... Mag Ads mixed with Mobile

Lowe in Uruguay have created a pretty cool magazine ad that appears censored upon first glance.


The image shows a blonde fittie who’s boobs and bits have been covered over with white, empty boxes.


An explanation next to the ad instructs the reader to text ‘AXE’ to a certain phone number after 9pm to complete the picture. Upon doing so, the reader receives a picture message response that shows the missing parts of the picture. They can hold this over their mag to complete the pic.


Pretty clever way to involve your audience! Also think that having a censored ad with a ‘watershed’ of 9pm is pretty funny. But if this ad was featured in mags like Zoo and Nuts (well, the Uruguay equivelant) then would anyone bother texting? They would surely be getting their fill of scantily clad ladies already? Unsure if texting means that the reader is entered into some marketing database, or if it will cost them an arm and a leg to do so, but it’s still quite a cool way to get the readers’ attention, especially if they usually just flick straight past the ads.


There are far more interesting ways to involve mobile with the ‘real world’ though, especially with these mobile barcodes we’ve seen kicking about for a while, and, of course, the iphone and its many apps. But for a bit of frivolous fun without much work required by the developers/ad agency, I think this ad does the trick.

... The End of Pepsi Ads

Pepsi have decided to stop advertising themselves. For good.

They held an odd press conference to announce this, where the CEO came out with some right strangeness.


Apparently it is ‘weird and desperate’ to put effort into telling people what to drink, and ‘if they don't like it, then they don't like it…. it's not really any of our business anyway.'


Surely this is the total opposite of what you should be saying as the owner of a massive company which tough competition from the Coca Cola brand. Actually, surely it’s the wrong attitude for anyone involved in marketing their product; surely you want your name out there, no?!


So Pepsi have decided to tell their stakeholders that they are now going to be a "what it should have been all along: a company that just makes soda, and doesn't get caught up in trying to make everyone like it." Obviously it raises questions on the whole Pepsi vs Coca Cola thing; how will they have a shot at getting ahead if they stop advertising altogether? Of course Pepsi were very blasé about this too, denying the existence of a ‘cola war’ and then actually endorsing their competitor saying they had a ‘terrific product’ and that the millions of people choosing it over their brand ‘couldn’t be wrong’…. Then they dismissed the concepts of right and wrong altogether. Very VERY odd behaviour, it reads as though they are having a bit of a piss-take with the press doesn’t it?


A right gem of a statement here: ‘we know it’s good, and everyone’s pretty happy with the overall taste, so why spend all our time worrying about what other people think?’: So you, the company behind the drink, like the taste… well there’s a good first step. Surely you want to encourage others to try it and like it too? Isn’t that the whole point of manufacturing a product and having it out there in the marketplace; this is madness!


So I reckon either sales will plummet as people slowly forget about this brand, proving that in a world of mass production you really do need a marketing presence… or this press conference itself could be seen as a marketing ploy where infact it has led to loads of free advertising for the product (maybe more likely?)


I just keep thinking about Scotland through all this; it’s the only country where another soft drink (Irn Bru) outsells Coca Cola. Yes they do advertise, but mostly in Scotland itself, and rather minimally. Mostly they rely on word of mouth, it being Scotland’s ‘other national drink’ and people being intrigued to try this nuclear orange drink. So although they don’t spend heaps on advertising, it appears it still works for em. But Pepsi isn’t exactly the national drink of any country I can think of, so only time will tell if it keeps selling as well! I would think that it still needs some form of marketing presence to keep it in the public conscience, no matter how small; Point of sale, sponsorships etc. But hey what do I know, only been in this biz a month…!

Remember guys: "You can't taste an ad, anyway."

... Twitter for MP's - Labour are Tweet-tastic!

Read an interesting blog by Gordon Macmillan on Brandrepublic yesterday (HERE) all about the Labour Party being the most engaging political party on Twitter. So I’m a wee Labour chick but I’m gonna be pretty unbiased on this, commenting on Twitter as a tool for all politicians as opposed to Labour being amazing and stuff….


So currently Labour is leading the way politically on Twitter, with nearly 67% of all MPs that tweet belonging to the party (LibDems sit on 18% and the Tories on 12%) and this bodes well pending the next general election. Digital interactions with voters will play an integral part to campaigning activity, and with main campaign websites currently starting to go live, the social networking area of things (blogs, twitter, facebook etc) will be a much more effective way of reaching voters than previous attempts.


Macmillan refers to Obama’s presidential campaign in his blog, an example I think everyone will be thinking back to when looking at the offerings from our candidates closer to home. I’m pretty sure none of our homely Brit MPs will have anything half as good as the campaign Obama rolled out, but of course they’ll probably all try.


In August, Bristol East MP Kerry McCarthy was named the most influential MP on Twitter, and so Labour named her as their official media campaigns spokesperson. She is therefore in charge of coordinating Labour’s online presence, helping MPs share best practice online, and encouraging them to get involved with their supporters. A smart move by the party I think, especially n the run up to the general; there needs to be guidelines in place for those tweeting and sharing party views. Obviously one of the biggest benefits of these online presence is the fact it allows for 2 way comms between the MPs and their constituents.


By writing simple 140-character messages on what they are getting up to, it’ll start a dialogue, and by linking to blogs and social networking sites this could allow for more in-depth discussions on the issues that truly matter to voters.


As someone with a wee bit of experience door knocking, I know that a large amount of people are not interested in engaging with politics, especially in this invasive method. Twitter, (although technically more invasive as its in your house on your computer) allows people to access politicians on a more ad-hoc basis, when they want, and asking their questions directly without us lovely doorstep go-betweeners.


As long as politicians are dedicated to Tweeting, and actually write things of worth, then this method of communicating with voters could start to influence the new generation of voters who use social networking more and more to fetch and interact with the information they most desire.

For more info, links and research into this interesting subject (am I a geek?!) read Macmillan’s blog HERE.

... Bad Fad for Ad Grads

It’s not looking good for the future aspiring adland grads! The industry normally takes n between 500 & 600 of us a year but the IPA is predicting that it could be more around 250 for 2009. The IPA is urging agencies to hire grads on short-term contracts instead, allowing them to get experience whilst giving agencies the option whether to renew contracts or not. Really not fabby news for grads looking for something more permanent but as the industry is already so competitive maybe itll give more grads a chance to have a taster for advertising, and excel where poss.


A whole load of schemes have opened in the last week or two so the season for applications is truly in full swing… I thought it was about time I reflected on the process as it was this time last year that I was contemplating my future… a future I saw being in advertising….






Now I applied for the 2009 grad schemes, maybe about 25 in total over October/November and that was a hellish period of time; my mind was overloading with weird and wonderful questions and I spent many hours of my life filling out forms that never came to fruition.


(here begins what I guess could be considered as ‘advice’ for any aspiring grads hoping to get into advertising that may have stumbled onto my barely read blog…)


I ended up having an interview at Ogilvy, which then led to an invite back to their intense assessment day just before Xmas. From almost a thousand applicants to 40 of us, working ‘together’ to try and fight it off for only 3 spots, it was bloody horrible. I didn’t make it, and knew from the moment I walked in that I was in no way the best in the room, and that Oglivy really wasn’t for me. I decided to make the most of the day, learn as much as I could, including good and bad practice from those around me, and soak up as much info about the industry as possible. Had a presentation from their CEO and now president of IPA Rory Sutherland, which proved to be the most interesting part of the day! Drowned my sorrows on the train home, contemplating the speculative emails I would have to send out over Xmas to try and secure an interview or something, anything, to get me a job in this industry.


Luckily a few weeks later I had another application success, this time with Iris; interviews were set for after the new year so I hung off the random emailing/begging other agencies for work, and made a list for worst-case-scenario job hunting. Much friendlier, less intimidating, more informing interviews this time round, with more interaction with their older grads. I had a couple extra months knowledge on me at this point, plus feedback from the other agency fluff so it wasn’t so daunting. Sailed through first round interviews and made it down to the last 25ish on our assessment day, another day that was far more fun than my previous experience. I worked my ass off all day, impressing the interviewers and asking as many questions as I could to get myself remembered. I tried to shine as best I could during solo and group presentations, whilst not stepping on anyone else’s toes (a tactic id seen too often at the other agency!) So obviously what I did worked and I got offered a place at Iris! The culture and whole nature of the workplace is far more fitting to who I am and how I work, so I’m really really chuffed all my hard work and perseverance paid off!


So to anyone whos stumbled across this blog, chin up! It’s going to be a hard year for grads, especially since bigname agencies may be cutting their intake, or postponing their schemes altogether. Its best just to persevere and learn as much about the industry as possible; read campaign, brand republic and marketing week everyday, subscribe to marketing twitter feeds, and be on the look out for general new and interesting developments in the world of communications- all of that will make you stand out and have the best answers in the interview period.


For better advice than anything I could probably offer, check out the Adgrads blog; their facebook group along with the ‘advertising applicants 2009’ group helped me a lot during my applications, and it’s a great place for likeminded grads to come together and brainstorm/moan about the lovely process that is job applications…!

Good Luck! :)

... Poledancing OAPs

A very random, freaky video has appeared on youtube as an 'ad' for Domestos.


It shows an old man estate agent going into a house, closing the curtains, stripping and starting a sexy pole dance. He then cleans the pole with Domestos.


A brand spokesman denied their connection to the film and asked that it was taken off. it's not been. it's still there for your viewing pleasure. (if you're into this kinda thing...!)

Watch it HERE

I think it's pretty funny, and clever if it is a viral. and it makes sense if Domestos are denying it; ruins the charm of virals if the brand owns up right away methinks.... enjoy!

... Product Placement Palaver

So the industry is still divided over the issue of product placement and the benefits to marketers, broadcasters etc, and as I’ve blogged on this before, I think it’s good to keep up with all the developments, to become a bit of an expert on the topic


A recent online poll carried out but Redshift Research, revealed that just over half of respondents thought the regulations should be altered. Just under half were not keen on product placement in our UK TV shows. Two thirds of respondents also said they didn’t believe that legalizing product placement would make shows more realistic. This is one of the arguments for doing so, I’m not sure if I agree either. I don’t sit watching Hollyoaks thinking ‘hmmm this pub would look far more realistic if I could see what type of pints these kids are drinking, nor do I ponder where that emo one buys his eyeliner.


Lifting the product placement ban is said to benefit broadcasters by millions of pounds a year but analysts are arguing that advertisers may redirect the spend from other traditional areas like spot ads in between shows. ITV had been leading this campaign for UK product placement, and a spokesman has stated that lifting the ban would be a ‘welcome acknowledgement of the pressures faced by an industry in transition.’ Basically the rapidly changing technology seen with set-top boxes, Sky+ etc means that less and less people are watching conventional ad breaks, just skipping the adverts; product placement would mean the ads are interspersed throughout the whole program.


The creator of Big Brother, Peter Bazalgette, has been warning the industry on these new developments though, saying the consumers must be trusted: "If (placement) is overdone or tasteless, viewers will switch off.” On a similar note, Steven Barnett, professor of communications at the University of Westminster, thinks that viewers could have trouble distinguishing between what is "integral to the plot" and what had been paid for as a promotional device". He warns that programme makers must not compromise their integrity. This of course, is a massive worry; what would happen if, for example, in the middle of Eastenders, we see Phil Mitchell getting into a new VW car, taking time to explain to his passenger the benefits of the new heated seats and inbuilt satnav?


Advertisers also think that if our favorite TV characters plug a product then we are more likely to buy it. Until now they haven’t been able to exploit this because of the ban, but if it gets lifted we could see loads of celebrity plugs in the middle of shows.


In the US, Nielsen Media Research revelaed there were 117,976 individual placements across America's top 10 TV channels in the first three months of last year. Four years ago the value of these TV plugs was put at $941m (£564m). Of course this price will have shot up over the years, and it means big business. That’s not even mentioning the millions to be made through film product placement.


I asked my mentor at Iris about his views on this, a man who has been in the industry for years, and is a wealth of knowledge. We pondered over who would be in control of brokering product placement deals; the advertiser, the product owners themselves, or a separate entity. It became quite obvious that the ambiguity behind how product placement would work, leaves room for questioning where us ad agencies fit into all this; it could mean the creation of a whole new type of agency. A new discipline may need to be developed, in an almost media-sales type manner, and to me its still unclear where we would sit on this.


Ben Bradshaw, secretary of state for culture media and sport, should be announcing a three-month consultation period into the changes at some point very soon… so I’ll be keeping myself and you, my non-existant readers, up to date




Sources: 
http://www.marketingweek.co.uk/move-to-end-ban-on-product-placement-divides-opinion/3004749.article
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entert ainment/8252901.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/8253045.stm

... Online 'Tribes'

So Habbo.co.uk have done some research which revealed some pushes away from what I considered my teen life to consist of – tribes.


Apparently kids today don’t ally themselves with one group like punks, ravers etc, but move between them.


I remember at my school you had the neds (that’s chavs in Scotland) then the moshers, the sporty kids, the pretty popular girls, the geeks, and then ‘everyone else.’ I had a brief foray into ned life, hitting ‘the skating’ on a Saturday night… never went to the under-18 nightclubs that went along with that lifestyle though. (the dancey, trancey ones… plush and archaos!) I also dabbled in mosher/goth life, and that lasted longer and still stands a bit today, the heaps of eyeliner, hanging round the Glasgow art gallery, going to underage rocky type clubs (cathouse!) Eventually I settled on just being a normal, everyone-else type person, dressing my own way, going to the normal underage clubs, the rnb/poppy ones like Trash (RIP!) Most kids in my school allied themselves to one group and spent their weekends acting accordingly.


Now though, Habbo are claiming research shows this isn’t the case. They have coined the term ‘tribal tourism’ to describe modern-day teens. Apparently… “teens now pledge allegiance to a number of different groups simultaneously and 61% don’t feel bound to the same tribes online as they do in real-life while half of teens believe that you can belong to more than one tribe online and offline.”


The net is allowing ‘tribal freedom’ and teens can express themselves easier and more creatively. Digital tools like music and photo sharing are suggested as the stimulus for this, also giving them the confidence to explore different groups and interests. Social media is making it easier for teens to interact with likeminded people, encouraging more niche groups to form (it’s all about the long tail eh?!) According to the research, 75% of teens globally believe the Internet has made it easier to find people with the same interests and tastes. This is fab, especially for those kids who may have been considered ‘outcasts’ at school if they were, e.g. the only emo. At least they have a good support structure online at the end of the day.


For my final year New Media project at Leeds Uni, I created a promotional flash website for a cosmetics brand, aimed at young girls age 11-16 (ish.) I decided to base it upon these ‘tribes’ that I was most familiar with during my time at high school. In the end I went for Sporty (chav was a bit too far…) Emo and Girly. I did a lot of research and focus groups with my target audience and these were the tribes that came out the strongest so I decided to roll with them. In the end, the website represented 3 girls in these different tribes, all friends, sharing a love of the cosmetics brand. The site design was changeable according to what tribe the viewer clicked on, and ‘hidden’ areas provided either emo, sporty or girly hangouts for further tribe interaction. So I guess even though my site encouraged differentiation between the tribes, it also led to users being able to explore each one, encouraging this ‘tribal toursism’ that Habbo have now pulled out of the bag. It’s 2 years old, and totally student, amateur standard, but to see my site ‘tribalism’ in action click HERE.


I think there will always be a part of you, no matter what age, that belongs to some form of ‘grouping.’ I’m always going to be an indie kid at heart. And although I don’t always dress like the indie kids ‘dress,’ I think that’s the group I most ally myself to and belong with. So the Habbo tribal tourism thing is pretty sound I reckon, and applies to everyone, not just teens; although I know I ‘belong’ to one tribe, I like the chance to explore other tribes online, in a non committal way, picking up the bits of each culture that I like and want to make my own; I’m making my own sub-tribe ;)

... John Lewis v.s Dixons- Who to choose?

John Lewis and Dixons are having a bit of a domestic over Dixon's new ad campaign that ridicules John Lewis's middle-class values and appeal.


The poster ads can currently be seen in the London Underground and use the style, colour and font of John Lewis ads. (Selfridges and Harrods have also come under their wrath)

The ad mocking John Lewis is above, and the main part uses JL’s trademark font, colours and style to describe a flowery shopping trip there, with a posh salesboy telling you all about a product… then it switches into Dixon’s red and white lettering and adds that after that experience you should go to Dixons.co.uk to buy the product as it’s "The last place you want to go".


The campaign is said to tap into shopping habits that suggest consumers research big-ticket purchases in stores before seeking out the best bargains online… and I can relate to that… I wanted to buy a new digital camera recently, and knew that Boots had some good deals online, where I could also get lots of lovely advantage points, but I wanted some proper advice before making a purchase so I hit the high street to try out some new cameras. Ok so not a big-ticket purchase like a TV, but still, a fair bit of cash exchanging hands, and I wanted the cheapest and most beneficial option, which I believe I got.


So basically the ads are saying to customers, feel free to do your research where the customer service levels are top notch, but make us your last port of call as we have what you need at cheaper prices.


Dixon’s has a poor record for customer service so their tag line ‘the last place you want to go,’ is a bit tongue-in-cheek, which I feel compliments the whole cheeky feel of these ads. As a result they’ve been criticized by JL who think it’s strange that Dixons are making a virtue of the fact that they don’t have a comparable level of service. I think it’s clever though, as do a lot of people commenting on the story across the web; in the current climate consumers want to make more informed decisions on big purchases, they may therefore want to make the most of customer service levels seen in the likes of JL, however at the end of the day, they still want to pay as little as possible.


Dixons are appealing to these credit crunch customers and all JL etc can say is that they are highlighting their own weaknesses… I think they should prove that their offerings are just as cheap in the long run, guarantees and aftercare included, instead of acting all high and mighty about Dixon’s ads. The big department stores have an opportunity to address customers who are interested in the ads, the idea behind them, and the buzz around them; why don’t they fight back to retain these people instead of resting on their laurels and alienating new potential sales? I think it’s the bigwigs that look silly here, not Dixons. 

Sorry Mr Lewis!

... Twitter Hijack

Read a story the other day about retailer Habitat returning to Twitter, months after trying to hijack topical issues for promotional purposes.

They were using the hashtags function for their wrong doings… basically when you tweet you can mark if your statuses are related to a specific topic through the use of the hash tag e.g. #chocolate, and users can then search on these, or see ‘trending topics’ where a number of people have been writing about the same thing. Often you see the odd funny thing trending as people try and get everyone to Tweet and join in a ‘hashtag game.’ An example of this was #lameclaimtofame where people tweeted stuff like ‘I once saw jude law in starbucks and he ordered the same drink as me.’

Habitat had used tags for the new iphone launch aswell as the Iranian election candidates, but when people interested in those topics click on them, they saw unrelated messages from Habitat encouraging people to sign up to their database for the chance to win a giftcard. Cheeky.

Sadly this happens a lot on Twitter though…  especially when a topic has been ‘trending’ for quite a while…. You, an interested party, click on the topic to see what people have been saying across the globe, and are met with a mash of promo-messages … all because they’ve used the hashtag for nasty self-promo reasons.

I guess you could say its clever; using current topics of interest to reach a large number of viewers. But it’s also seen as a nuisance, a form of spam.

I don’t think there’s anyway for Twitter to regulate this, and it’s a shame, but there still remains the millions of us using the service for good, and having fun in the process :)

(follow me @suzytobias ...)

... Product Placement Goahead- The Future?

So this week some senior media men have welcomed the governments plans to relax the rules on product placement on TV.


They think it will increase joint working between advertisers and programme makers. Although a cash explosion isn’t expected to manifest straight away, analysts have predicted that allowing product placement on UK TV could see an extra £100 million in revenue coming into the UK ad market and that could mean "millions" in extra revenue for broadcasters.


New rules would make the practice of product placement more transparent and consistent…. Obviously we have product placement on our TVs already, in the form of imported programming and films, but this allows a more level playing field for the UK programme makers and media owners to compete with their counterparts overseas.


I remember being asked, in my many graduate advertising application forms, what I thought the future of advertising was, and my answer always included product placement. That, combined with the new technology offered with iphones, and games consoles with new interfaces like the Wii.


Just imagine, the future you, sitting watching a programme like Hollyoaks. You see a character wearing a teeshirt that you really like, or there’s a flat with an amazing sofa featured. Instead of wondering painfully where they bought those products, what if you could select them with your remote (maybe in a Wii–type-controller-way) and click them to view more info, and even buy them? It would be like the ultimate lazy shopping experience- and would be so easy for brands to profit.. all they would have to do is get their products onto cool shows, aimed at their ideal audiences, and let the inquisitive nature of the consumer do the job for them. Impulse buys would soar, and the companies behind the products and placement duty would make a fortune.


So is this the future of advertising? Or just the future of convenient shopping? Or is there a way to combine the 2 even further, with a wealth of product information, competitions, games, social media etc sitting behind the product on screen, waiting to be selected and engage with the viewer? Who knows!


I’m pretty sure though, that relaxing the rules on product placement will do wonders for the product’s manufacturers… just not sure where the humble ad agency will end up as a result… I reckon I’ll have a wee discussion with my iris mentor, a man with a wealth of years of knowledge, and find out what he thinks! (perfect!)

... Airbrushing Ban FAIL

So a little while ago I wrote about the Lib Dem proposals to restrict the use of airbrushing in adverts aimed at kids, and to include health warnings on all other days employing this technique.

Yesterday Ad watchdogs rejected these calls, saying the public is not worried about it. The ASA refuses to take any further action, saying that they like to reflect public opinion. They reckon the public is aware that airbrushing is widely used… and stated that out of 26,000 complaints received last year, only 5 were about airbrushing

The only time they will step in is if the use of airbrushing leads to a misleading message about the effect of a product.

I believe that all health and beauty ads utilizing airbrushing to enhance someone’s’ appearance are already breaking this rule however; using an image of Kate Moss to advertise Rimmel’s products for example…. We all know how rough she can look in those papped shots, so obviously she has been airbrushed in the Rimmel ads; how else would she look so good?! So isn’t that using airbrushing to enhance a product effect?!

It creates this unattainable image that consumers believe they can create through the use of the advertised product… I’d say that’s misleading.

I guess airbrushing people’s bodies when advertising clothing in magazines doesn’t really fall in that same category though; you’re making the model look better but its not making the clothes appear magically slimming etc as a result. So I don’t know how its possible to get round that aspect really.

I’m sure this story rears its head again soon; maybe it’ll take a really controversial ad campaign or something to get it noticed, or maybe its just a case of waiting for some client to mess up and make crazy claims. I’ll def be keeping my eye on this one though!

... The Most Distasteful Ad I've Seen

So last week this lovely news hit both ad press and normal press and it’s pretty shocking…

A campaign from Germany for World Aids Day has been released which features women having sex with a series of dictators including Hitler.

The ads have been widely condemned by Aids organizations, and I’m not really surprised!

The TV ad carries the strapline "Aids is mass murder", and sees a woman having pretty steamy sex with a man, who, at the end of the 45-second spot, turns to the camera and his face appears to be that of Adolf Hitler. (The vid was on youtube but appears to have been pulled, I don’t really want to search for it as it’s pretty shocking, but I’m sure it’s still out there somewhere!) The campaign’s posters carry the same strapline and feature a woman in a sensual pose with other dictators like Stalin and Saddam Hussein.

The German charity behind the film says Aids has killed 30 million people worldwide, and it wants to shake people up by linking Aids with mass murder. They also claimed the ads were highlighting that the ‘face of illness is an unattractive one in the bids to highlight the dangers of unprotected sex.

But other HIV charities like the Terrence Higgins Trust are concerned that the ads could be seen as insensitive and stigmatizing to people with the condition; they themselves could be associated with Hitler. I agree with this; it’s basically saying to people that those with Aids are evil and its almost warning others to keep away. It’ll also discourage people from going to get tested for the disease.

The ads have been further scrutinized as they don’t appear to carry any public health messages e.g. to use a condrom and stay safe; kind of worsens the whole stigmatization really doesn’t it?!

The creative director of the ad agency behind the campaign, Das Committee, claimed that the campaign was designed to shake people up and bring the topic of Aids back to centre stage and reverse the trend of unprotected sex. I think it has definitely done the former; these ads have got people talking, but its not really done it in the most sensitive and thoughtful of ways.

Plus, don’t even get me started on how many people touched by the holocaust etc will react to seeing the face of one of the most evil men in history, related to a disease that their close ones may suffer from. Talk about salt in the wounds.

Really quite disgusting…

... WWF 9/11 Uberfail

Tsunami= bad, 9/11 = bad,
Exploiting one to show the disaster caused by the other = a whole new level of bad.



And that's exactly what a new ad for the WWF was doing right before it was swiftly pulled. DDB Brasil were behind the ads, which had both print and video executions. The video can still be seen HERE and shows an exaggerated recreation of the 9/11 disaster, with a large number of planes seen flying towards the New York skyline.


It's meant to highlight how much more catastrophic natural disasters like the tsunami are opposed to manmade ones, here 100 times as many people through natural causes, but really, it just leaves a bad taste in your mouth. To rub salt in the wound, both the print and video versions of the ads were entered by DDB into this year's Cannes Festival! Ouch! DDB initially denied responsibility but a presidential apology was later offered from the Brasil office and later from the global CEO who said : 'I find the advertisement offensive and insensitive and I humbly apologize on behalf of myself and the employees of DDB Worldwide.'


I think it's really really distasteful to release something like this, especially as it was circulating right before the anniversary of the 9/11 disaster. The CEO's opinion of the ad as offensive surely suggests some issues in terms of quality control at their Brasil office too; how did they let this one fall through the gaps. Shocking. So despite the apology, the damage has been done, and as much as i love the WWF and what they stand for, i'm astounded that they agreeed to put their name to such an insensitive ad campaign. Boo.

... Peperami Saving Pennies- Future Trend?

A few weeks back the disgusting snack food Peperami decided to take the bold move to split with their old ad agency (Lowe) and turn to their loyal customers to create their new adverts.


It's a worldwide contest with a $10k reward, and people interested in taking part need to register with a website to recieve a brief. Basically the idea has to centre around the 'animal' character that Lowe orginally devised for the brand, so they must feel kinda miffed. Plus, all future ads will be carried out in this new way too, so doubly miffed i expect.


I think a bunch of brands could start going this way with their advertising. Not only will they be saving heaps of cash but theyll also be encouraging consumers to get involved; strengthening pre-existing brand-relationships, and fostering new ones. Simply contemplating getting involved would get you thinking about the product, what it stands for, and any special, dinstinct features. If you were a winner, well, i doubt your love of the brand would waver significantly, it would grow massively if anything. Plus, getting your work on the TV, well that would appeal to a far larger circle of consumers than those interested in the product itself; i'm a veggie but would totally enter a competition like this if i had the capacity, simply to get my work on show! (E4 runs its Estings competitions which appeals to that side of me too)


So yes, i think it's a good idea to get consumers involved, though i guess it means that future ads may look a bit out-of-joint visually compared to predecessors.


I'm sure that with this whole recession madness still hitting adland hard, more brands may start to pull out of agencies to try and get similar creative work for a sliver of the cost. Who knows, Peperami, a reasonably predominate snackfood brand, may be leading the way a bit.

(We'll find out who the winner is in November... let's see how well it works out!)

... A Bloody Sofa Advert Getting It's Comeuppance

A DFS ad has been banned by ASA (huzzah!)

A recent ad, suprisingly featuring sofas, was challenged as being misleading due to not all the sofas actually being included in the advertised sale. Bit of a big fail eh!?


DFS got proper defensive saying that only the sofas in the ad accompanied by pricing info were the ones included in the sale, the ones without prices were normal cost. Silly silly sofa people, how are we, the humble consumer, supposed to know that noprice means full price?!; very misleading.

As if i didnt hate sofa adverts enough...!

I would love this sofa mind....

... Big Brother Dying In Favour Of Drama

I’m was so sad this week: Big Brother has been cancelled :(

I really enjoyed this series; it’s probs the first one i’d actually taken interest in since that series with tourettey Pete. It was like an old friend; if nothing else was on the TV i could just bum around watching it. That is, of course, if i had any interest in the season at the time; if i didn’t then it was just a 9pm pest.

I’ll miss watching a bunch of ‘crazy’ strangers being forced into doing stupid tasks from the comfort of my sofa. Thank god there’s no sign of X factor stopping or i would be seriously reality-deprived.

To be fair, i think Channel 4 realised that eventually us public peeps had worked out their game; the way they edited certain housemates actions etc. Anyone whos read Ben Elton’s ‘Dead Famous’ would know the same. (another good read is his ‘Chart Throb’- fab book that exposes what we all secretly knew about shows like Xfactor.)

So Channel 4 now has an extra £20 million to spend on drama after this axe. Which is probably a good thing; it’ll stop us becoming couch potatoes, watching real people do real things without having the impetus to do it ourselves. It also means good things for advertising; removing this one, time-hogging show appealing to the lowest common denominator, will allow for more varied programs reaching a more varied set of people. A bit like Chris Anderson’s ‘Long Tail,’ where he talks about niche audiences being the key consumers in our rapidly digifying media landscape.

So although BB will be missed, i welcome the addition of new shows to my telebox. And as a poor adland account exec, making do with a 50% functioning freeview box, I look forward to seeing what new wealth of inventive programming I can be treated to for free!

(That 2^nd last paragraph has made me feel a bit smart!)

... Getting Noticed with Wispa Gold

They’re back and it’s VERY exciting.

And Wispa are giving fans the chance to interact with the brand on a proper personal level, as a ‘thank you for all the love shown to Wispa.’ Basically they’ve launched the website wispagoldmessages.com where fans can upload a special message in the hope of it being selected to be posted on a real billboard in the location of their choice. Sites are booked in the biggest cities in the UK and Northern Ireland so Wispa-lovers could have their messages seen by thousands of people.

The website allows users to upload an image or simply text, and then tell Wispa why they should be chosen. They can also tick a ‘helper’ box that means that the creative folk on the other side of the computer screen can make the message look prettier if the message is chosen.

I think the whole idea is really clever; it’s getting consumers to interact with the brand in the hope of getting personal satisfaction. It plays to our vain sides, and that desire each of us holds to some extent, to be famous. Even if only submitting a nice message, without any pictures to indicate it came from you, you will still end up feeling smug and fuzzy, knowing that you’ve managed to ‘make it’ and end up on a billboard in some way, shape or form. And for the brand, they’ll have gained a new group of active and involved consumers. Obviously with limited billboard sites, the number of people submitting to take part will far exceed the amount that will be successful; those unlucky ones will still have visited the site and soaked up the promotional messages. Basically Wispa will have grown its consumer group by appealing to that desire to be famous in all of us, growing our desire for their amazing re-launched chocolate all the while.

Yum

(FYI You can enter your messages until the 3^rd October for the chance to win…)