners "will have to come down from tomorrow after the local council decided they posed a risk to motorists".
+ Advertising critics from Canada.
+ Clampdown on A-board advertising on the Royal Mile in Edinburgh. So much of the business in that area is reliant on tourists and it's true that few would venture into a close without knowing what shop or shops are there.
+ If you're in London (or going to be there between now and October 10th), head to the Design Museum and check out the Saul Bass exhibit. "Often called the master of the film title sequence, American designer Saul Bass created an incredible array of titles over a career that spanned 50 years. Bass's best-known work was with directors such as Otto Preminger, Alfred Hitchcock and Martin Scorsese, but he created instantly recognisable images for many others."
+ The BBC reports that Marks & Spencer has been voted top retail brand in research carried out by the Superbrands Council. The nation's other favourite brands were Gillette, British Telecom, Duracell, Heinz and Jaguar cars. From the Superbrands site: "The definition of Superbrands that the judges bear in mind when scoring is as follows: “A Superbrand has established the finest reputation in its field. It offers customers significant emotional and/or tangible advantages over its competitors, which (consciously or sub-consciously) customers want and recognise."
Friday, July 16, 2004
And now back to your regularly scheduled programming
Hello! The hiatus was wonderful. And now I'm ready to get back to the action.
+ Have you checked out this weeks print critic email yet? You should. The Pony ads are very cool.
+ Search-Style Ads Lift Brand Awareness, Study Says:
+ Copywriter and author Bruno Bouchet has writen a new book and used the internet to get the word out with a fun game where you get to throw food at baby boomers (and the books characters) who head to villas in the French countryside to sort out their midlife crisis (which is the basis for his book.) Check out his site here. (flash 6 req.)
+ Slim Fast drops Whoopi over her "bush" remark. "While I can appreciate what the Slim-Fast people need to do in order to protect their business, I must also do what I need to do as an artist, as a writer and as an American - not to mention as a comic," Goldberg said in a statement Thursday. "It's unfortunate that, in this country, the two cannot mesh."
+ Have you checked out this weeks print critic email yet? You should. The Pony ads are very cool.
+ Search-Style Ads Lift Brand Awareness, Study Says:
Interesting. I suppose I can see why that would be. Sometimes I do actually look at the ads on the side when I do a search on google or something.
Contrary to generally held industry beliefs, sponsored text advertising does work for a number of branding objectives, according to a massive study by the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) and Nielsen//NetRatings released Wednesday.
The study was done online with more than 10,500 participants using a controlled experimental design. It measured the brand impact of sponsored and contextual listings in the health, auto, beverage, electronics, retail and finance industries.
On average, respondents were 27 percent more likely to name a specific brand if it was in the top spot on the search results page, according to the study. Contextual listings -- text ads on non-search pages -- caused a 23 percent lift among respondents.
Placement was a key element. Ads in the top position on the search results page increased an aggregate of all the brand metrics by an average of 14 percent across the six industries. The effect fell dramatically as rankings went lower, the study found. For example, ads in the fifth position showed only a minor directional lift.
+ Copywriter and author Bruno Bouchet has writen a new book and used the internet to get the word out with a fun game where you get to throw food at baby boomers (and the books characters) who head to villas in the French countryside to sort out their midlife crisis (which is the basis for his book.) Check out his site here. (flash 6 req.)
+ Slim Fast drops Whoopi over her "bush" remark. "While I can appreciate what the Slim-Fast people need to do in order to protect their business, I must also do what I need to do as an artist, as a writer and as an American - not to mention as a comic," Goldberg said in a statement Thursday. "It's unfortunate that, in this country, the two cannot mesh."
Thursday, July 01, 2004
Hiatus
Hello to all four or five of you that read this regularly. There will be no new posts for a bit while I take a hiatus. In the meantime, check out the links to the right for some good, clean fun!
Posts will/should resume mid-July.
Posts will/should resume mid-July.
Friday, June 25, 2004
Cannes, Women, & The Future
+ USA Today reports Global ads aim for one brand, image. The article touches on the concept that thinking globally and acting locally has become a trend for global advertisers. The article lists some examples of the worldwide advertisers and their methods for universal brand thinking:
+ Cannes reflects women's journey in marketing. "But female ad executives still earn 10% to 25% less than male counterparts, according to separate studies by Advertising Age and Working Mother magazines. Advertising's prestigious One Club in New York, which honors creativity in art direction and copy writing, has inducted no women into its Hall of Fame since its founding in 1984. When it comes to handing out the biggest awards in the business, women are trying to join the club there, too. Despite the goal of 30% female juries at Cannes this year, only 30 of 127 judges, or 24%, are women. There have been just two female jury presidents in the festival's 51-year history, in 1986 and 2001." That's just sad.
+ The future of advertising-the harder sell. "The advertising industry is passing through one of the most disorienting periods in its history. This is due to a combination of long-term changes, such as the growing diversity of media, and the arrival of new technologies, notably the internet. Consumers have become better informed than ever before, with the result that some of the traditional methods of advertising and marketing simply no longer work." Which is not true. Let's stop thinking this way. It's not that traditional methods don't work, but rather that they need to be looked at in a new way-figuring out how they meld with the newer methods. "As Rupert Howell, chairman of the London arm of McCann Erickson, insists, “the underlying principles haven't changed.” He points out, TV never killed radio, which in turn never killed newspapers. They did pose huge creative challenges, but that's OK, he maintains: “The advertising industry is relentlessly inventive; that's what we do.”" With each new media there's always the fear that the old media will vanish into thin air, never to be used again. And that's just a ridiculous way to think. We build onto the old with the new to create an even better integrated marketing plan. Or at least that's the idea. Creating concepts that spread into the various media start with the birth of a big idea so fantastic that it easily can be morphed into a radio spot, tv spot, internet ad/webpage, print, and any other media format you can think of. Which in a way is interesting as over the last few years more and more agencies have popped up to do more specific work. Internet only, broadcast only, DM only agencies then must work together with the traditional agencies to keep a true concept throughout all the work that is created. And the more chefs in the kitchen, the harder that is to do. So if this idea does catch on, I wonder if we will see a return to the integrated agencies- who can do it all. True, a lot of agencies have bought up the smaller specific-focused shops. But I wonder if we will see more of that as there is a return to a better ad climate. Hopefully it will mean a bigger need for creative generalists who know how to work and think in all media, rather than having specialists doing just one part of a larger campaign.
Citibank. The U.S. financial services brand runs credit card, retail banking and consumer loan businesses worldwide. No matter the locale, "The business is the business, and we want to make sure we're not schizophrenic," says Anne MacDonald, head of global marketing. "We want our brand values consistent around the world." Citibank does so by using one model to develop credit cards, signs and even office interiors.All in all, it does seem to be effective. And a rather logical way to go (logic in advertising? Never!). Pushing one brand message throughout the world does reinforce a single image in the minds of consumers, no matter what language they speak or what cultural differences they have between them. Advertisers need to be wary though of just doing one big concept and translating the copy for different countries. In some cases it will work, in most it won't - especially in countries with vastly different cultures. Concepts and ideas that consumers "get" in Europe may not play well in Asia or Africa. Then again, there are universal concepts that as human beings we all "get". And maybe then that's the path that we are heading down for big international players.
McDonald's. The fast-food giant last year created its first global ad campaign after finding young adults worldwide were rejecting McDonald's for the same reason — the brand was not contemporary to them — and decided to address the issue with one answer. "Strategically we said, 'Why would we do it 10 different ways? Let's do it in one voice,' " says Larry Light, global chief marketing officer at McDonald's. That voice now sings, "I'm lovin' it." Supporting the global theme are 25 new ads.
Pepsi. The youthful brand is recognized for its ad humor in the USA and has applied that to ads globally — with local cultural twists. An ad in India, for instance, tells of a boy who, when he drinks a Pepsi, can train elephants to do tricks. His career is shattered, however, when another boy pops open a Pepsi during a performance, and the elephants follow him."How consumers experience the personality of the brand should be tempered by the culture," says Dave Burwick, chief marketing officer, North America.
Procter & Gamble. In its drive to be a "high-performance marketing organization," P&G has pushed for broadcast TV and more focus on media that can be better tailored for local needs around the world, says Jim Stengel, global marketing officer. It is perfecting the concept of global brands with regional flair, he says. It sells about 50 of its brands in North and Latin America, Europe, Middle East and Africa. Stengel says P&G is "reinventing our approach to marketing." It is making media choices based on when and where it can best reach its customers, then creating ads to suit that media.
Reebok. The sports apparel and footwear brand has built a new global marketing campaign around the Olympics that includes print ads of such athletes as basketball player Yao Ming in ancient Greek garb and poses. Reebok also is creating sculptures of the athletes modeled on poses from the famous Parthenon Frieze. "We try very hard to make a program like this very relevant to cultures around the world," says Denise Kaigler, vice president, global communications.
Hewlett-Packard. Whether in England, Russia, Australia or the USA, H-P's message is that its technology helps businesses handle change. The ads are in a variety of media, but particularly outdoor. A recent poster outside London's National Gallery promoted H-P technology to restore just the right shade of yellow to a Van Gogh painting. Another ad will go up next week in Moscow's Red Square. Choosing such landmark locations "allows us to become part of the city," says Gary Elliott, vice president, brand marketing.
UPS. The overnight carrier uses just three ads that run in 20 countries for its global message that its service builds businesses. UPS does so because it has found "that the similarities among decision makers in our category, whether in China, India or Mexico, their needs, wants and fears are amazingly consistent," says Larry Bloomenkranz, vice president, global advertising and brand management. It varies the faces in the ads — one might have an Asian cast, another white — "so people can recognize themselves in the advertising," Bloomenkranz says.
+ Cannes reflects women's journey in marketing. "But female ad executives still earn 10% to 25% less than male counterparts, according to separate studies by Advertising Age and Working Mother magazines. Advertising's prestigious One Club in New York, which honors creativity in art direction and copy writing, has inducted no women into its Hall of Fame since its founding in 1984. When it comes to handing out the biggest awards in the business, women are trying to join the club there, too. Despite the goal of 30% female juries at Cannes this year, only 30 of 127 judges, or 24%, are women. There have been just two female jury presidents in the festival's 51-year history, in 1986 and 2001." That's just sad.
+ The future of advertising-the harder sell. "The advertising industry is passing through one of the most disorienting periods in its history. This is due to a combination of long-term changes, such as the growing diversity of media, and the arrival of new technologies, notably the internet. Consumers have become better informed than ever before, with the result that some of the traditional methods of advertising and marketing simply no longer work." Which is not true. Let's stop thinking this way. It's not that traditional methods don't work, but rather that they need to be looked at in a new way-figuring out how they meld with the newer methods. "As Rupert Howell, chairman of the London arm of McCann Erickson, insists, “the underlying principles haven't changed.” He points out, TV never killed radio, which in turn never killed newspapers. They did pose huge creative challenges, but that's OK, he maintains: “The advertising industry is relentlessly inventive; that's what we do.”" With each new media there's always the fear that the old media will vanish into thin air, never to be used again. And that's just a ridiculous way to think. We build onto the old with the new to create an even better integrated marketing plan. Or at least that's the idea. Creating concepts that spread into the various media start with the birth of a big idea so fantastic that it easily can be morphed into a radio spot, tv spot, internet ad/webpage, print, and any other media format you can think of. Which in a way is interesting as over the last few years more and more agencies have popped up to do more specific work. Internet only, broadcast only, DM only agencies then must work together with the traditional agencies to keep a true concept throughout all the work that is created. And the more chefs in the kitchen, the harder that is to do. So if this idea does catch on, I wonder if we will see a return to the integrated agencies- who can do it all. True, a lot of agencies have bought up the smaller specific-focused shops. But I wonder if we will see more of that as there is a return to a better ad climate. Hopefully it will mean a bigger need for creative generalists who know how to work and think in all media, rather than having specialists doing just one part of a larger campaign.
Monday, June 21, 2004
Roars from Cannes
+ Yesterday was the first day of the Cannes Lions Festival. Here's a couple articles to whet your appetite:
In Cannes, creativity above all.
Business not as usual.
There's more at the official Cannes site. Shortlist and winners will be posted as the week goes on at the site.
In Cannes, creativity above all.
Business not as usual.
There's more at the official Cannes site. Shortlist and winners will be posted as the week goes on at the site.
Resources and news
+ Convert your colours from Pantone to RGB to Hex HTML. Very cool. Might take a bit to load- but worth it. (via Dab.)
+ Logo Lounge- another source for logo resources. (via Tracy)
+ Troegs beer is having a competition to see what images you can create with their bottle caps. (found via Print Critic.)
+ Long, lavish event ads target jaded, resistant consumers. Adland's own Åsk Wappling was interviewed and is quoted in the article. Nice!
+ Queen of Carbs drops suit against Bud. What a surprise! ;)
+ Logo Lounge- another source for logo resources. (via Tracy)
+ Troegs beer is having a competition to see what images you can create with their bottle caps. (found via Print Critic.)
+ Long, lavish event ads target jaded, resistant consumers. Adland's own Åsk Wappling was interviewed and is quoted in the article. Nice!
+ Queen of Carbs drops suit against Bud. What a surprise! ;)
Thursday, June 17, 2004
Fly by posting
+ Interesting ads for Stella and spec ads from thespecspot.com over at Adland.
+ The Motion Picture Association of America, which represents the major U.S. movie studios, said it has begun placing new ads in newspapers and magazines, and it plans to ramp up efforts to educate parents and kids in schools about copyright piracy.
+ Stan Richards of the Richards Group says "Stay independent". "I can't give an example where the work got better when an agency was sold," said Richards on Tuesday at the American Advertising Federation's conference in Dallas. "If we're going to be true to our mission of continuing to do better work, then selling an agency wouldn't be a step in that direction."
I've always wondered (well not always, but in recent years at least) how becoming part of a holding company effects ad agencies. During recent years many agencies have been bought out by the handful of large holding groups, and during those years it seems that fewer of the agencies have been putting out work as great as it was when they were independent.
+ The Motion Picture Association of America, which represents the major U.S. movie studios, said it has begun placing new ads in newspapers and magazines, and it plans to ramp up efforts to educate parents and kids in schools about copyright piracy.
+ Stan Richards of the Richards Group says "Stay independent". "I can't give an example where the work got better when an agency was sold," said Richards on Tuesday at the American Advertising Federation's conference in Dallas. "If we're going to be true to our mission of continuing to do better work, then selling an agency wouldn't be a step in that direction."
I've always wondered (well not always, but in recent years at least) how becoming part of a holding company effects ad agencies. During recent years many agencies have been bought out by the handful of large holding groups, and during those years it seems that fewer of the agencies have been putting out work as great as it was when they were independent.
Thursday, June 10, 2004
Hot Humid and Hairy
+ NYTimes looks at how Tagament takes an edgier approach to marketing heartburn treatments to a younger audience, with a campaign for Tagamet HB 200. The campaign demonstrates a desire by the OTC companies to balance addressing serious medical conditions with persuit of a desired lifestyle. "In this case, the lifestyle is youthful hedonism. The Tagamet campaign suggests shifting the focus of heartburn medications from treating unintentional excess - for years, Alka-Seltzer thrived with the slogan "I can't believe I ate the whole thing" - to providing a prophylactic for customers whose excess is very intentional indeed. Since last week, bar patrons in the Buckhead area of Atlanta have found such encouragement on coasters and pint glasses. Staring out seductively from these items are women wearing little black dresses or tight-fitting shirts. "Did you bring protection?" or "Don't forget your protection,'' the copy reads. Pictured nearby is a mound of buffalo wings, or a pizza with plenty of toppings."
+ Coke ad, "Buddies" gets pulled off air. "The advert features two friends taking a break from a basketball game. One of the friends takes two cans of Coke out of a fridge, drinks one of them and uses the other to cool down by applying it to his forehead, neck, stomach and then armpit. He then hands the can to his friend, who is unaware of where the can has been. The advert was intended to run during the National Collegiate Athletic Association basketball tournament, but was aired during a golf tournament, whose TV audience included Donald Keough, a director and former president at the company. According to The Wall Street Journal Europe, Keogh complained about the ad to current president Steven Heyer. Other Coca-Cola executives and at least a few consumers also complained, according to the company." You can view the ad at Coke's site - click on the ad titled "Buddies". I don't see what the hoopla is all about. It's not like the guy spits on the can, puts feces on it or something else totally disgusting. People need to calm down and chill out.
+ Coke ad, "Buddies" gets pulled off air. "The advert features two friends taking a break from a basketball game. One of the friends takes two cans of Coke out of a fridge, drinks one of them and uses the other to cool down by applying it to his forehead, neck, stomach and then armpit. He then hands the can to his friend, who is unaware of where the can has been. The advert was intended to run during the National Collegiate Athletic Association basketball tournament, but was aired during a golf tournament, whose TV audience included Donald Keough, a director and former president at the company. According to The Wall Street Journal Europe, Keogh complained about the ad to current president Steven Heyer. Other Coca-Cola executives and at least a few consumers also complained, according to the company." You can view the ad at Coke's site - click on the ad titled "Buddies". I don't see what the hoopla is all about. It's not like the guy spits on the can, puts feces on it or something else totally disgusting. People need to calm down and chill out.
Monday, June 07, 2004
Monday blahs
+ Nike taps Gawker Media for blog effort-"Called Art of Speed, the blog will spend about a month showcasing a series of 15 short films on the theme of speed, all commissioned by Nike. Gawker Media Contract Productions, a new division of Gawker Media, will supply layout, commentary, links and other features." Also from the article: "I'm skeptical that a lot of online readers would be interested in reading an advertorial blog," Patrick Phillips, the publisher of a blog called I Want Media, said. "If you got to a site, and you know you're being sold something, I don't know that there's going to be a lot of interest." Phillips brings up a very valid point. There's a big question as to how the weblog community would receive something like this. If it's related information and links to sports type stuff, it might be ok. But if they start trying to hawk their wares too hard, it will be a turn off. I don't think overall weblogs are a bad idea for companies or as an advertising message, but it needs to add value to the overall, well, value of the brand- be it emotional connection for the consumer or as a way to provide further information. And I'm not so sure that 15 short films about speed will do that.
+ Direct Mail is the UK's most hated industry according to a vote from BBC One's 'Brassed Off Britain' series. "Direct mail beat estate agents, mobile phone companies, call centres, dodgy builders and banks, pulling in 24% of the public's vote. However, second-placed banks were only just behind with 23% of the vote and third-placed call centres had 22%."
+ Death of the great advertising idea is a decent article that brings up some very interesting points. "The Idea was the central innovation of advertising's Creative Revolution. All other major elements -- the copywriter-art director creative team, the use of contemporary cultural references, the understanding that, as David Ogilvy put it, "the consumer is not an idiot, she is your wife" -- flowed from it. The Idea sought to connect a marketer's product to the consumer's interests, using as a bridge a clever, emotionally rich, culturally relevant story, told with fully integrated words and pictures." Rothenberg goes on to discuss that product placement, celebrity endorsements, sponsorships, and event marketing have sullied the "idea". There's a lot there that I agree with. Although I don't know that the "ideas" have totally died out in the ad industry. There are still some fabulous ads out there...just not a lot of them. Whether that responsibility stems from the agencies, clients or a little bit of both is hard to say. My guess is that it is a little bit of both. In recent years, a lot of creative has been not so great. Few great ideas were making their way out into the public eye. And of course, some of that had to do with budget cutbacks, layoffs, and other economy related things. As the economy goes south, clients rein in their ad budgets and tend to go the more conservative route- or look for cheaper ways to get their messages out there. But then too, agencies have a tendency to kowtow to the clients, giving them what they want, in an effort not to lose the account. Doing that results in bad work too. Like the article points out (and I think I might have before), you cannot have one celebrity taking on the spokesperson job for 6 different brands. It doesn't help the brand to be associated with someone who's already hawking a multitude of products- even if they are in different categories. Sometimes I wonder if that is a result of the client saying "Yeah, let's get X" and the agency just nodding in agreement to make the client happy. Throughout these last couple years it has been difficult for me to see some of the crap that gets through the agencies and out into the airwaves, into the magazines, etc. When I get complaints from people about the crappy advertising out there (for some reason because I work in the industry, they feel it's their responsibility to inform me about it), I tell them "well, it's not my fault." Sometimes that makes me feel a little better about not having a fulltime job, or working on high-profile accounts. But at the same time, it also fuels my desire to work to make a change in the crap that is out there. The inane concepts, stupid copy, and overall lame attempts to "cut through the clutter". There's something that should be done about it. And in some way agencies like CP+B are working towards that end. I just hope that eventually I get to be a part of this "idea revolution." And in time I'm sure I will...but the waiting is the hardest part. I could write more on this but for now I'll leave it at this. Maybe later I'll go off on another rant. ;)
+ Direct Mail is the UK's most hated industry according to a vote from BBC One's 'Brassed Off Britain' series. "Direct mail beat estate agents, mobile phone companies, call centres, dodgy builders and banks, pulling in 24% of the public's vote. However, second-placed banks were only just behind with 23% of the vote and third-placed call centres had 22%."
+ Death of the great advertising idea is a decent article that brings up some very interesting points. "The Idea was the central innovation of advertising's Creative Revolution. All other major elements -- the copywriter-art director creative team, the use of contemporary cultural references, the understanding that, as David Ogilvy put it, "the consumer is not an idiot, she is your wife" -- flowed from it. The Idea sought to connect a marketer's product to the consumer's interests, using as a bridge a clever, emotionally rich, culturally relevant story, told with fully integrated words and pictures." Rothenberg goes on to discuss that product placement, celebrity endorsements, sponsorships, and event marketing have sullied the "idea". There's a lot there that I agree with. Although I don't know that the "ideas" have totally died out in the ad industry. There are still some fabulous ads out there...just not a lot of them. Whether that responsibility stems from the agencies, clients or a little bit of both is hard to say. My guess is that it is a little bit of both. In recent years, a lot of creative has been not so great. Few great ideas were making their way out into the public eye. And of course, some of that had to do with budget cutbacks, layoffs, and other economy related things. As the economy goes south, clients rein in their ad budgets and tend to go the more conservative route- or look for cheaper ways to get their messages out there. But then too, agencies have a tendency to kowtow to the clients, giving them what they want, in an effort not to lose the account. Doing that results in bad work too. Like the article points out (and I think I might have before), you cannot have one celebrity taking on the spokesperson job for 6 different brands. It doesn't help the brand to be associated with someone who's already hawking a multitude of products- even if they are in different categories. Sometimes I wonder if that is a result of the client saying "Yeah, let's get X" and the agency just nodding in agreement to make the client happy. Throughout these last couple years it has been difficult for me to see some of the crap that gets through the agencies and out into the airwaves, into the magazines, etc. When I get complaints from people about the crappy advertising out there (for some reason because I work in the industry, they feel it's their responsibility to inform me about it), I tell them "well, it's not my fault." Sometimes that makes me feel a little better about not having a fulltime job, or working on high-profile accounts. But at the same time, it also fuels my desire to work to make a change in the crap that is out there. The inane concepts, stupid copy, and overall lame attempts to "cut through the clutter". There's something that should be done about it. And in some way agencies like CP+B are working towards that end. I just hope that eventually I get to be a part of this "idea revolution." And in time I'm sure I will...but the waiting is the hardest part. I could write more on this but for now I'll leave it at this. Maybe later I'll go off on another rant. ;)
Saturday, June 05, 2004
Stuff to see
+ Portrait Illustration Maker. Kinda neat. Just choose the individual parts and it creates an icon you can use of yourself. (via blogdex.net)
+ Estimating the airspeed velocity of an unladen swallow- for you Python fans out there. :D (via blogdex.net)
+ Cool vintage print ads from back in the day when illustration was king. (via tracy)
+ TypePhases- some cool stuff here. (via Tracy, via HOW)
+ The Nielsen TV Research Activity Book- scanned in by Jim Hannas (found via BoingBoing.net)
+ Photography of Symon Chow and Mocean Worker (found via EGullet's Q&A with Alton Brown)
+ Brian Transeau- more great music. And more info on the music can also be found at btmusic.com. I've got two of his albums so far, and I'm ready for more.
+ Estimating the airspeed velocity of an unladen swallow- for you Python fans out there. :D (via blogdex.net)
+ Cool vintage print ads from back in the day when illustration was king. (via tracy)
+ TypePhases- some cool stuff here. (via Tracy, via HOW)
+ The Nielsen TV Research Activity Book- scanned in by Jim Hannas (found via BoingBoing.net)
+ Photography of Symon Chow and Mocean Worker (found via EGullet's Q&A with Alton Brown)
+ Brian Transeau- more great music. And more info on the music can also be found at btmusic.com. I've got two of his albums so far, and I'm ready for more.
Saturday, May 29, 2004
Blurbs and 'Erbs
+ Update on the Miller vs. Bud story over at Adland. It's heating up. (yah, I'm being lazy, but hey it's Saturday, and we've got the ads to see there- so go visit.)
+ Targeting the aging consumer- "From travel to fitness, finance to cosmetics, cars to mobile phones, advertisers are tapping into the grey consumer market, and senior models are in hot demand.
"The grey consumer is getting stronger and stronger in Germany," said Höhs. "It is essential that this market is able to identify with models in TV and internet commercials. If they don't, then they will not buy. Or not as much as they could, as far as their spending capacity goes."" Definitely an interesting read. And it makes sense. If you've got an aging generation, especially baby boomers and the like, who don't see themselves as "old fuddy-duddys" then the advertising to them should reflect how they see themselves.
+ Coca-Cola, one of the official sponsors of the Euro 2004 tournament, have printed different labels for each of the 16 teams in the tournament.
+ Advertising washes up on the shore in a bottle. An interesting "new" way to advertise. Heh.
+ Targeting the aging consumer- "From travel to fitness, finance to cosmetics, cars to mobile phones, advertisers are tapping into the grey consumer market, and senior models are in hot demand.
"The grey consumer is getting stronger and stronger in Germany," said Höhs. "It is essential that this market is able to identify with models in TV and internet commercials. If they don't, then they will not buy. Or not as much as they could, as far as their spending capacity goes."" Definitely an interesting read. And it makes sense. If you've got an aging generation, especially baby boomers and the like, who don't see themselves as "old fuddy-duddys" then the advertising to them should reflect how they see themselves.
+ Coca-Cola, one of the official sponsors of the Euro 2004 tournament, have printed different labels for each of the 16 teams in the tournament.
So when a typo on Danish Coca-Cola bottles diminished what is considered in Sweden as one of its greatest sports feats, it had some Swedes seeing red – especially because the two Scandinavian nations play in Group C at the upcoming Euro 2004.Hahahaha. Woopsie! I can't believe that no one noticed the mistake before it got printed. Hard to believe it was unintentional. But you never know.
The culprit is a factual error on Euro 2004 commemorative labels on Coke bottles sold in Denmark, which claim Bulgaria won the bronze medal in the 1994 World Cup.
In Sweden, everyone knows it was the Swedes who finished third. The country beat Bulgaria 4-0 to claim the bronze.
"For us who live in Sweden, this is obviously a catastrophic error," said Magnus Nelin, spokesman for Coca-Cola's Swedish branch.
His Danish counterpart, Kenth Kaerhoeg, said the mistake was unintentional, and blamed it on the advertising agency in charge of printing the labels.
+ Advertising washes up on the shore in a bottle. An interesting "new" way to advertise. Heh.
Friday, May 28, 2004
Fabulous Fridays
+ Ads have branded big names on our brains- This article takes a look at the claim made by Deutsche Bank in the US stating that TV advertising doesn't work for mature brands. Yet the author of the article,Richard Tomkins, doesn't quite agree. Here's an excerpt:
+ Catfight between Miller and AB- Exerpt:
+ Room at the top(free reg required) takes a look at Kate Stanners- one of London's top female creatives- "What has been described as the advertising industry's dirty little secret - the fact that creative departments are 83% male, a figure which, depressingly, is slightly up on the ratio 15 years ago - seems to make no sense at all. It is a question that pursues Stanners, who at her previous agency, St Luke's, and at her newly formed company, boymeetsgirl, has made advertisements for five different beers (the Jeff Goldblum "Anagrams" Holsten Pils campaign in the early 1990s was hers), Chrysler Jeeps and many other perfectly macho products." It's sad really. The fact that it's 2004 and we're still stuck with disproportionate gender figures in creative departments. I do think it's true though that it is harder for women to balance the work and family in an agency setting...the hours alone can be tough. It's something to work on.
+ Cleavage exploitative of and degrading to dental nurses.In New Zealand an ad for Cool Charm deodorant takes place in a dentist office, where the dentist is having trouble getting his patient to open wide enough.
+ DMC has released a viral for the the International Fund for Animal Welfare, created together with Velocity and produced by Maverick Media. Upon seeing the ad, it made me think of Trigger Happy TV.
People absorb information both actively and passively. Some knowledge you seek, other knowledge you absorb through "implicit" learning without even knowing it is happening. According to Heath, brand communications fell mostly into the second category: although often ignored at the conscious level, they were absorbed through an automatic, subconscious mental activity known as low involvement processing.Brainwashed. Heh. But it is a good point that you cannot just stop advertising on TV. Plus, as Tomkins points out in the article, if your competitors continue advertising on TV and you pull the plug, they are going to have an advantage over you. And beyond TV advertising, brand choices are also ingrained from a young age depending on what products your parents used, friends used, and many other aspects. Stating that TV advertising doesn't work and claiming it to be a fact, well, that's just not looking at the big picture and is a rather silly remark to make.
The way long-term memory worked, the more often an idea was processed alongside a brand, the more it became associated with that brand. "And because implicit memory is more durable than explicit memory," Heath said, "these brand associations, once learnt, are rarely forgotten."
So, even more shocking than the revelation that TV advertising does not work is that it does - and without our even knowing it. Just as we always suspected, we are being brainwashed.
+ Catfight between Miller and AB- Exerpt:
Miller Brewing Co. has gone to court to stop its competitor Anheuser-Busch Cos. from advertising activities that Miller claims are damaging its sales.I find this hilarious. Can you take a competitor to court because their advertising is hurting your sales? Isn't that a part of the world of business? Maybe it's just worded incorrectly- and the big issue is that they are stickering (yeah I just made up a new verb!) product that isn't theirs. I can see that being a more legitimate complaint. But it's still amusing.
Miller filed a motion for a preliminary injunction Wednesday in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin in Milwaukee.
The motion alleges that St. Louis-based Anheuser-Busch, maker of Budweiser, has included in its recent "Unleash the Dawgs" campaign numerous activities that hurt Miller's sales.
Distributors allegedly are placing 3-by-5 stickers on Miller Lite products that contain phrases "Queen of Carbs" and "Owned by South African Breweries," according to the motion.
Miller also provided photos to the court of Miller Lite with stickers that bear the Bud Light logo and say, "All light beers are low in carbs. Choose on Taste."
+ Room at the top(free reg required) takes a look at Kate Stanners- one of London's top female creatives- "What has been described as the advertising industry's dirty little secret - the fact that creative departments are 83% male, a figure which, depressingly, is slightly up on the ratio 15 years ago - seems to make no sense at all. It is a question that pursues Stanners, who at her previous agency, St Luke's, and at her newly formed company, boymeetsgirl, has made advertisements for five different beers (the Jeff Goldblum "Anagrams" Holsten Pils campaign in the early 1990s was hers), Chrysler Jeeps and many other perfectly macho products." It's sad really. The fact that it's 2004 and we're still stuck with disproportionate gender figures in creative departments. I do think it's true though that it is harder for women to balance the work and family in an agency setting...the hours alone can be tough. It's something to work on.
+ Cleavage exploitative of and degrading to dental nurses.In New Zealand an ad for Cool Charm deodorant takes place in a dentist office, where the dentist is having trouble getting his patient to open wide enough.
+ DMC has released a viral for the the International Fund for Animal Welfare, created together with Velocity and produced by Maverick Media. Upon seeing the ad, it made me think of Trigger Happy TV.
Thursday, May 27, 2004
Rock on
+ "Trojan condoms has paid £100,000 for a 20-second advertising slot during the first episode of 'Big Brother' this Friday, promising viewers to bring the first orgasm to British television.
The spot has been created by Media Therapy as part of the "Faces" campaign, which promotes Trojan's "shared pleasure" condoms. In a move that would have the late Mary Whitehouse up in arms, the ad will show a couple having sex, focusing on a woman having an orgasm.
The ad was created by Neale Hunt, creative director at Media Therapy, and art director Andy Tye. It was directed by Ed Robinson through the Viral Factory.
Coaxing the actors to give realistic performances proved to be a challenge for the creative team. Hunt said: "Can you imagine sitting opposite 20 guys and asking to see their most intimate orgasm face? But I have to say, Ed Robinson was the man, he was a complete genius."" Shame the campaign is very similar to another campaign by Coco De Mer.
+ Sarah Jessica Parker falls into the Gap as their new spokesperson. "She will make her Gap debut in a fall marketing campaign that will break this August, via Laird + Partners in New York, on TV and in print...TV spots will air on all major networks, spot markets and cable beginning in late August, as well as on networks in Canada and Japan. Print work will appear in September magazines on sale in mid-August. The effort will tie in with Gap's 35th anniversary umbrella campaign, with Parker as the featured player, both alone and in conjunction with other artists."
+ Adweek reports on the D&AD festival. Only two black pencils were awarded...and they went to Johnson Banks,UK for its "Fruit and Veg" stamps for client Royal Mail in the graphic design category and Tourismus and Congress GmbH of Germany with its "Ship of Ideas" execution for Atelier Markgraph in the category of environmental design and architecture. ""There's no doubt agencies have done better work in the past," said Leagas Delaney's Tim Delaney, who was a judge in the writing for advertising category. A lot of craft has gone away. Print's gone to a whole visual thing. Headlines are virtually non-existent."" A good number of silver pencils were handed out.
Check out the winners here.
+ Will Kiwis beat out the Aussies at Cannes? "During the early 1990s Australia was rated highly for its witty, intelligent and well crafted TV campaigns and print work but in recent years its creative reputation has fallen away.
South Africa, Scandinavia, Holland and New Zealand meanwhile have emerged as the new upstarts to challenge the dominant Cannes winners: North America, Britain and to some extent, Brazil.
"New Zealand will clean up," predicts Michael Lynch, the publisher of the Australian advertising bible for creatives, Campaign Brief. "There's only a couple of agencies really bothering about creative here. They're the usual suspects: DDB, BMF, Saatchi & Saatchi, The Glue Society and Host. There's a possible late charge from Clemenger in Melbourne.""
+ Product placement in Shrek and in movies in general- "The product placement in Shrek 2 is simply hideous. The brand names are smuggled in via olde fairytale jokes (Barneys Old York, Versachery, Pork Illustrated, Tower of London Records) and one or two of these gags would be fine, but the film is larded with in-jokes, mouldy movie spoofs (that From Here to Eternity beach scene yet again), cover versions of hit songs, and a glut of pop-culture references. (the DreamWorks boss Spielberg gets two homages.)"
The spot has been created by Media Therapy as part of the "Faces" campaign, which promotes Trojan's "shared pleasure" condoms. In a move that would have the late Mary Whitehouse up in arms, the ad will show a couple having sex, focusing on a woman having an orgasm.
The ad was created by Neale Hunt, creative director at Media Therapy, and art director Andy Tye. It was directed by Ed Robinson through the Viral Factory.
Coaxing the actors to give realistic performances proved to be a challenge for the creative team. Hunt said: "Can you imagine sitting opposite 20 guys and asking to see their most intimate orgasm face? But I have to say, Ed Robinson was the man, he was a complete genius."" Shame the campaign is very similar to another campaign by Coco De Mer.
+ Sarah Jessica Parker falls into the Gap as their new spokesperson. "She will make her Gap debut in a fall marketing campaign that will break this August, via Laird + Partners in New York, on TV and in print...TV spots will air on all major networks, spot markets and cable beginning in late August, as well as on networks in Canada and Japan. Print work will appear in September magazines on sale in mid-August. The effort will tie in with Gap's 35th anniversary umbrella campaign, with Parker as the featured player, both alone and in conjunction with other artists."
+ Adweek reports on the D&AD festival. Only two black pencils were awarded...and they went to Johnson Banks,UK for its "Fruit and Veg" stamps for client Royal Mail in the graphic design category and Tourismus and Congress GmbH of Germany with its "Ship of Ideas" execution for Atelier Markgraph in the category of environmental design and architecture. ""There's no doubt agencies have done better work in the past," said Leagas Delaney's Tim Delaney, who was a judge in the writing for advertising category. A lot of craft has gone away. Print's gone to a whole visual thing. Headlines are virtually non-existent."" A good number of silver pencils were handed out.
Check out the winners here.
+ Will Kiwis beat out the Aussies at Cannes? "During the early 1990s Australia was rated highly for its witty, intelligent and well crafted TV campaigns and print work but in recent years its creative reputation has fallen away.
South Africa, Scandinavia, Holland and New Zealand meanwhile have emerged as the new upstarts to challenge the dominant Cannes winners: North America, Britain and to some extent, Brazil.
"New Zealand will clean up," predicts Michael Lynch, the publisher of the Australian advertising bible for creatives, Campaign Brief. "There's only a couple of agencies really bothering about creative here. They're the usual suspects: DDB, BMF, Saatchi & Saatchi, The Glue Society and Host. There's a possible late charge from Clemenger in Melbourne.""
+ Product placement in Shrek and in movies in general- "The product placement in Shrek 2 is simply hideous. The brand names are smuggled in via olde fairytale jokes (Barneys Old York, Versachery, Pork Illustrated, Tower of London Records) and one or two of these gags would be fine, but the film is larded with in-jokes, mouldy movie spoofs (that From Here to Eternity beach scene yet again), cover versions of hit songs, and a glut of pop-culture references. (the DreamWorks boss Spielberg gets two homages.)"
Wednesday, May 26, 2004
Newsy
+ " MTV Networks has unveiled details of its long-awaited gay television network, dubbed LOGO, which promises a mix of programming from movies to news and documentaries aimed at an audience of gay men, lesbians, bisexuals and transgender people. LOGO will launch in February 2005 in markets including Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, Boston, Philadelphia and Atlanta."
+ The ASA reports about an "objection to an advertisement, in Campaign magazine, for tickets to an advertising awards ceremony. The advertisement showed a photo of an unbuttoned dress shirt with stains on the front and captions describing them. A lipstick stain at the bottom of the shirt was captioned "ZOE. CREATIVE SECRETARY". The complainant objected that the suggestion of oral sex was offensive and demeaned women, especially those who worked in advertising." The ASA upheld the complaint and "considered that readers of the magazine were likely to think that that implication demeaned women in the advertising industry." They told Creative Circle not to repeat the ad.
+ "Levi's Europe has launched its first major online campaign in two years, created by its digital agency Lateral as part of the TV campaign for its 501 Anti-Fit jeans.
The campaign is looking to build online brand awareness and develop the theme created by Bartle Bogle Hegarty's "Anti-Fit" campaign, as well as drive registrations to Levi's email programme. It centres on the Levi's Video Mixer, which allows users to create digital fridge-magnet-style messages using two actors from the TV campaign and send them to each other." The European Levi's site offers users more than 20MB of material to choose from.
+ IBM is launching a new global advertising campaign, replacing the "e-business" tag line the company has used since 1997 with "on demand business." A new marketing symbol of a red computer button marked "on" will be their new "symbol", and ads will feature international brands like Acura and Napster, as well as Canadian firms Mark's Work Wearhouse and Cirque du Soleil. "The "on" concept is represented in advertising through declarations such as "China is on," "Acura is on," and "Fighting cancer is on."" The ads, which begin this week in U.S. newspapers and expand to Canada on June 1, focus on business or services first and technology second. Is it just me or doesn't HP do this in their ads already? *wink*
+ The Publican takes a look at how one of McCann Erickson's ads for Bacardi came together.
+ The ASA reports about an "objection to an advertisement, in Campaign magazine, for tickets to an advertising awards ceremony. The advertisement showed a photo of an unbuttoned dress shirt with stains on the front and captions describing them. A lipstick stain at the bottom of the shirt was captioned "ZOE. CREATIVE SECRETARY". The complainant objected that the suggestion of oral sex was offensive and demeaned women, especially those who worked in advertising." The ASA upheld the complaint and "considered that readers of the magazine were likely to think that that implication demeaned women in the advertising industry." They told Creative Circle not to repeat the ad.
+ "Levi's Europe has launched its first major online campaign in two years, created by its digital agency Lateral as part of the TV campaign for its 501 Anti-Fit jeans.
The campaign is looking to build online brand awareness and develop the theme created by Bartle Bogle Hegarty's "Anti-Fit" campaign, as well as drive registrations to Levi's email programme. It centres on the Levi's Video Mixer, which allows users to create digital fridge-magnet-style messages using two actors from the TV campaign and send them to each other." The European Levi's site offers users more than 20MB of material to choose from.
+ IBM is launching a new global advertising campaign, replacing the "e-business" tag line the company has used since 1997 with "on demand business." A new marketing symbol of a red computer button marked "on" will be their new "symbol", and ads will feature international brands like Acura and Napster, as well as Canadian firms Mark's Work Wearhouse and Cirque du Soleil. "The "on" concept is represented in advertising through declarations such as "China is on," "Acura is on," and "Fighting cancer is on."" The ads, which begin this week in U.S. newspapers and expand to Canada on June 1, focus on business or services first and technology second. Is it just me or doesn't HP do this in their ads already? *wink*
+ The Publican takes a look at how one of McCann Erickson's ads for Bacardi came together.
Tuesday, May 25, 2004
Tuesday Turbulence
+ Creative Showcase, a part of the Interactive Advertising Bureau UK, turns one year old this month. It's a way for interactive ads to be showcased (fitting for the name, huh?). "Danny Meadows-Klue, chief executive of the IAB, said: "This is a wake-up call for anyone who thought online media didn't give creative impact. Creative Showcase is filled with outstanding work. Our young digital creative industry has risen to the challenge and the IAB's CreativeShowcase.net gives us a best-in-class resource that every marketer should refer to."" They named the "Trojan Games" campaign by The Viral Factory the Online Creative Campaign of the Year. Each month the site updates with new winners and runners up.
+ "ESPN Shorts" signal a possible change in advertising.
+ Fallon loses Subway account...gee I wonder why? (*wink*). Most of the work coming out from David Lubars' shop is rather good. I'm not quite sure what caused them to miss the mark so terribly in the "It's OK, I had Subway" campaign. My guess is that their ads didn't connect really to the food aspect...and showing people being jerks because they ate a sub doesn't really make a connection for the consumer. There's a big leap and something missing. Plus it gives the impression that all those who eat at Subway are assholes. Probably something that the client doesn't want to come across. Granted, it was a nice break from having to watch Jared blather on about his weight loss (which, as noted in a previous post a while back, isn't even sanctioned by Subway). MMB, Boston is going to be handling the account while another creative review takes place this summer.
+ Olympic Sponsors for the Athens 2004 Games, only 80 days away:
Top V Sponsors: Coca Cola- Official Soda/Non-Alcoholic Beverage, Atos Origin- Official Information Technology company, John Hancock- Life Insurance/Annuities, McDonald's- Retail food services, Panasonic-Audio/TV/Video equipment, Samsung -Wireless Communication Equipment, Sports Illustrated/Time Inc.- peroidicals/newspapers/magazines, Swatch- Timing, Scoring systems and Services Category, Visa - Consumer payment services, Xerox- Document Publishing, Processing and Supplies.
Grand Sponsors: ALPHA Bank (Greece), Hellenic Telecommunications Organisation (Greece), Heineken/Athenian Brewery, HYUNDAI HELLAS (will provide vehicles needed), DELTA and FAGE (Greece's two leading dairy companies), ERT (Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation) (for the TV and radio category), Hellenic Post, Olympic Airlines, Public Power Corporation S.A. (for the electric energy category).
Official Supporters:
Adidas-Official Outfitter, SHELL HELLAS S.A. for petrolum based products category, JET SET SPORTS for the hospitality management/travel agencies category, ABB-AREVA-SIEMENS-DIEKAT for the electric power distribution plants category, Ticketmaster for ticketing services category, General Electric International Inc. as the supply of services for back-up power with the necessary studies.
Global Olympic torch relay sponsors: Coca-Cola and Samsung; the Official Supporter for the International Torch Relay is Eurosport, and the Official Supporter for the National Torch Relay is Gefyra S.A.
Team U.S.A. Supporters and Sponsors:
Allstate- Home and Auto Insurance Sponsor, AT&T and AT&T Wireless- Telecommunications Services, Bank of America- Offical Bank of the US Team, Budweiser- Official Beer of the US Team, ChevronTexaco- Official Fuel provider of the US Team ("Fueling the Dream"), Gateway- Official provider of computer hardware for the team, coaches, and athletes, General Motors- Official Automaker for the US Team, Hallmark- Official Supplier of Personal Expression Products to the US Team, Home Depot- Home Improvement Sponsor for US Olympic and Paralympic Team, Jet Set Sports- Official Hospitality Package Sponsor for US Team (and Olympics), Kellogg's- Official Breakfast maker for the US Team, Lucent | Marker | Monster- Official online career management services sponsor of the 2004 US Olympic Team, Office Depot- Official Office Supplies Supplier for US teams and committee, United- Official Airline for the US Team, Kotex- Official Feminine protetion for US Team, Dasani- Official bottled water,
Coca Cola- Official Soda, Budweiser- Official Beer, Kotex- Official Feminine protetion, Kodak, Dasani- Official bottled water, and Visa, an Olympic "top partner", and the Marriott- Official hotel of the U.S. Team.
A lot of the information on the US Olympic Committee site has yet to be updated. There's still a lot of old info there. So there might be some errors in the above listing.
+ "ESPN Shorts" signal a possible change in advertising.
If you're a regular "SportsCenter" viewer, you likely saw the first of these initiatives: a four-part series called "The Scout." It was filmed as a six-minute short feature brought to you by Sears Craftsman products. In it, a baseball general manager sends out an older scout to bring back a major league prospect "or else." Instead of a player, he brings back a young groundskeeping prospect -- towing a Craftsman tractor behind the car.Seems to be the way to go these days. Take Adult Swim...they have created a following for their "bumps" which really just is another form of this, intended to keep the viewer watching for just a bit longer.
Next up is a Miller Lite series titled "The Squeeze." It revolves around the Red Sox but also around too many old themes: 1918, curses, fans dying without seeing the Sox win it all.
In Part 1, the Sox are in Game 6 of the World Series when Uncle Mack, too antsy to watch the end of the game, steps outside as his three nephews watch the Sox force a Game 7. Unfortunately, Uncle Mack won't live to see it. He has had The Big One during the last at-bat. Now, Game 7 is the same day as Uncle Mack's funeral.
What are the nephews to do? Stay tuned for Parts 2-4.
+ Fallon loses Subway account...gee I wonder why? (*wink*). Most of the work coming out from David Lubars' shop is rather good. I'm not quite sure what caused them to miss the mark so terribly in the "It's OK, I had Subway" campaign. My guess is that their ads didn't connect really to the food aspect...and showing people being jerks because they ate a sub doesn't really make a connection for the consumer. There's a big leap and something missing. Plus it gives the impression that all those who eat at Subway are assholes. Probably something that the client doesn't want to come across. Granted, it was a nice break from having to watch Jared blather on about his weight loss (which, as noted in a previous post a while back, isn't even sanctioned by Subway). MMB, Boston is going to be handling the account while another creative review takes place this summer.
+ Olympic Sponsors for the Athens 2004 Games, only 80 days away:
Top V Sponsors: Coca Cola- Official Soda/Non-Alcoholic Beverage, Atos Origin- Official Information Technology company, John Hancock- Life Insurance/Annuities, McDonald's- Retail food services, Panasonic-Audio/TV/Video equipment, Samsung -Wireless Communication Equipment, Sports Illustrated/Time Inc.- peroidicals/newspapers/magazines, Swatch- Timing, Scoring systems and Services Category, Visa - Consumer payment services, Xerox- Document Publishing, Processing and Supplies.
Grand Sponsors: ALPHA Bank (Greece), Hellenic Telecommunications Organisation (Greece), Heineken/Athenian Brewery, HYUNDAI HELLAS (will provide vehicles needed), DELTA and FAGE (Greece's two leading dairy companies), ERT (Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation) (for the TV and radio category), Hellenic Post, Olympic Airlines, Public Power Corporation S.A. (for the electric energy category).
Official Supporters:
Adidas-Official Outfitter, SHELL HELLAS S.A. for petrolum based products category, JET SET SPORTS for the hospitality management/travel agencies category, ABB-AREVA-SIEMENS-DIEKAT for the electric power distribution plants category, Ticketmaster for ticketing services category, General Electric International Inc. as the supply of services for back-up power with the necessary studies.
Global Olympic torch relay sponsors: Coca-Cola and Samsung; the Official Supporter for the International Torch Relay is Eurosport, and the Official Supporter for the National Torch Relay is Gefyra S.A.
Team U.S.A. Supporters and Sponsors:
Allstate- Home and Auto Insurance Sponsor, AT&T and AT&T Wireless- Telecommunications Services, Bank of America- Offical Bank of the US Team, Budweiser- Official Beer of the US Team, ChevronTexaco- Official Fuel provider of the US Team ("Fueling the Dream"), Gateway- Official provider of computer hardware for the team, coaches, and athletes, General Motors- Official Automaker for the US Team, Hallmark- Official Supplier of Personal Expression Products to the US Team, Home Depot- Home Improvement Sponsor for US Olympic and Paralympic Team, Jet Set Sports- Official Hospitality Package Sponsor for US Team (and Olympics), Kellogg's- Official Breakfast maker for the US Team, Lucent | Marker | Monster- Official online career management services sponsor of the 2004 US Olympic Team, Office Depot- Official Office Supplies Supplier for US teams and committee, United- Official Airline for the US Team, Kotex- Official Feminine protetion for US Team, Dasani- Official bottled water,
Coca Cola- Official Soda, Budweiser- Official Beer, Kotex- Official Feminine protetion, Kodak, Dasani- Official bottled water, and Visa, an Olympic "top partner", and the Marriott- Official hotel of the U.S. Team.
A lot of the information on the US Olympic Committee site has yet to be updated. There's still a lot of old info there. So there might be some errors in the above listing.
Two Years
Two years ago today I started this little place. It's evolved, the layout has changed a bunch, and it's starting to come together. If you're a regular reader, thanks for reading. If you're just passing through, hi there.
Sunday, May 23, 2004
That's the power of ads
+ EU election ad encouraging people to vote gets altered for British only - All other EU countries will see the film in its entirity. "A film encouraging people to vote in the European elections has been "censored" for British viewers because it showed a glimpse of a nipple. Originally the nipple appeared in a brief sequence showing a baby trying to make up its mind about breastfeeding. The film is intended to show that people have to make choices." It's hard to get the connection between a baby choosing to breast feed and the choice of voting - but maybe it works. I'd have to see it I guess to really know if it is good or bad. But it does seem somewhat like a disconnect-comparing the two. I mean, don't babies want to breastfeed? Isn't that natural instinct? *shrug*
+ Ad biz in recovery mode. Or so they say. Still seems like it's taking its sweet time. Although there have been more openings in recent months. Baby steps I guess.
+ Gas prices and truth in signage- From a Mobile station in Georgia, USA. (click link to see the image.)
+ The first day of the D&AD awards was Friday. Some of the shortlisted TV spots include 3 Honda spots (including the well-known "Cog" ad) and an Adidas spot featuring Beckham. The final day of the awards is May 26th (Wed) and after that, all Yellow Pencils will be handed out...if there are any to be given out. Although I do think that "Cog" stands a rather good chance of getting one. There's loads more to see on the Nominations part of the site as well. View the TV spots, check out the print ads, and listen to the radio spots. Winners will be posted May 27th (Thursday).
+ Dan Wieden interviewed on advertising. "For Wieden, the philosophy is simple: "Creative people need some sense of security in which they can operate -- some sense that they're loved, quite honestly, and respected -- and then asked to do daring things."" A decent article worth checking out.
+ NPR's Scott Simon speaks with Barbara Lippert of Adweek about the Clio Award Show from last week. (listen to it at the link)
+ Ad biz in recovery mode. Or so they say. Still seems like it's taking its sweet time. Although there have been more openings in recent months. Baby steps I guess.
+ Gas prices and truth in signage- From a Mobile station in Georgia, USA. (click link to see the image.)
+ The first day of the D&AD awards was Friday. Some of the shortlisted TV spots include 3 Honda spots (including the well-known "Cog" ad) and an Adidas spot featuring Beckham. The final day of the awards is May 26th (Wed) and after that, all Yellow Pencils will be handed out...if there are any to be given out. Although I do think that "Cog" stands a rather good chance of getting one. There's loads more to see on the Nominations part of the site as well. View the TV spots, check out the print ads, and listen to the radio spots. Winners will be posted May 27th (Thursday).
+ Dan Wieden interviewed on advertising. "For Wieden, the philosophy is simple: "Creative people need some sense of security in which they can operate -- some sense that they're loved, quite honestly, and respected -- and then asked to do daring things."" A decent article worth checking out.
+ NPR's Scott Simon speaks with Barbara Lippert of Adweek about the Clio Award Show from last week. (listen to it at the link)
Saturday, May 22, 2004
Lovemarks
+ So the other day I took a trip to the bookstore to pick up a plethora of ad related mags (Print, Archive, HOW, Creativity, Communication Arts, etc). On such trips I tend to take a peek at the ad/marketing books as well. I had heard of "Lovemarks", by Kevin Roberts, CEO Worldwide, Saatchi & Saatchi. I flipped through it and thought it looked good enough to purchase. So I did. The design of the book is great for starters. Then there's the content. I'm only a few pages in to it so far, but I think it's great. It looks at a variety of brands and also has commentary from some well known guys like Bob Isherwood. There's also Lovemarks.com, a website for it as well where visitors can vote for their favorite lovemarks or nominate a brand that isn't there already.
I'll post more later- after I've had a chance to get through some more of the book.
I'll post more later- after I've had a chance to get through some more of the book.
It's all inside.
+ Slim Fast unveils summer push. "A new campaign created by Grey London taps into the "universal fear" of not being able to fit into a bikini in time for the summer season. The initiative will be focused on press and outdoor activity and features a series of teasers depicting French, Spanish and Swedish bikini-clad women and incorporate straplines such as "I love British women … they make me look great," and "British women are so brave … sharing a beach with us. Five "curvy but gorgeous" British women are then revealed with a call to action to visit Slim-Fast's dedicated website (lets-bikini.co.uk) to help users drop a bikini size. The strapline reads, "Three weeks and we'll be a smaller size. You got that, foreign girls?"" See link for poster from the campaign. UPDATE: all the online areas (including the website itself), screensavers and technology were all provided by a company called Vivid London Limited. (thanks to neil for the heads up)
+ From ycnonline.com:
Also check out some posters from prior ENCAMS "Keep Britain Tidy" campaigns.
+ CBC won't air SPCA ad that equates children with pets. Porkpie Hat Advertising, Toronto has done an attention grabbing campaign for the Nova Scotia SPCA, urging people to think before they adopt pets by using children as spokesmodels. See the ad on the Porkpie site. (via adland.)
+ From ycnonline.com:
The ‘Tidyman’ logo was originally developed by the Keep America Beautiful campaign in conjunction with the American Brewers Association back in the 1960’s. The logo first made it’s debut in the UK in the early 1970’s as the main branding for the Keep Britain Tidy campaign. Soon after it’s inception, its use by industry became widespread and to this day, it is still one of the most globally recognised symbols.There's more info at ycnonline.com.
Recently commissioned research by the Keep Britain Tidy campaign has indicated that raising the profile of the ‘Tidyman’ character through internet marketing may potentially be of huge benefit, especially when it comes to communicating issues of littering to the younger members of society. With this in mind, Keep Britain Tidy wishes to invite animators and designers to help inject some personality into the rather characterless icon that is ‘Tidyman’.
Also check out some posters from prior ENCAMS "Keep Britain Tidy" campaigns.
+ CBC won't air SPCA ad that equates children with pets. Porkpie Hat Advertising, Toronto has done an attention grabbing campaign for the Nova Scotia SPCA, urging people to think before they adopt pets by using children as spokesmodels. See the ad on the Porkpie site. (via adland.)
Friday, May 21, 2004
Motorcycles and beer
+ Found via Brand Republic:
+ Mudslinging with Bud and Miller - From the article: "The No. 1 brewer on Thursday ran an ad in USA Today showing a bottle of Miller Lite above the legend “The Queen of Carbs” and in smaller type, “South African Owned.” The bottom portion of the ads shows a much larger photo of the top of a bottle of Budweiser and text that says, “American brewed since 1876. The King of Beers.”
The bottom of the ad reads: “We’ll let Miller Lite spend all their time talking about carbs. At Budweiser, we’ll continue to spend all our efforts making great beer.”
This is the first shot in what Anheuser-Busch is calling its “Unleash the Dawgs” campaign against Miller Lite." See link for image of ad.
ITV is seeking advertising creatives to take part in a reality show it is producing for Sky One in which they will create an ad campaign for the famous Raleigh Chopper Bike.Funny how they interchange the terms "ad execs" and "creative". You'd think Brand Republic would know better than to confuse the two. ;)
The show aims to recreate the 1970s in a suburban office and will recruit a total of 12 advertising creatives from several agencies to represent their company. They will then be asked to pitch for Raleigh of Nottingham's 'Raleigh Chopper' Christmas ad campaign, potentially worth millions of pounds in sales.
For two weeks, the ad execs will live and work without any trappings of 21st century technology. The '1970s Office' will see the ad execs taken back to a time when there were no computers, mobile phones, internet or even motorcycle couriers -- things today's everyday creative takes for granted.
Chopper, the iconic 1970s bicycle brand, recently announced that it was relaunching to capitalise on a nostalgia wave for design classics.
+ Mudslinging with Bud and Miller - From the article: "The No. 1 brewer on Thursday ran an ad in USA Today showing a bottle of Miller Lite above the legend “The Queen of Carbs” and in smaller type, “South African Owned.” The bottom portion of the ads shows a much larger photo of the top of a bottle of Budweiser and text that says, “American brewed since 1876. The King of Beers.”
The bottom of the ad reads: “We’ll let Miller Lite spend all their time talking about carbs. At Budweiser, we’ll continue to spend all our efforts making great beer.”
This is the first shot in what Anheuser-Busch is calling its “Unleash the Dawgs” campaign against Miller Lite." See link for image of ad.
Wednesday, May 19, 2004
Waiter, there's a fly in my soup.
+ The Roto-Rooter jingle turns 50 this month and in a Roto-Rooter telephone poll of 1000 people it came in 2nd to Wrigley's "Double your pleasure" as the most known jingle.
+ Via Brand Republic:
"Sky is throwing down the gauntlet to agencies to come up with more innovative and creative interactive television advertising campaigns, and is offering reduced price production and hosting on the Sky Digital for the agency that does.Creative, media and advertising agencies will all be welcome to respond to the challenge, and will be able to submit one entry for each client.
Mark Wood, commercial director at Sky Media, said: "Engaging the creative sector will be key to realising the full potential of interactivity so we believe 'Out of the Box' is a unique opportunity for agencies to showcase their brand-building skills.""
+ The BBC takes a look at McDonald's new salad adverts. From the article:
"Not that the printed adverts are any more subtle. One in a women's health magazine reads: "Aromatherapist Anna is typical of the new breed of customer attracted to McDonald's... Anna hates football, but love Thierry Henry. She hates alcohol but loves bars... She hates her job but loves her boss" etc.
Just to avoid any doubt, small print at the bottom of the page reads: "Anna is intended to illustrate a possible customer-type and is not a real person.""
Hahaha...gotta love a disclaimer like that! :)
+ Capital Radio's Scottish radio station Beat 106, has come under fire from the ad watchdog for a poster in which a woman appears to be using sex as a bargaining tool, dressed in unzipped jeans revealing pink underwear, created by The Leith Agency. See the link for an image of said ad.
+ Via Brand Republic:
"Sky is throwing down the gauntlet to agencies to come up with more innovative and creative interactive television advertising campaigns, and is offering reduced price production and hosting on the Sky Digital for the agency that does.Creative, media and advertising agencies will all be welcome to respond to the challenge, and will be able to submit one entry for each client.
Mark Wood, commercial director at Sky Media, said: "Engaging the creative sector will be key to realising the full potential of interactivity so we believe 'Out of the Box' is a unique opportunity for agencies to showcase their brand-building skills.""
+ The BBC takes a look at McDonald's new salad adverts. From the article:
"Not that the printed adverts are any more subtle. One in a women's health magazine reads: "Aromatherapist Anna is typical of the new breed of customer attracted to McDonald's... Anna hates football, but love Thierry Henry. She hates alcohol but loves bars... She hates her job but loves her boss" etc.
Just to avoid any doubt, small print at the bottom of the page reads: "Anna is intended to illustrate a possible customer-type and is not a real person.""
Hahaha...gotta love a disclaimer like that! :)
+ Capital Radio's Scottish radio station Beat 106, has come under fire from the ad watchdog for a poster in which a woman appears to be using sex as a bargaining tool, dressed in unzipped jeans revealing pink underwear, created by The Leith Agency. See the link for an image of said ad.
Monday, May 17, 2004
WoooHooo!!
+ Free to Marry! Today is a historical day in the history of the United States. With all the war, terrorist, political, and economic grey clouds hovering, there is a ray of light. Congrats to all those applying for marriage licenses today - and congrats to all those who made it possible. Also this is the 50th anniversary of the landmark decision for Brown vs. The Board of Education, in which "separate but equal" was eliminated. An appropriate day for gay and lesbians to start off on their way to a life together with the person they love. And a great day for celebrating our rights and freedoms.
+ Eddie Izzard is making a film about his life called Diva 51, set to be released in 2005. "It will show his exhaustive efforts to crack America, culminating in two Emmy awards for his stand-up show and a Tony nomination for his performance in A Day In The Death of Joe Egg on Broadway. Robin Williams, Tim Roth and Eric Idle also feature in the documentary, paying tribute to Izzard's talents." (mmm Tim Roth!)
+ Eddie Izzard is making a film about his life called Diva 51, set to be released in 2005. "It will show his exhaustive efforts to crack America, culminating in two Emmy awards for his stand-up show and a Tony nomination for his performance in A Day In The Death of Joe Egg on Broadway. Robin Williams, Tim Roth and Eric Idle also feature in the documentary, paying tribute to Izzard's talents." (mmm Tim Roth!)
Saturday, May 15, 2004
Doobeedooobeeedooo
+ Someone's lovin' it. McDonald's thinks that because their campaign has a high level of awareness, it's popular. Not a smart mistake to make. They are preparing to launch more ads - hopefully not with the same frequency as last time. Just because I see a commercial 3 billion times does not make me spend my money there. It may result in awareness, but, that's about it.
+ Missed the latest CP+B ad for Burger King salads which broke during the Friends finale? Check it out here. Or visit Ugoff's site, which also contains some of the fake fashion print ads which have shown up in Cosmo and the like.
When you compare what CP+B is doing to the other ads for fast food joints like Wendy's and McDs, there's just something special about what those Florida guys are doing.
+ Colin Millward, a legendary figure in british advertising has moved on up
to the big agency in the sky. In 1960 he was made founding creaive (art)
Director of Collett Dickenson Pearce where he worked on now classic
campaigns like Hamlet, Vogue, Fiat and Benson & Hedges. The Telegraph writes: "The legendary maverick who put British ads on the map." Check out the old ads at the History of Advertising Trust Archives, featuring the work from CDP. (via Dab.)
+ Today is the first day of the 45th CLIO Awards Festival in Miami Beach. Tomorrow the Lifetime Achivement Award will be presented to Lee Clow, Chairman & Chief Creative Officer Worldwide at TBWA/Chiat/Day.
+ Missed the latest CP+B ad for Burger King salads which broke during the Friends finale? Check it out here. Or visit Ugoff's site, which also contains some of the fake fashion print ads which have shown up in Cosmo and the like.
When you compare what CP+B is doing to the other ads for fast food joints like Wendy's and McDs, there's just something special about what those Florida guys are doing.
+ Colin Millward, a legendary figure in british advertising has moved on up
to the big agency in the sky. In 1960 he was made founding creaive (art)
Director of Collett Dickenson Pearce where he worked on now classic
campaigns like Hamlet, Vogue, Fiat and Benson & Hedges. The Telegraph writes: "The legendary maverick who put British ads on the map." Check out the old ads at the History of Advertising Trust Archives, featuring the work from CDP. (via Dab.)
+ Today is the first day of the 45th CLIO Awards Festival in Miami Beach. Tomorrow the Lifetime Achivement Award will be presented to Lee Clow, Chairman & Chief Creative Officer Worldwide at TBWA/Chiat/Day.
Saturday, May 08, 2004
Cool stuff to watch
+ "Beauty Sleep" for Virgin Atlantic done by RKCR/Y&R London. Very good.
+ "Wave" for Borsodi Sorgyar done at Y&R Budapest. Nice execution.
+ "Wardrobe Malfunction" for Burger King done by the amazing guys over at CP+B. Love this campaign. Another great ad.
+ Bush and Blair sing "Love Song"- Not sure what this is for but it's damn funny. Check it out.
+ "Funeral Streaker" for London Rugby Sevens. Yup, another streaker ad.
+ "Dving" for John Smith's Extra Smooth Bitter.
+ Check out the ad for Mike's Hard Lime. (Enter site- flash- click on TV and watch the TV spot- no direct link since it's a flashy site). Saw this on telly last night. My reaction was "uh..wow that's sexual". Still it's a pretty good spot. Especially since the sex thing is turned around. Smart guys doing the ads on this one, since more women probably drink the product than guys.
+ "Wave" for Borsodi Sorgyar done at Y&R Budapest. Nice execution.
+ "Wardrobe Malfunction" for Burger King done by the amazing guys over at CP+B. Love this campaign. Another great ad.
+ Bush and Blair sing "Love Song"- Not sure what this is for but it's damn funny. Check it out.
+ "Funeral Streaker" for London Rugby Sevens. Yup, another streaker ad.
+ "Dving" for John Smith's Extra Smooth Bitter.
+ Check out the ad for Mike's Hard Lime. (Enter site- flash- click on TV and watch the TV spot- no direct link since it's a flashy site). Saw this on telly last night. My reaction was "uh..wow that's sexual". Still it's a pretty good spot. Especially since the sex thing is turned around. Smart guys doing the ads on this one, since more women probably drink the product than guys.
Saturday Inspiration
+ Biography of Shirley Polykoff- renowned copywriter and one of the first women inducted into the Advertising Hall of Fame in 1981.
+ Biography of Mary Wells- renowned copywriter inducted into the Advertising Hall of Fame in 2000.
+ Pangram fun over at p22 with a chance to win some fun stuff. Contest ends next month. (hat tip to Clay.)
+ The Hidden Persuader - a cool ad blog you should check out. Lots of images (so might take a bit to load, but worth it.)
+ Biography of Mary Wells- renowned copywriter inducted into the Advertising Hall of Fame in 2000.
+ Pangram fun over at p22 with a chance to win some fun stuff. Contest ends next month. (hat tip to Clay.)
+ The Hidden Persuader - a cool ad blog you should check out. Lots of images (so might take a bit to load, but worth it.)
Friday, May 07, 2004
Come on baby light my fire
+ Apple "Think Different" billboards you'll never see.
+ The Product Placement Bible. Amusing.
+ Viral ad library- with lots you've probably seen if you're an adgeek. Still worth checking out. (via Dab.)
+ Tesco brings shoppers in-store adverts. It will be interesting to see how this will work. Will shoppers enjoy the extra information or will they be annoyed by the bombardment of more advertising?
+ Last day for the Adland/Jewelboxing competition. Get over to the Trivial Chain game for your chance to win!
+ The Product Placement Bible. Amusing.
+ Viral ad library- with lots you've probably seen if you're an adgeek. Still worth checking out. (via Dab.)
+ Tesco brings shoppers in-store adverts. It will be interesting to see how this will work. Will shoppers enjoy the extra information or will they be annoyed by the bombardment of more advertising?
+ Last day for the Adland/Jewelboxing competition. Get over to the Trivial Chain game for your chance to win!
Wednesday, May 05, 2004
May flowers
+ Campbells goes retro with Warhol art. (via Clay)
+What's your birthday color? Matches your birthday to a pantone color. (via Dab)
+ Are most internships illegal? (via Dab)
+ Interpublic releases salaries of top execs. "Interpublic's board gave management hefty bonuses -- not as a reward for the holding company's performance, which still lags that of rivals, but for executives' work in moving Interpublic ahead in a difficult turnaround." So these guys get bonuses for laying people off? Strange.
"The board also signaled a shift in incentive compensation starting in 2004 toward awards of stock tied to future results, an effort to more closely link pay to company performance." Of course, now that the management got their dough, the rest of the folks who should be getting their raises, etc won't be getting salary raises or bonuses, but stock. How nice.
Sickening, annoying, and yet, not at all surprising. Especially this part: "Brian Brooks, former executive vice president and chief talent and human resources officer who resigned from the company on Feb. 27, will continue to receive his annual salary of $495,000 until February 2005. Mr. Brooks remains a consultant to Interpublic and is entitled to $400 an hour for non-executive recruitment duties."
+ Typoholism. Amusing. (Via Clay & Mefi)
+ International icons for cereal from the early 1900s-today.
+ Smoking gun has some of the 1600 letters of complaint sent to the FCC after Oprah talked about naughty stuff at 4pm. (via Dab)
+What's your birthday color? Matches your birthday to a pantone color. (via Dab)
+ Are most internships illegal? (via Dab)
+ Interpublic releases salaries of top execs. "Interpublic's board gave management hefty bonuses -- not as a reward for the holding company's performance, which still lags that of rivals, but for executives' work in moving Interpublic ahead in a difficult turnaround." So these guys get bonuses for laying people off? Strange.
"The board also signaled a shift in incentive compensation starting in 2004 toward awards of stock tied to future results, an effort to more closely link pay to company performance." Of course, now that the management got their dough, the rest of the folks who should be getting their raises, etc won't be getting salary raises or bonuses, but stock. How nice.
Sickening, annoying, and yet, not at all surprising. Especially this part: "Brian Brooks, former executive vice president and chief talent and human resources officer who resigned from the company on Feb. 27, will continue to receive his annual salary of $495,000 until February 2005. Mr. Brooks remains a consultant to Interpublic and is entitled to $400 an hour for non-executive recruitment duties."
+ Typoholism. Amusing. (Via Clay & Mefi)
+ International icons for cereal from the early 1900s-today.
+ Smoking gun has some of the 1600 letters of complaint sent to the FCC after Oprah talked about naughty stuff at 4pm. (via Dab)
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