Clients vs. Agencies

Marketers irked by "creative arrogance" of ad agencies- According to this article, the ANA (Association of National Advertisers) has done some research that says about a third of their 330 marketers feel that agencies are "infected by 'creative arrogance,' charge too much and fail to produce work that is on strategy."
I'd like to point out that a good number of the guys in the marketing departments on the client side also lack an understanding of marketing and advertising. Obviously that's not always true, but those who work their way into the marketing department from elsewhere in the company without any kind of marketing background are the most dangerous. People with opinions and no or little knowledge are always the most dangerous.

One-third of those polled said costs are 'too expensive,' and nearly one in four marketing executives said ad agency execution 'takes too long and has too many reworks.' Just over 18% of respondents said fees are too expensive. Slightly more than one-third of agency respondents said they were changing compensation to improve client relations.

If you want a professional you're going to have to pay for their expertise. Otherwise have your sister do it, or your cousin who knows how to use some image editing software. You won't get the same results. You won't get the same quality. And of course these same companies have no problem shoveling out the dough to their lawyers, accountants, and other folks with specialized expertise in helping their company. But when it comes to advertising and marketing in general, too many think that they can do it themselves and have an attitude towards those who went to school for this specific thing. Which I find quite baffling. Too many times we (the Creatives) come up with a concept and watch it get hacked away by the client who thinks they can write. Sure, sometimes they can do an okay job. But a good part of the time, they destroy what was there and then complain that the work isn't effective or isn't as on strategy as it should be. Well, then they shouldn't be tinkering around with copy, layouts and other things that were on strategy to begin with. You don't tell your doctor to tell you what's wrong with you and then dismiss his expertise just because you're paying him money and don't agree with him. "No doctor I don't have cancer. You don't know what you are talking about. Here let me check it myself." No. People don't do that. Because a doctor is a professional and trained to do what they do. And you're not. But clients sometimes seem to think that because they know how to write (and who wasn't taught that in elementary school?) that they too can be great copywriters. And, if there are agencies out there presenting things that aren't on strategy to begin with, then they need to remember what they are supposed to be doing...maybe they need a refresher class at their local ad club.

Interestingly, while about one in five marketers complained that agencies lack leadership integration and best practices, slightly more, about 22%, cited 'creative arrogance' and lack of integration as a problem with agencies. Not surprisingly, just 27% of agency executives resolved to use training to improve listening skills.

Now I wish I knew what they meant by 'creative arrogance.' This could be a few different things and it's not clear in the article which of them it is referring to. One would be Creatives who are presenting things that are cool but not fitting with the brand or on strategy, but try to push it anyway. Another would be Creatives presenting concepts that are on strategy, but if the client doesn't like blue or other colors in the layout s/he kills the idea because of something mundane and totally unrelated to the concept overall. Or, that the Creatives tell the client that X is the best solution for problem Y with solid reasoning but the clients just don't like it or whatever. If it's Creatives who are pushy and fight with the client for the best work to get out into the world, and the client sees that as arrogance then, well, I don't know what to say. Being a Creative means that every time you present a concept you are presenting a little piece of yourself...how you think, how you interpret the way to solve problem X in an interesting way to the target audience you are trying to reach...and when a piece of work is on strategy, is interesting or entertaining, and a client shoots it down for some poorly reasoned idea, you're going to try to fight for the right thing to do. And if that comes across as arrogance, well, that's on the client for thinking that. A lot of times, clients are afraid to take chances. And sometimes it takes persistence to get them to see that the concept in front of them might be a bit scary at first but that it's also the best action to take.
Too often clients fear going out on a limb. And it's understandable- with a lot of money that could be lost, etc- it can be risky. But no one ever got their business to be successful by being safe. At some point you have to take a risk. Take bank advertising for example. Very rarely do you ever see anyone doing anything that is different. It's always "banky". No matter the brand, no matter their USP, it's "banky". And that is fine, but how often would you be able to tell one bank commercial from another if you took out the bank's name and title card with their logo? Probably not too often. Clients like banks are afraid to do anything too different. But if you're doing what your competition is doing, how do you stand out? Interest rates? Sure that could be it, but, as a brand you get the feeling that one bank is just like another...so those without great rates or whatever have to rely on something more. Something maybe less tangible, like brand. But if your brand is just like the other guys but with different colors, who cares? Not the consumer.

Agencies overwhelmingly identified making agency management more involved in client business as a solution, with nearly 81% citing that resolution. Almost three-fourths of agency executives polled said they would also change their teams and processes to improve relations.

This actually isn't a bad thing. Sometimes there isn't enough "team work" between the client and agency. The client is seen as a monster by the agency folk and vise versa by the client. But that doesn't have to be the case. Getting the channels of communication open early and often is important. And sometimes people forget that. There's also a fine line between kissing client bottoms and making smart decisions about which fights to fight. And even that can be complicated. With some clients, if you give in once, they'll continue to walk all over you, or at least try. Others, by giving in now and again, since it is these guys who in the end pay our salaries, you can do a bit of bartering, as in, the last project we did what you wanted, but we think that this is much more effective, etc and a good amount of time that works.
Surveys like this one by the ANA aren't always great for the ad industry, in that they perpetuate the "client evil/agency evil" thinking. At the same time, it's important to know what is going on with the clients and for the agency to work towards better client/agency relations. Creating great advertising takes team work and you can't get that if the members of your team are secretly talking trash about each other behind each other's backs. There's already enough stress in this industry and we don't need to add more to it by keeping up these battles. But things aren't going to change for the better until there's a respect for the client for knowing their business and a respect for the agencies for being professionals who know that they are doing. Until that happens, I don't know that this animosity will go away.
Although if you want to read some good horror stories and some funny comments clients and bosses have made to ad folks, check out Adland and the AdVent contest.

Is CBS in the Republican's pocket?

Here's a couple articles that bring that question up...and from their last couple actions- not allowing the MoveOn.org ad to air during the Super Bowl and canceling the Ronald Reagan mini-series but allowing ads from the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy- they seem to showing their political slant.
Bush Helps CBS, CBS Helps Bush
Thinking in Public- Free the Press from the Cornell Daily Sun.

More SB news and a joke

More Super Bowl news and some more specific dirt about the Bud and Bud Light spots. (ty Clay.)

Pepsi and i-Tunes promotion will air an ad during the Super Bowl. From the article:

Some 20 teens sued by the Recording Industry Association of America, which accuses them of unauthorized downloads, will appear in a Pepsi-Cola  ad that kicks off a two-month offer of up to 100 million free — and legal — downloads from Apple's iTunes, the leading online music seller. The sassy ad, to be seen by Super Bowl's 88 million viewers on Feb 1, is a wink at the download hot button. Pepsi hopes the promotion will connect its flagship cola, as well as Sierra Mist and Diet Pepsi, with teens who've shown more affinity for bottled water, energy drinks and the Internet.

I love that they are using those kids who got sued. It's nice to see two big companies thumbing their noses at the record industry. The whole issue is rather stupid because they don't seem to realize that the majority of people who download songs tend to do it as a test to see if they want to go out and purchase the CD. I have a feeling this promotion will be very successful.

Here's some marketing humor for you that someone sent to me. Enjoy! :)

The buzz word in today's business world is MARKETING. However, people often
ask for a simple explanation of "Marketing." Well, here it is:

You're a woman and you see a handsome guy at a party. You go up to him and
say, "I'm fantastic in bed," That's Direct Marketing.

You're at a party with a bunch of friends and see a handsome guy. One of
your friends goes up to him and pointing at you says, "She's fantastic in
bed," That's Advertising.

You see a handsome guy at a party. You go up to him and get his telephone
number. The next day you call and say, "Hi, I'm fantastic in bed." That's
Telemarketing.

You see a guy at a party, you straighten your dress. You walk up to him and
pour him a drink. You say, "May I," and reach up to straighten his tie,
brushing your breast lightly against his arm, and then say, "By the way, I'm
fantastic in bed." That's Public Relations.

You're at a party and see a handsome guy. He walks up to you and says, "I
hear you're fantastic in bed," That's Brand Recognition.

You're at a party and see a handsome guy. He fancies you, but you talk him
into going home with your friend. That's a Sales Rep.

Your friend can't satisfy him so she calls you. That's Tech Support.

You're on your way to a party when you realize that there could be
handsome men in all these houses you're passing. So you climb onto the roof
of one situated towards the center and shout at the top of your lungs, "I'm
fantastic in bed!" .....That's Junk Mail.

Too funny. And too true. I have a feeling I have seen it before, but goodies are goodies, old or new. Well done to whoever wrote this.

Ads and penguins

Ads on your tray while you fly. Here's an exerpt from the article:

Advertisers say the airplane environment is perfect with its affluent, captive audience.

"We think it's a perfect way to reach customers," said Melissa Welch, vice president of partnership marketing at Bank of America.

Welch said Bank of America has purchased advertising on 50 planes and will feature their Flight Fund Visa credit card, which rewards users with frequent flyer miles, making airplane advertising perfect.

"Our key target market is people who fly on America West," she said.

First, Bank of America isn't going to only need to be targeting those in the West as soon as the merger with FleetBoston goes through. They'll need to get the eastcoasters as well. Maybe they are just going to wait until then to buy ad space on America East. ;) And just because someone flies on an airline does not mean they are affluent. Especially local airlines such as America West. This article offers some perspective from the point of view of a potential customer. And it's not all peaches and cream. Although I disagree with his comments on the fact that Madison Ave. The airlines and companies who are doing this (running the ads) are just as much to blame. If your client comes to you(ad agency) and asks you to create ads for blank medium, you're not going to say no. If the airlines weren't offering the space, the companies wouldn't be looking to put the ads there. I think more of the "blame" for this needs to go to the airline rather than the advertising industry. (hat tip to Alec.)

An OnStar commerical you'll never see. (Thanks to Clay.)

ASA offers stiff warnings to two alcohol advertisers.

Link between sleep deprivation and creativity and apparently us creative types tend not to get enough zz's.

Jim Nantz and the rest of the "NFL Today" team, Boomer Esiason, Dan Marino and Deion Sanders, as well as other celebrities, will host a special on CBS Saturday, January 31st at 9pm that takes a look back at the greatest Super Bowl commercials of all time. CBS or someone has already narrowed down the numbers and you can vote on your favorite out of a list of 10. You can view them too. Cast your vote and view the ten here. There are some odd choices on there. I'm not sure if these are the top contenders or if they just picked the ten they couldn't decide on. But it is a weird mix of ads there.

Penguin fun! and more penguin fun.

Gearing up for the Super Bowl

Pepsi teams up with iPod. Starting Feb 1st, 100 million iTunes downloads will be given away through winning redeemable codes printed on packaging for its Pepsi-Cola, Sierra Mist and Diet Pepsi soft drinks. Pepsi will introduce the promotion with Super Bowl ads.

So here's a partial list of who'll be showing up in ads during the Super Bowl in two weeks:
Apple (with possible "1984" update or tribute spot, although this still isn't certain), Pepsi & iPod promo, Gillette, Viagra, Cialias, Levitra, Phillip Morris anti-smoking, Know HIV/AIDS from Viacom& Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation (pre), Staples, Charmin, General Motors, Dodge (with one 30-second spot instead of Chrysler sponsoring the halftime show), Visa, FritoLay, American Legacy Foundation, NFL&United Way, Pizza Hut (pre) PepsiCo (although not sure which specific products), Monster.com, and Anheuser Busch (not sure which specific products on this one either.) Anheuser-Busch will also run a spot on responsible drinking, one of four ads aimed at tobacco, drug or alcohol education, according to the company spokesman. Sony Pictures' "Spider Man II," Touchstone Pictures' "The Alamo,", Universal Studios' "The Bourne Supremacy," and Warner Bros. "Catwoman", or "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban" ads are possible as well.
There are probably more and we know that Nextel will be airing a spot right after the end of the fourth quarter and Subway will do a postgame spot. I am guessing Microsoft, Linx ads might show up too. I'll post more as info comes out.
Loads of articles at sirlinksalot relating to the game.

You never know just how you'll look through other people's eyes

Advertisers pull out all stops for Super Bowl - Millions worldwide find ads more entertaining than game is a great article on advertising and the Super Bowl. Read it. One of my favorite SB ads is the same as Bernice Kanner, a longtime New York magazine writer - "Apology" for FedEx done by BBDO. It was simple, yet powerful, showing how FedEx works for consumers and even more important why you should use them for your important packages. The ad featured a color bar and a scrolling message that the commercial that was supposed to air, repleate with dancing kangaroos and Garth Brooks, wouldn't be because FedEx wasn't used to send it. No fancy post-production needed. No crazy budgets. And yet still one of the most memorable ads for me. Just goes to prove the power of a simple and powerful concept.
This year expect to see ads from Anheuser- Busch, with 10 30-second ads, Visa, General Motors, FedEx, PepsiCo, Monster.com- two spots by Deutsch Inc. highlighting "that feeling when you get the right match" with a job, AOL, Charmin-Procter & Gamble Co. and Staples Inc. Plus regional advertisers like Diamond of California, a Stockton nut company and one of the state's largest grower cooperatives. Two 15-second spots by Goodby, Silverstein & Partners of San Fran will be broadcast only in the San Francisco, Fresno, Sacramento and Chico markets. And Viacom, which owns CBS, and the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation will sponsor a "Know HIV/AIDS'' public service announcement for the second consecutive Super Bowl. Also be on the lookout for ads from Hollywood studios for movies, Philip Morris plugging its anti-smoking activities, and British drug giant GlaxoSmithKline for Levitra brand. As well as Cialias and Viagra, according to Adage.com.

Advertising researcher Dr. Thomas Cline, associate professor of marketing in the Alex G. McKenna School of Business at Saint Vincent College in Latrobe, Pa., studies the use of humor in marketing and reviews the effectiveness of Super Bowl ads. From the article:

Humor is the defining characteristic of a Super Bowl ad, he observes. His research found that 24 out of last year's 25 ads intended to elicit humor. Not all succeed, however.
"Weak humor is worse than none," says Cline. "We see this all the time. Not only is it not funny, it's just annoying. Advertisers need to attract enough attention to keep folks from going to the bathroom, and then sustain their attention by rewarding them with a punchline at the end."
The use of humor has a lot to do with the Super Bowl audience. Cline's research has found that men are more likely than women to buy something just because the advertising was funny.

And it's true that a lot of commericals, airing at any point, not just during the Super Bowl, fall flat in their attempts to be funny. Funny is hard. Especially trying to get universal funny, something that the whole target will find amusing. CNN's article discusses that "advertisers become more selective about taking center stage as exposure widens" and that the cost of spots is a secondary concern. And Forbes takes a look at the fact that humor isn't always enough, consumers need to remember who the ad was for, rather than the joke.


Wondering what happened to those Shatner Priceline.com commericals? Well, get ready for a new campaign, and yes Shatner is back, this time with Trek friend, Nimoy.

Priceline.com, famous for its William Shatner-fronted advertising campaigns, has lured Leonard Nimoy to team up with his erstwhile 'Star Trek' colleague for a new marketing push.
The multimillion-dollar television advertising campaign will back Priceline's new airline tickets service, which gives customers a choice of either buying tickets at a low price or else using the Name Your Own Price service through which it made its name. In the ads, William Shatner is told by Priceline.com executives that he is no longer needed to front their campaign. They explain to him that the service is changing, with the new service being introduced. Shatner appears hurt and asks who could possibly replace him. At that moment, Leonard Nimoy walks through the door saying "Hi Bill".

I'm surprised that they got Nimoy to do these ads. I always have thought of him as a bit more "classy" of an actor than Shatner. Less of a sellout or something along those lines.

"South African cellular phone service provider Vodacom will know on Monday whether it boobed in its current billboard advertisement campaign featuring a bare-breasted woman. The Commission on Gender Equality will pass judgment on the advertisement, in which a woman is seen reaching out for her bra with the advice "Don't get caught without coverage". The commission was asked by the advertising standards authority to rule on whether the contents of the billboard, posted throughout the country, was insensitive to women, after the authority received a complaint about it."

Food producers jump on the low-carb and organic bandwagon.

Food producers small and large are scrambling to create and market a cornucopia of products that the growing low-carb and organic crowds want to consume.In October, Campbell Soup Co. launched its first organic product: juice made from organic tomatoes.
Last month, Interstate Bakeries Corp., makers of Wonder and Home Pride breads, introduced low-carb Roman Meal-brand loaves with 6 carbs per slice. Sara Lee Bakery Group, the No. 2 bakery in the U.S. after Interstate, followed suit late last month with a line of low-fat, low-carb sandwich bread aimed at consumers who want to slim down but not sacrifice taste.
In the last week alone, Frito-Lay Inc. announced plans to launch a new lineup of tortilla chips made with soy proteins and fiber -- Doritos Edge and Tostitos Edge -- that have less than half the carbohydrates of its other chips. Hardee's and Carl's Jr. said they will introduce a bunless, lettuce-wrapped burger, while Burger King said its Whopper will now come in bunless versions. Subway is advertising low-carb sandwiches.
Beer brewers, earlier to respond to carb-obsessed Atkins dieters, started marketing low-carb brands like Michelob Ultra in 2002. More recently, Miller Brewing Co. launched a campaign repromoting "tastes great, less filling" Miller Lite as a low-carb alternative.
Even junk food junkie haven 7-Eleven is launching a "Better Choices, Better Year" campaign to promote healthier products it started stocking around the first of the year.
The stores are marketing items like Atkins bread, health bars and shakes and Dr. Phil's Shape Up bars in their own low-carb/low-cal sections, said Margaret Chabris, a spokeswoman for 7-Eleven.

It's bizarre how this fad is catching on throughout the large players. I'm not all that surprised though, especially for the fast food places, after all the obesity stuff that's gone on in the last year or so. There's more on this in another article in the Denver Post.

The Telegraph lists the top 10 most recognisable advertising jingles. Top of the list is Diet Coke's "Just For The Taste of It."

Guinness USA Inc. is launching new television advertising encouraging adult consumers to "Treat St. Patrick's Day like a real holiday." The humorous commercial, created by BBDO New York, compares celebrating St. Patrick's Day to other popular holiday seasons as part of an aggressive marketing effort designed to make St. Patrick's Day more than just a one-day celebration.
"St. Patrick's Day represents a wonderful time of year for our Guinness drinkers and the goal of our new advertising campaign is to extend this celebratory period to an entire holiday season such as with Halloween or Valentine's Day," said Chris Parsons, Guinness brand director.
In the first television spot, which debuted this past weekend during CBS' broadcast of the NFL playoffs, three men can be seen waking on St. Patrick's Day morning, and rushing downstairs to excitedly discover gifts of Guinness Draught in a bottle under a Guinness keg tree. The tag line in the commercial encourages consumers to "Treat St. Patrick's Day like a real holiday."
Also, Diageo is launching a "new Smirnoff advertising campaign called "Get Out." The national TV campaign is part of a global branding effort to inspire Smirnoff consumers to live life to the fullest. "Protest" encourages viewers to engage in all that life has to offer through a myriad of colourful characters and a challenging proposition "Life is calling. Where are you?" The campaign was created by J. Walter Thompson New York, and was shot by director Dante Ariola on location in Buenos Aires."

It's all about product placement. "Forms of product placement have been around almost as long as TV advertising itself, but the practice has been limited largely to sports telecasts, live entertainment and, more recently, reality shows and soap operas - not the blue-chip scripted shows that are among the most valuable real estate on TV."

The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, again not allowed to air it's "What happens here, stays here" campaign during the Super Bowl is sticking it's tongue out at the NFL with 30-second spots that will run through Jan 31st telling viewers that it's more fun in Vegas than in Houston (where the SB will be played), and ending with the tagline "Join us February 1".

PayPal the Censor

Update on Adland and poopy PP. Adland finally received a reply as to why the account was frozen.

'Your website contains material that violates P*yPal's Acceptable Use Policy. For example: http://ad-rag.com/179.php. You will either need to remove the material that violates our policy or remove P*yPal from your website.
The image of Sophie Dahl in the nude, posing for Tom Fords Opium advert in the year 2000 - has been removed. The article was posted April 24, 2001. We've been using that internet pay service since Oct. 17, 2001 and have been a Verified member since somewhere around November of that year. We've also removed all references to that internet-money-company "bestow-bro" as being our payment place.

WTF? That ad ran in in the US and Europe in print as well as outdoor. It is an artsy photograph of a model from 2000 for Opium perfume. This is just crazy. Plus, they say "such as"...does that mean there are other ads on the site that are deemed "offensive" by these moral judges? Adland is not an adult content site. It is not obscene. It is a resource of advertising for students, adgrunts, and many others. In the comments for this post is the list what PP considers "adult" material, none of which the ad falls into. Wanna see the four-year-old ad that made such a stink? Go here.
*UPDATE: PAYPAL are HYPOCRITES! Other sites using them have the same image up! See here and here for examples.

And in addy news...

It's been a busy week...not as much updating on the world of advertising, but here's some stuff that might not be new, but is interesting- at least to me. ;)

Out-law.com has the low down on an advertising campaign by Lastminute.com which received complaints. The Advertising Standards Authority dismissed the complaints as the posters were "deemed not to be offensive or mocking the Christian faith."

The posters for the on-line travel specialist depicted bright sunlight streaming through the clouds. In the bottom right-hand corner was the lastminute.com logo and the caption "Keep weekends sacred".
One of them read:
"And on the sixth day Mary didst flee the office for a humbly priced trip to New York. And she shopp'd til she didst hobble in her kitten heels. From the book of lastminute.com, 14:59 ? 62."
Another read:
"And as David returned on the eighth day from Ibiza he told of how little he had paid. And his work colleagues didst have dark and beastly thoughts. From the book of lastminute.com, 9:58 - 59."

It's nice to see that the ASA didn't uphold the complaints. I like the copy in the first one best. (hat tip to Tracy)

Al Ries goes on a rant about slogans. His points on "fuzzy" taglines are somewhat valid. Although there are some that do work. It just depends on the brand and their relationship to the consumer. The fact that many taglines say absolutely nothing about the product/service/brand is something that I've noticed to be more prominent lately. Sometimes it makes me wonder what happened to all the lessons the ad folk learned back in school? Did they go in one ear and out another? Or is it the client choosing the wrong lines? Although if that's the case, the agencies shouldn't even be presenting them with those options. It does seem like there has been a lack of solid taglines recently. I'm not sure if that has to do with the fact that brands seem to be changing them constantly. Is it a new trend? If so, you can't expect to have a good recall of them by the public. And isn't that the point? Sure, capturing the essence of a brand in a few words/phrase/sentence isn't easy. But it's one of the more important things for a brand...it ends up on every piece of advertising, on press releases, and even sometimes on the packaging. So it makes sense take the time to create something that is powerful, and meaningful to the brand.

Great FoxTrot comic about advertising. And one about spam and Monty Python. And one refering to the iPod campaign. Yeay to Bill Amend :D

Clay found Vitamin Q- a temple of trivia and lists which could come in handy. From slang words ending in "-ggy or -ggie" to various terms for being drunk to three things you didn't want to know about your eyes. Definitely can see myself wasting plenty of time going through these. But also could be inspirational for adgrunts with conceptual blockage.

Ambush Ads Hitch a Ride On Super Bowl from the Wall Street Journal (subscription only) discusses the way marketers who don't have deep enough pockets to advertise during the big Super Bowl game are getting in on the action. From the article:

A handful of marketers, unable to join the ranks of elite and deep-pocketed sponsors advertising in the Super Bowl, are trying it the other way around: They're putting the Super Bowl in their advertising.
In most cases, though, they can't call it the Super Bowl. Marketers that don't have a deal with the National Football League are barred from using the "Super Bowl" name and other NFL elements, notes Brian McCarthy, an NFL spokesman.
"It's ambush marketing," he says of companies that try to latch onto the Super Bowl anyway. The NFL has legal experts scanning radio, print, TV and other ad platforms for promotions that might use trademarks without permission.

Companies that are alluding to the Super Bowl in their ads include Gateway, the pizza chain Papa John's, U.S. milk processors and dairy farmers (with milk mustache campaign), and The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority. A 30-second spot during this year's Super Bowl XXXVIII costs an average of $2.3 million. Reuters also reports that "AOL will also sponsor the Super Bowl's half-time show and keep viewers plugged in to its Internet site with special game-related entertainment, including footage of posh celebrity parties. AOL.com will replay the commercials after the game and allow users to vote for their favorite ads."

AOL is spending $10million on a new campaign set to break during the Super Bowl, touting their new web accelerator.

Wieden & Kennedy in Portland, Ore., is creating a campaign using three members of the Teutul family - the cast of the "American Chopper" reality series, the top-rated show on the Discovery Channel cable network - to promote a feature of the new AOL 9.0 service being branded as AOL Top Speed.
The Teutuls, who customize motorcycles at a shop named Orange County Choppers, are meant to serve as a metaphor for the benefits of AOL Top Speed. The commercials, to appear during the Super Bowl as well as the halftime show, for which AOL is the sole sponsor, will show Paul Teutul Sr. and his sons Mikey and Paul Jr. souping up motorcycles to hyperbolic levels to humorously demonstrate what AOL Top Speed can do."

Wonder if they fight in the ads too ;)

CBS denies MoveOn.org and PETA from airing ads during the Super Bowl. From Adage.com:

CBS today rejected a request from liberal group MoveOn to air a 30-second anti-President Bush ad during the Super Bowl, saying the spot violated the Network policy. A CBS spokesman said the decision against broadcasting the spot had nothing to do with either the Super Bowl or the ad's specific issue but was because the network has had a long-term policy not to air issue ads anywhere on the network.

But that's not all folks. Reuters reports that PETA will also not be allowed to air their commericals either. Here's some exerpts from the article:

"We just want to be able to present our jiggly women," said Lisa Lange, spokeswoman for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, asking to join advertisers like beer brewers who has boosted sales with images of scantily-clad women.
Liberal group Moveon.org, known for its Internet funding power, told members this week that it hoped to have the first political Super Bowl ad. But its hopes were dashed when CBS said the spot, which asks "Guess who's going to pay off President Bush's $1 trillion deficit?" was an issue piece and could not run.
In a letter, CBS told PETA that it would not run advertisements on "controversial issues of public importance." CBS spokesman Dana McClintock said the policy had been in place for years. "We have a policy against accepting advocacy advertising," he added. CBS, a unit of Viacom Inc., does run political advertising for and against candidates.
PETA spokeswoman Lange said that CBS's broadcast of anti-smoking advertisements and even hamburger chain spots were controversial, advocacy pieces, as well. "In essence, CBS is saying we will air an advocacy ad if we agree with the viewpoint," she said.
The PETA ad shows two scantily clad women snuggling up to a meat-eating pizza delivery man. "Meat can cause impotence," the screen reads after the rendezvous fails.

I'm personally not upset that I won't have to see PETA's impotence ad...but overall it's just a weird policy. They do show political ads and well as other "issues of public importance" like anti-smoking ads and the like. I can understand the PETA ad being a problem, but the anti-Bush ad? I think that's stupidity from CBS, being afraid to air it. It'd be nice to see a media outlet that isn't afraid to air controversial opinions. I'd expect this from FOX but not from CBS. I wonder if it's a Viacom-wide policy...although I doubt so, since they also own MTV, MTV2, Nickelodeon, BET, Nick at Nite, TV Land, VH1, Spike TV, Comedy Central and others.

Wonder who owns what? Find out at the Columbia Journalism Review website.

Random things

Steve at Creative Generalist found a 25-point list of random facts relating to consumer market research at the Corporate Design Foundation. Very interesting stuff.

Clay found this story about Black Sheep Brewery's Holy Grail Bitter. It's described on their site as "Another fine addition to the Black Sheep Brewery range of premium bottled ales, our Holy Grail Bitter was specially commissioned to commemorate the 30th anniversary of Monty Python. It has a distinctive taste with plenty of fruity hops, and is full flavoured with a dry and refreshing bitterness." Sounds tasty! I'd like it just for the bottle as a collector's item. ;) Ni!

Dab found this nifty link which shows where recent earthquakes have occured in the US, and well as worldwide. Cool resource thing.

Dab also found Fontifier, which lets you use your own handwriting for the text you write on your computer by turning a scanned sample of your handwriting into a computer font that you can use in your word processor or graphics program.

WTF is wrong with PayPal?

Tragedy strikes Adland:read how Paypal froze our assets - newbie super access closed.

Our paypal account as been frozen - right now we can not receive any donations for a super adgruntship that allows access to the commercial archives. :(
We've emailed and asked paypal - who as you probably know just got bought by Ebay - what exactly we've done to deserve this. Apparantly it is "adult content". They have yet to point out where exactly this site carries such content.

WTF? The site is just a collection of ads. And all have run in the US or Europe or Asia. The Library of Congress even lists the site as an advertising resource! Worst part about it is that PayPal won't even say what of it is considered "adult content". If you're going to mark a site as such, someone should have to write the why down somewhere! And why they can't pass that information along to the hostmistress boggles the mind!
PayPal being bought by Ebay has "family friendly" rules. Um, I would never think of Ebay as family friendly. Sorry. And what about the ads isn't family friendly? Sure there are some racy things on there, but, cripes, if they are, the posts talk about how wrong it is that someone tried to use it as an advertisement!
There's more upset people making comments on that post there as well. Check it out. And beware the morality police!

Hummer and the High Life

Adage.com reports that Hummer is going to be selling shoes.

Hummer Footwear aims to differentiate from competitors by selling through higher-end retailers and using unusual materials, such as Yak leather. "We designed the footwear from the ground up, based on the image of Hummer," Mr. Saliman said. "We give retailers a story, bring some show biz to the shoe biz."

Makes me want to yak. ;) Although I do like this in a way, but it does take the fun and mystery out of the discovery of who is or is not an ass.

Miller 'High Life' commericals could become TV show.

"Wieden & Kennedy, Portland, Ore., the brewer's ad shop; its production house, Radical Media, New York; and director Errol Morris are working to develop an Archie Bunker-like TV series based on the 5-year-old campaign for Miller High Life beer that features ironic voice-over musings on the simple pleasures of the blue-collar life.
"The High Life" is one of several titles under consideration for the show, according to Mr. Morris, who told AdAge.com in an interview last week that he would like to begin production on the series as early as February. The show is being created and written by the Wieden creative team responsible for the award-winning beer campaign..."

Is this going to be the next fad in advertising? Hmmm. ;) As the article says, they have to be careful with an idea like this especially as its success has been more of an underground movement.

It's not always easy

Adland reports on a sticker stunt for a miniseries on USA Network. It's a lame attempt to try to do something "outrageous" and it falls flat. It's neither unique nor outrageous as they claim it to be. It's a sticker stunt, not an ad, and even the sticker is boring. Check out the comments on the post to see more and a brilliant use of a sticker on money done back in 1999.

TBWA is recruiting and apparently age doesn't matter. It's a great spot. I love that the kid's toy car has an alarm on it.

O&M exes are up a creek according to this adage article:

"Thomas Early, until today a senior partner and director of finance at Ogilvy until he resigned, and Shona Seifert, a former senior partner and executive group director, entered their pleas in the chambers of U.S. District Court Judge Richard Berman in lower Manhattan this afternoon. Both were brought into court in handcuffs.
Mr. Early and Ms. Seifert each are charged with one count of conspiracy and 10 counts of false claims. If convicted of all counts, each faces up to 100 months in prison. Each was released on $25,000 cash bail or the equivalent and personal recognizance. They were required to surrender their passports. Federal prosecutors allege Mr. Early and Ms. Seifert inflated Ogilvy's labor costs from May 1999 through April 2000 on the $145 million White House Office of National Drug Control Policy account. Mr. Early, 48, and Ms. Seifert, 43, allegedly directed certain Ogilvy employees to revise already completed time sheets to show they had worked longer on the contract than recorded and to record on the time sheets that they'd spent a specified amount of time on the account whether they actually worked that time or not."

Do any of you think that this will cause a wave throughout the ad industry? I mean, have timesheets ever been accurate? Can timesheets ever be totally accurate? Will other clients of O&M and other agencies worry that they are being/have been swindled? This could cause a stink.

I'm Loathin' It.

Apparently I'm not the only one "hatin' it" from McDonalds. I was curious to see how many others think this is a stupid campaign. So I threw "i'm hatin' it" into google and found some of these.

This rant from the Llama Box was posted on 11/22/03:

"Just how desperate is their corporate HQ? “We want to keep the basic concept alive - McDonald's forever young - with core promise of fun, youthful spirit, executed with quality services, cleanliness and all delivered at extraordinary values that will never change,” said McDonalds Executive Vice President Larry Light. I'm not sure what message they're trying to get accross exactly here - but boy does it suck.
When I first saw this commercial I really flipped. I mean I was pissed. Why the hell is a company like McDonalds doing a bling-bling commercial for food that can barely sell itself? And now, youre pushing it with shitty ass music? Come on! The reason why Wendy's is doing so damn well is that their burgers actually give you a taste of meat, not processed, no, re-processed and triple fried burgers that have probably been off the cooker for a couple of days. I wasn't inclined to buy McDonald's burgers before, and I'm damn sure I won't now."

This one was found on nef's blog on 12/13/03:

"What the heck is up with McDonald's latest brand campaign? 'i'm lovin' it' WTF? I knew where the mute button was on my remote before, but I had no idea the thing had such great responsiveness. My reflexes have become cat-like. When I hear that god-awful rap crap coming on I can mute the TV in under .27 seconds.
Taken directly from the afore referenced press release: "New “i’m lovin’ it” commercials focusing on the family and Ronald McDonald®." Say what? focused on the family? So far I've only managed to see (remember the TV is muted at this point) hoodlums, miscreants and the sort. Gone are the days of happy families hanging out in the local Micky D's, Ronald performing some trick to make a sad little girl happy or other uplifting moments. Apparently this 'world-class' marketing effort affords McDonald's to speak to thier new desired clientele. All I know is I shall no longer count myself as part of it."

The Landfill- Retarded Ad Round-Up 5 contained this post on 10/18/03. Here are some exerpts:

"...So what is all this in aid of? According to their press release, they're trying to promote a McDonald’s experience with the "i’m lovin’ it" attitude. What fucking attitude? What the fuck are they on about? Any idiot knows that McDonald's created itself as a kid-friendly place, mercilessly portraying itself as a super happy land where everything is nice and bright and cartoony with its constant TV advertising aimed at little kids. Now they're trying to attract teens (like me) by portraying themselves as some kind of party orgy house. Here, at least, the commercials are limited to annoyingly horrible pop/rap shit, a hybrid no one ever knew was possible.... ...They also had these little advertising things on the trays which had the same photos used to promote McShit on posters, but they also had captions in both English and Chinese which explained in detail what the pictures were about. One of them, a picture of two girls in a swimming pool, went something like this. Quote not exact, since I probably forgot the exact wording but this is the gist of it: "I love a dip in the pool with my best friends on a hot day. I'm feeling good and i'm lovin' it." Note the deliberate capitalisation error which so totally makes me want to eat a Big Mac! It's so totally rad and awesome, man! Please note the sarcasm. A couple of confused mails that I got revealed that some of my readers have had the part of their brain that detects sarcasm cauterized."

Found this one on Up, Up, Down, Down posted on 10/22/03:

"Note to McDonald's: you sell food, not image. I'm sorry to say, but carrying a Mickey D's bag down the street just doesn't sport the caché of, say, wearing Air Jordans. In other words, fire your ad man, cause "I'm [hatin'] it."

Ten Pin Productions has this to say on 12/31/03:

"I'm not lovin' it. In fact, I'm hatin' it, and wishin' you would be stoppin' it. Your commercials make my thumb go all spastic in a desperate attempt to change the channel before I have to hear that already bad R 'n B song made worse by your desperate last-ditch attempt to corner the "urban" market since white-bred suburbia has finally woken up and realized that your food makes us fat."

And Trev.org has this to say:

"What the hell is up with McDonald's cheesy ass marketing? I'm sure they have one of the largest advertising budgets in the world, and they just waste it on stupid shit. What ever happened to Ronald and the days when happy meals actually came in that cardboard box?
Back in the day they tried to combat that snazzy Burger King song (hold the pickles, hold the lettuce...) with the stupid Big Mac song (two all beef patties, lettuce, cheese...) I suppose that was decent, after all I was able to sing it in my head just now. If I'm lucky it'll be out of there by bed time. From there they graduated to "Have you had your break today?" While somewhat lame, this was ok. "Did somebody say McDonalds?" was probably one of their best ones. After all, how often do you give someone a few bucks on their way to McDonalds when you have a hankering for some McNuggets?
The new slogan, "I'm lovin' it," is the stupidest thing I've ever heard. First off, there's very little to like about McDonalds, much less love. Second, that sounds so fucking wannabe cool. Perhaps they're trying to appeal to the young kids with their hip and their hop and all that jivey cool funkification, but in the end it's about as natural looking as those Boost commercials with the old lady talking abut five kinds of nasty.
Only one question remains: Which came first, McDonald's cheesy new slogan, or Justin Timberlake's new single (which share the same name). In either case, it makes me want to eat at McDonald's even less, and shove the skewer even deeper into my eardrums."

iStockphoto has a thread on the awful ads in their forum.

Now while performing my search, I came across an article with this quote:
"It'll be fun, it'll be relevant, it'll be hip, it'll be compelling, and it will connect with people of all ages," chief operating officer Charlie Bell said.
Um...NO! Apparently it's not working. Plus on top of the lackluster creative/concept, they've got media buys that are even more annoying, constantly playing the crap ads. As some of the comments on the campaign had said, seems like people are finding the remote to be a handy thing. And that's not good for the channels that these ads are appearing on. If enough people are changing the channel during the commerical to avoid it, the chances that they will return to the programming they were watching is less than 80%. (No, that's not a researched number but I'm pretty sure that it's near true.) So then that means that the channels are losing out on viewers, which lowers their ratings, which lowers the cost for ads. But beyond that, which could be a short term thing without lasting effects, the ads are none of what they claimed they would be.
~Fun: There's nothing fun about Justin Timberlake trying to rap. There's nothing fun about lifestyle shots that look so forced.
~Relevant: This seems like a change to throw out meaningless corporate lingo. I've no idea what is relevant about the ads. Do they mean the health issues that they've been up against lately? If so, I don't get the connection. This morning on the radio I heard an ad for Philly Cheesesteaks at McD's....that's not healthy at all.
~Hip: More meaningless lingo, really. You can't make something hip. Either it's percieved to be hip or it's not. Advertising can't usually make something have an air of "hip". 99% of the time ads that do that backfire. And McDonalds is *not* hip, although it will increase the size of yours. ;) It's grade F meat, served by underpaid employees who are disgruntled (for the most part). What the hell is hip about that? Maybe he was thinking of the new font they rolled out for this campaign for the tag which has no capital letters. That's not hip either. In fact I think it's more of a childish look to the tag, which could be where they were going with it, but I thought a part of this campaign was to bring back the older age groups to a place they ate at as kids. And the music in this spots...is it hip because it's got pseudo-rap/hip hop going on? Um, that doesn't make something hip. Sorry dude.
~Compelling: Sure...lifestyle shots with quick edits are compelling. Maybe back in the 90s...but we've had over 10 years of MTV style quick edits and the sort that it's not compelling anymore. It's stale and it's old. What is compelling about "i'm lovin' it"? Seriously, I can't even imagine what the hell this guy was thinking when he spewed this line.
~Connect with people of all ages: If you're trying to be hip you can't connect with people of all ages. Sorry. That's just the way it is. If it's hip with the older crowd (like parents and the sort) then it's not hip with the kids (rebellion and all that). Can't have it both ways.

I feel bad for the agencies who do work for McDonalds. They've had to work with this vile concept that was thrown on their desks. What do you do with a bad idea that is being implemented worldwide? That you had nothing to do with? You grin and bear it I guess. Gotta keep the money coming in, even if you think it's a terrible idea.

A new day

Drawing on acid- actually very interesting. Go through the images and see how perception changes throughout the artists trip. (hat tip dab)

Fiddling around with design of this place again. Nothing major though.

This is neat. Monochrom's attempt to evaluate the actual power of brands by making Austrian people draw a total of twelve logos (nine international, three typically European) from memory, 25 people per brand. Click on the logos for the images/results. Neat idea. (found at popdex)

What the world needs now...

Dab found this wonderful little cartoon about the confusion people seem to have with it's and its.

Dashboard advertising- "For marketers, it may finally be paradise by the dashboard light. Big radio companies like Clear Channel Communications and Infinity Broadcasting are equipping some of their stations with technology that broadcasts not just commercials but text messages that appear on car radio displays. And advertisers like First Charter Bank in Charlotte, N.C., which will use the approach in a campaign beginning this month, are signing on to see whether extra text can give their radio advertisements extra heft. The technology — called RDS, radio data system — has long been common in Europe and available in the United States, where it is gaining as cars increasingly come ready for the technology and radio stations compete ever more fiercely for ad revenue against satellite radio and other media."

Sometimes "I don't know" is the best answer -"The scenario is familiar to many: a client asks a question of his or her account manager, and that question happens to exceed the bounds of knowledge of that marketing expert. The marketer can choose to take several paths, each leading to different results. One solution is to pretend that you know everything. Never let them see you sweat, as the saying goes. These marketers simply pretend that they know the answer and find a way to dance around it, and their infallibility remains intact—or so they think. Eventually they’ll figure out a reasonable answer and give it to their client. These marketing types are all too familiar. You won’t find them at any educational seminars or workshops, because they believe that they already know everything there is to know. You’ll also find them—after their client has taken and implemented their erroneous advice—looking for more dance moves to avoid responsibility for their bad counsel."

"PETA debuted a controversial billboard in the Knoxville market Monday along Interstate 40 West near the Strawberry Plains Pike exit. The ad, which shows a semi-nude, overweight man with breasts and the slogan "Dude Looks Like a Lady. Lose the Boobs - Go Vegetarian," was rejected by two Knoxville advertising companies before being displayed by Douglas Outdoor Advertising." Enough already. Argh.

Real Men of Genius campaign goes to CDs- "Anheuser-Busch didn't become the beer giant it is today by simply selling a lot of beer. The St. Louis-based brewery also knows a thing or two about merchandising. Why else would the company go to all the trouble of preparing and distributing a CD collection of radio spots for the popular Bud Light "Real Men of Genius" campaign from DDB/Chicago? Yeah, Busch figured out there was money to be made in those catchy, exceedingly well-written spots for a campaign that became popular overseas and is now wowing 'em on the radio and on television in the United States. The just released CD includes a whopping 18 tracks, plus two unreleased bonus tracks for those "Real Men of Genius" fans who can't get enough of the wickedly genteel put-downs of some pretty wacky professions and what we might call rather weird pastimes."

"Snapple's changing its advertising campaign to reach the 18- to 24-year-old consumers. Previous commercials targeted those in their 30s and 40s. But the new campaign is supposed to reach a broad spectrum of demographics while continuing to appeal to the older Snapple fans. The new fruit sex ads are supposed to push the envelope and be more over the edge than the juice-drink's previous marketing efforts - A racier depiction of these ads with references to sex and jail. There will even be inter-mingling of the fruit to create the many combinations Snapple has to offer. The commercials feature J. Andy Anderson, Director of Fruit Relations, teaching "The Joy of Ripening." You hear his voice throughout the spot while seeing the fruits in their various puberty stages. "It's time we had 'The Talk.' At Snapple, when young fruits ripen, they may want to combine with other fruits. These urges are perfectly natural. So experiment. Explore. Even play the field. When fruits join together, it's a very special thing." The commercial closes with a shot of a banana and an apple in a very compromising position. The fruit-love spoofs will still retain the "Made from the best stuff on earth" tag. Cadbury Schweppes’ Snapple Beverage Group is so serious about this new advertising campaign that the company is investing as much as $33 million into it. Commercials will air on such cable outlets as MTV, ESPN and the Cartoon Network. You can also expect to see two new 30-second commercials and two 15-second spots."

Starting off the New Year

The wacky, intrusive Aflac duck gets "animated" in a new TV spot breaking this week that also features Looney Tunes legends Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner. The spot opens with Bugs and Daffy on a park bench discussing the need for insurance in the "cartoon business." The Aflac Duck is seen being nearly toppled by the Road Runner, while quacking "Aflaaaac!" As the spot proceeds, the Road Runner continues to dodge disaster, Bugs chomps his ever-present carrot and Wile E. falls victim to his own traps and is last seen plummeting to the bottom of a canyon with the Aflac duck in tow."

"Israeli police were not amused by a British Airways advertising campaign that placed hundreds of road signs in Israeli cities directing drivers to Buckingham Palace and other London landmarks. "They look very much like official traffic signs and we think they may confuse drivers," a police spokesman said on Tuesday. He said police had written to the airline and municipalities to demand their removal. BA said the signs - right turn for Hyde Park, left for the London Eye and straight on for Buckingham Palace - would come down anyway on Wednesday at the end of a two-week "London is closer than you think" campaign."

"A welsh tobacconist and a former dotcom businessman are planning to take on the big boys in the tobacco industry with a youth cigarette called Shag. The brand, aimed mainly at university students, is the first major independent cigarette brand in the UK since the controversial Death cigarettes were launched by the Enlightened Tobacco Company in 1991. Death, which featured a skull and crossbones on the packet, quickly became a cult brand before it was stubbed out by the taxman. The Shag Tobacco Company hopes its brand will have the same appeal. "It's a fun name, like the FCUK brand," said Peter Lloyd, the tobacconist who had the idea. "The packaging has been designed in black and white so the health warning doesn't look so odd on it." The organisation has also designed a Shag clothing line but cannot sell it in the UK because another firm owns the name for clothing. "We're talking to Spar," Mr Lloyd said, but added that it was difficult to persuade some shops to stock the brand because of the "oligopoly" in the UK of the three leading tobacco manufacturers. Shag hopes to get round this via point-of-sale advertising, which is still permitted, and by giving out Shag-branded condoms."

Year of the child- An article from India that takes a look back at the ads of 2003. "It is just a recap of the year and an attempt to highlight the interesting things that the advertising world attempted during the year 2003 -- things that are worth noting. And the focus on television because it is the lead medium for most national brands."

Catching up

We're hatin' it- Unfortunately it doesn't look like McDonald's new campaign is going to be going away any time soon. "The US market will see a stream of new TV and print ads featuring a slicker, edgier look that is still synonymous with the McDonald’s brand identity. And the company hired one of the hottest American pop stars of the moment, Justin Timberlake, and hip hop mega producers the Neptunes to create a song for the campaign. The brand also gains access to its prime market by sponsoring Timberlake’s 2003 to 2004 global tour. The new campaign extends beyond advertising; the “I’m lovin’ it” attitude will be indoctrinated as philosophy in various facets of the company structure across the globe, including customer service and restaurant operations, menu food choices, and new restaurant decors." Slick and edgy are not adjectives I would ever use to describe McDonald's ads or the brand as a whole. I will do a happy dance when they stop running this awful campaign. And I'm sure I won't be the only one doing that either.

Dave Barry reflects on how Manly man pregame commercials can leave men feeling deflated. (hat tip to Clay)

A handful of holiday cards from agencies around the globe.

Thailand's Advertising Association has introduced a "pitching fee" requiring potential clients to pay between Bt50,000 and Bt100,000 if they invite a member agency to make a pitch for work. From the article: "Some business firms yesterday expressed dismay at a new rule that will make them pay advertising agencies that bid for their business. A "pitching fee" has been introduced by the Advertising Association of Thailand that will require potential clients to pay between Bt50,000 and Bt100,000 if they invite a member agency to make a pitch for work. The rule aims to deter businesses that invite an excessive number of agencies to compete for their contracts. The rule, which goes into effect next month, has been accepted by 44 agencies, which account for more than 80 per cent of local advertising billings. (hat tip to Dab) Wouldn't it be great it this was adopted worldwide? It sure does have some downsides to it and I wonder if fewer agencies from the AAT will be asked to participate as a result of this. But, for the agencies who put in 100s of hours and use loads of resources from out of pocket for pitches, it will be a great thing. This kind of thing really would benefit the smaller agencies more than those large conglomerates that have oodles of cash in the bank. Although now-a-days not so many of those even have oodles in the bank anymore. :/

Top 100 Ads of the 20th Century from the Calgary Herald. And USA Today's Most and Least Likable ads of 2003. (thanks Clay)

Barnardo's controversial campaign banned by regulators has been voted among the most successful of the past year by the advertising industry. Sweet! I'm glad for that. This was a great campaign...and an effective one too.

An interesting article from Aussie - " Advertising has come a long way since the days of "whiter than white". The new Heineken campaign doesn't make a single claim about the beer, and that's because most advertisers now realise we are more likely to respond favourably to their brands when they talk about us rather than them. As a result, although many people still regard marketing as a rich source of hyperbole, distortion and manipulation, there's been a steady softening of our attitudes to advertising."
The same site also has this interesting piece too- "Contrary to popular myth, advertising does not work by firing magic bullets of desire into our brains, forcing us to buy things against our will. Some feral advertisers might wish it were so, but the evidence to the contrary is overwhelming. Take the case of alcohol. Some of the most admired campaigns on TV are for alcohol brands, and spending on alcohol advertising continues to rise. If you believed in the magic bullet theory, you'd have to assume that we were promiscuous in our brand behaviour, being seduced by one campaign after another. You'd also assume that our overall consumption of alcohol would rise in direct proportion to the increasing ad spending."