Caffeinated posts from a copywriter/adgrunt. I write about advertising, design, astronomy, cooking, and pretty much anything else that strikes my fancy, including random bits of reference info for work purposes. You may also know me as 'that other gal' who helps run Adland. | make contact | RSS Feed | ATOM

Tuesday, December 28, 2004
[ :: adgruntie :: Nearing the end of 2004 ]

+ PSFK gives us a peek at their forecast for 2005. A worthwhile read.

+ Lewis Lazare takes a look at the local Chicago ad scene for 2004.

Looking back over the year's creative output -- a fairly good barometer of the state of the ad business hereabouts -- we had to make a painful admission. There simply wasn't enough superlative work to justify a 10-best commercials of the year list. So we have assembled a five-best list instead, and even that required a twist of the rules about honoring the work of only Chicago ad agencies.

See the link for the top 5 list.

+ Advertisements produced in Korea are gaining popularity abroad. "Those that appeal to global audiences are re-recorded in local languages, while others that feature Korean celebrities are used in countries that are interested in Korean culture."

+ Wendy, The Snapple Lady returneth.

In the early 90s, Wendy Kaufman, then a Snapple employee, was featured in commercials reading letters from consumers in her thick, Long Island accent.

The ads were credited with helping the brand achieve its initial popularity, but Kaufman was replaced as a pitchwoman when Quaker Oats bought Snapple in 1994. She returned for a stint in 1997, when Snapple had changed hands again.

In a series of quirky ads that will debut Jan. 17, Kaufman interviews consumers about the brand. After they say good things about Snapple, Wendy interviews other people about the Snapple fans.

The campaign will be the first from Cliff Freeman and Partners since they won the account from Deutsch Inc.
Wednesday, December 22, 2004
[ :: adgruntie :: 2004 - The year that was ]

+ Sorry for the lack of updates lately. I've been busy over at AdLand getting some things together for the end of the year.
Check out the best and most complete 2004 Advertising Round Up you'll find anywhere.
It's that time of year again - here comes the AdLand roundup. You'll definitely want to follow that up with The year in review. A comprehensive list of events in the world of advertising. Then move on to The ads for the best, worst and just plain bizarre ads (tv and print) from the past year. Complete your reading with Marketing, Controversies, Badland and more for goofs, banned ads, copied concepts and viral ads.

It's tasty and nutritious!

[ :: adgruntie :: Newsy bits ]

+ The NYPost says "the beer war between Miller Lite and Bud is getting ugly. Getting? It has been for most of 2004. (See Catfight between Miller and AB, Miller and Bud are at it again, and Taste and Flavor vs. Freshness. So what's this latest hub-bub all about? Apparently Miller Lite's latest spots. They show actors as former Bud Light fans talking thorough a bullhorn at an AB building- claiming that they liked the Miller taste better. AB filed a complaint with the 4 major networks. Both CBS and NBC have pulled the Miller Lite ads, "saying the spots were unfair to Bud Light. NBC said that commercial "unfairly disparaged Anheuser-Busch by claiming that the Bud delivery man was 'hiding something.' ""

The thing with these ads is that they remind me of the Truth anti-smoking ads. I wonder if they purposefully were hinting at them with this concept...
Either way, it will be interesting to see what goes on between these two companies in 2005.

+ Times Online interviews Stuart Fogarty, the boss of AFA O’Meara, one of Dublin’s best-known agencies. "Fogarty bristles at suggestions that ad men are the parasites of the commercial world. “I don’t know any company that wants to sell you something just once. The idea that we’re involved in some mass deception is flawed.”"

+ Will you be on the General Mills diet? After trying this program with its employees (500 workers who took part lost a combined 2,990 pounds) General Mills decided to bring the weight-loss program to its customers. The plan is designed to "help consumers who buy its food products trim their waistlines while eating a variety of the company's food products ranging from Green Giant vegetables to Totino's Pizza Rolls. The "Brand New You" program aims to help people lose 10 pounds in 10 weeks through customized meal and exercise plans for those who sign up at a special Web site, www.brandnewyou.com. Participants also get recipes and, if they desire, coupons for General Mills products that are part of the program."

+ Revolution Magazine reports that Audi will be using a plug-in memory stick as a marketing tool to promote its new A4 model. The USB stick includes five minutes of video and interactive content. "Mark Hawkins, chief operating officer of twofourtv, the agency that designed the content, said: "Branded with Audi, the USB stick extends brand values over a new platform, re-enforcing Audi's reputation as the UK's most innovative car brand." The USB sticks will be sent in a box, with a connection lead, instructions and a CD of software drivers by direct mail to a selected database of customers." This is an interesting combination of direct marketing and interactive. I guess the question is why the USB instead of just sending out a CD, since they will be sending them ones with the software. My guess is that the USB will hold more information than a CD and as they are becoming much cheaper now, it's probably just as easy to do. Neat idea.
Friday, December 17, 2004
[ :: adgruntie :: Choking on tinsel ]

+ When it's time to stop blaming agencies and start looking within. A nice article that specifically takes a look at Nedbank of South Africa- but discusses some issues that are relevant to a lot of other companies as well.

Good advertising requires intelligent input from the marketer. When the marketer looks to the agency to solve its problems without rolling up its sleeves and mucking in, the advertising product is rarely on target. Only good companies get good advertising.
I personally do not believe companies should necessarily change ad agencies when they fall short of their goals.
It is always the advertising that gets the blame. Management rarely has the balls to look inward and ask itself whether it has the right people looking after its communication programme. Maybe it should change those people first and not fire the agency...
There was a time when companies had an inhouse advertising professional who could interpret what management wanted, investigate if it is possible, fight if it is off target, and only then pass the brief on the agency.

Unfortunately this tactic of companies passing the buck happens too often. When the internal model is broken there is nothing that an advertising agency can do to repair that. These companies just get themselves stuck into a bad cycle that isn't good for moral, or for business.

+ The Turtles sue Applebees over "Happy Together". "Two of the group's members, Mark Volman and Howard Kaylan, have sued the chain and its advertising agency, FCB Worldwide Inc., arguing their reputation was compromised, the pair said the lyrics changed "from those of a sweet love song to a crass paean to shrimp and steak combination plates," according to papers filed in Los Angeles federal court on Wednesday." Apparently the agency got permission to use the song from the song's publisher but not from The Turtles themselves, who are the owners of the orignial master copy and copyright holders.

+ The Scotsman reports on Campaigns list of top ten worst celebrity appearences in TV ads.

+ Coke's holiday ads (created by McCann Erickson in Spain) get a C- from Lewis Lazare of the Chicago Sun TImes.

[ :: adgruntie :: Quick ad blips ]

+ Brand Republic lists the 10 best TV ads (in the UK). If you want to see them, you can watch them all at AdLand, if you're a superadgrunt.

+ Macromedia sends out holiday greetings with penguins. (hat tip Dab.

+ Can Dunkin Donuts take on Starbucks? From the article it sounds like they think it's a very attainable goal.
Monday, December 13, 2004
[ :: adgruntie :: Yucky marketer of the year ]

+ So Ad Age has named McDonald's as Marketer of the Year. Ugh. Come on people at Crain...there had to have been a better choice than them. I mean, Target, Burger King, Dove, HP, Chevy and others have done a much better job than McDonald's, in my opinion. Larry Light claims, "In fact, advertising awareness of 'i'm lovin' it' in our top ten countries recently reached 86% -- another sign that we're connecting with customers like never before." Um, just because people are aware of the campaign doesn't mean that they like it or that it's doing any good getting more people into the stores. The other fact of that is because of their nauseating media blitz that they forced upon consumers, we had no choice but to come to the conclusion that "I'm lovin it" is for McDonalds. But their lame ads like the Superbowl "Dryer Sheet" and a slew of other subpar ads does not mean that everyone is "lovin' it." The whole thing makes me feel about as sick as I do after eatting any of their retched food.

[ :: adgruntie :: Random bits ]

+ BBC interviews Cilla Snowball , Chariman of AMV.BBDO, London.

+ The Media Guardian reports that the Sun has named the top most reported on ad campaigns of the year.
1. David Beckham gladiator football advert for Pepsi
2. McDonald's ad promoting Salad Plus menu and the Supersize Me attacks
3. The Number 118 118
4. John Smith
6. Chanel No 5 ad with Nicole Kidman
7. Walkers Crisps
8. Christina Aguilera for Virgin Mobile
9. Dove skin firming ad for real women with real curves
10. BT's signing of Jeremy Clarkson

+ MSN to go Orange on Thursday, Dec 16th, as they "run the biggest one-day advertising take-over deal across MSN's UK services in a pre-Christmas push."

+ The Independent interviews Kevin Roberts.

+ Researcher has a link to a very strange and kinda creepy MTV Asia advert.

+ Hidden has a couple neat-o print ads posted recently- Outdoor for Royal by JWT S.Paulo and Youth Sumphonic Orchestra by JWT Lisboa.
Sunday, December 12, 2004
[ :: adgruntie :: Steal this wallet ]

+ How do you get cynical urban kids to carry a hotline phone number for Crimestoppers, an independent crime prevention charity? Tell them to nick it.

Crimestoppers, an independent crime prevention charity, placed 900 black wallets emblazoned with the words "nick me" on the streets outside schools in London boroughs last month, hoping local youths who can provide vital tipoffs about crimes would pick them up.

The wallets contained swap cards featuring three caricatures, the Gun Man, the Steamer and the Dealer, along with a message that Crimestoppers was independent of the police and could be contacted anonymously.

And the "urban discovery" strategy proved a roaring success, according to advertising agency Quiet Storm, which distributed the wallets in the London boroughs of Haringey, Southwark, Brent, Hackney and Lambeth.

"The kids were liking it so much one ended up stealing the [distribution] guy's bag," said Trevor Robinson, the managing director of Quiet Storm.

Definitely a different idea. I'm not sure whether it's a good idea though in reinforcing that it's ok to steal.

[ :: adgruntie :: On the verge of more clutter ]

+ More ad clutter ahead, maybe.

In the meantime, marketers are rushing to develop things like "MicroPOP Tags" - video screens the size of postage stamps that fit onto the grocery shelf under, say, the canned peas. With MicroPOP screens, made by a company called Solaris Labs, you could see a gorgeous model caressing Brand X peas where you'd normally just see the price.

After all, says Solaris co-founder David McKie, doesn't it make sense to run an ad right where the shopper can buy the product? His miniscreens - actually light-emitting diodes - also can be affixed to clerks' name tags, so the clerks walk around with commercials featuring pea-sotted sexpots on their aprons. Oy.

Alas, these screens are just the tip of the ad-berg. At an expo of in-store marketing marvels at the Javits Center last week, you could also find what looked like a display of normal shoes. But pick up a Michael Vick sneaker and suddenly Vick sneakers appeared on the screen in front of you. Pick up a different sneak and its ad appeared, thanks to tiny chips embedded in each shoe.

Gah. I seriously hope this doesn't catch on. The article states that this was tried out at a large German supermarket chain but that people protested so much that they were forced to get rid of it.

All this will do is create more cluttler and less effectiveness of advertising. Filling every second of consumer's lives with ads is not going to get the message through to them any better than well crafted, intelligently targeting ads.
Saturday, December 11, 2004
[ :: adgruntie :: Interview, free stuff, and more stupidity ]

+ Interview with Ben Colarossi, creator of "Where's the Beef?", "Takes a licking and keeps on ticking", "I want to buy the world a Coke", and more.

+ Like free stuff? Head over to AdLand for a chance to win a CA 2004 Ad Annual and a set of booksmarts123 by the folks over at 86 the Onions.

+ Why the hell would you want to get paid for the work you create, when you could win a free dinner instead? Apparently some "genius" at Forbes.com seems to think it's a good idea. I really hope no agency responded to their request to enter this stupid "competition". It'd be one thing if they sent this to ad students, but it's an even lower blow to be sending it to ad agencies.

So ad folk are not trusted by the public and also not respected by the companies and people they do work for. How loverly. *sigh*
Wednesday, December 08, 2004
[ :: adgruntie :: Dumbest thing I ever heard ]

+ AdLand reports on what has to be the dumbest thing I've heard all year- and I live in America!

All you illustrators and photographers and reps who know a thing or two about copyrights might be interested to read Calacanis : Dealing with the photo copyright issue on blogs, where it seems there's a new idea forming - posting images without permission is OK as long as they are small?? Please help me out here, am I reading this right? Fair use? Has the world gone mad!?

Looks like it. I can't believe that someone would think that size would make a difference- although as one of the commentators to the article points out- only a guy would think that size matters. ;)

[ :: adgruntie :: Everyone distrusts advertising ]

+Gallup's annual survey of US professions is in. And yet again, advertisers/people in advertising were just one point above car salesman. That's second to last for honesty and ethics...and that's rather sad.

I can't understand why advertising has to rank so low. There are some good things that advertising can do for the general public- make them aware of new products/services that can help them out. It's not all about deception and WOM and influencers and all the other garbage that so many seem to think is necessary.

It's clear that most people don't like to be lied to. And if you're going down the path of non-transparent viral/WOM, product placement, paid placements in editorial or any other type of "new" ways to try to get people's attention you're just going to end up having them get angry and hate you and your product. I can't think of any company that would want that. It's not good for the bottom line.

So what do we need to do in order to make a change?
Be honest. There's no shame in it. It's not going to hurt. Respecting potential and current customers is a good thing. In fact it might actually benefit you.
Be creative. It's not really as dirty a word as most would like to have you believe. Surprisingly enough, it might actually get people to pay attention to what you have to say so you won't have to dupe them into it.

[ :: adgruntie :: Odds and sods ]

+Fast Company article on the 6 myths of creativity.

...when people are doing work that they love and they're allowed to deeply engage in it -- and when the work itself is valued and recognized -- then creativity will flourish. Even in tough times.

Couldn't agree more.

+ Philips Electronics aims for simplicity in latest campaign.

+ MacPherson Men launches new campaign in the same style of the controversial MacPherson Intimates campaign. Photography by Max Doyle and concept by The Glue Society.

The flash photography style of the campaign coupled with the night time setting is designed to draw the viewer in and allow them a brief glimpse of a private moment. Each image shows a male caught unaware and engaged in some form of nocturnal activity, with some caught in more compromising positions than others. Consistently daring, the images have a real underground appeal.

+ "Virgin birth" contraceptive ad withdrawn in the UK. The ads were running on the Underground in London.

+ Texturl takes a look at the recent spoof ads for Bud vs Miller and NetZero vs AOL.

+ Russell Davies rants on creativity and ad agencies.

Business is crying out for creativity, for business partners who are different and interesting. Not like them. And the last 10 years of advertising industry thinking seems to have been about proving that we are just like them. We're just another big business. This seems counter-productive and short-sighted to me.

Yes, I agree. Ad agencies need to stop pandering so much to clients. Perhaps if clients saw the effect to the bottom line of brands that have recently taken a more creative approach instead of looking for safe and me-too solutions, just maybe they'd be more inclined to embrace creativity instead of seeing it as a dirty, blasphemous sort of thing.
Tuesday, December 07, 2004
[ :: adgruntie:: Ad stuff and controversy ]

+ Mark Wnek on Mother and Boots. Here's a bit from the end:

Meanwhile, each new government spokesperson or 74 stone housewife I hear blaming advertising for sundry ills reminds me of the favourite closing statement of criminals and vagabonds at the Old Bailey since time immemorial: "Society's to blame!"

That's not to say that I fail to recognise the need for advertising to be legal, decent, honest and truthful. I also believe advertising has environmental responsibilities. Particularly posters, which are often as big as buildings, but not subject to anything like the same environmental restrictions. All of which is fine if the poster is beautifully crafted and enhances the environment, but not if, as is usually the case, it's a giant packshot and money off and logo and website address infested eyesore. I will be getting together with Mayor Ken as soon as I can to see what he thinks of my idea of setting up a panel with the power to vet and exclude poster advertising in Greater London on aesthetic grounds. In the meantime, my Campaign Against Communications Atrocities (Caca) is busy building its website at www.caca.org.uk.

Unfortuantely there is nothing up at that site yet- just redirects to a web hosting page. I love the name though. I'll have to keep an eye on that to see what they put up.

+ Justin Kirby on a rant about word of mouth marketing at AdLand, and Dabitch gives us some info on Bzzagent doing everything wrong. Looks like some controversy is a-brewin'.

[ :: adgruntie :: Creative in UK vs US ]

+ The difference between UK and US advertising. Apparently one of the fundamental differences is how "creativity" is viewed. In the US creativity means "edgy" while in the UK it has retained more of it's original meaning- and doesn't have a negative connotations to clients. Here's an excerpt from the article:

Viewed from commercial America, British advertising looks like something bent out of shape by a culture so consumed with embarrassment it can't look a salesman in the eye when he's making a pitch, particularly if that pitch is laden shoulder high with emotion - love of country, family or God. From a mainstream US perspective our quirky elliptical leave-them-guessing advertising approach is kind of charming, but kind of unworkable too in America, with its fragmented audiences and ethnicities, its raging sensitivities and, above all, its huge risks. American advertising is risk averse because there's so much at stake with those huge clients and their mega-spends. It means everything is researched to death so all backs are covered.

The style and culture of advertising agencies themselves - and particularly the giant Madison Avenue houses - are very different too. There's size for a start. A major like Ogilvy and Mather will have 3,000-plus people working in its New York office. At that scale the whole thing has to be run in a very grown-up way, and the "suits" (client handlers) dress very sensibly indeed. It's more ... businesslike. Everything seems older too. The big agencies have senior statesmen who are practically Blake Carrington, whereas we know that in London agencies the over-50s are quietly defenestrated in favour of children with spiked hair and drop-crotch jeans.

In the US giant agencies things work differently. The client is God for a start. You work with him; you get to know his business and you give good meeting, meetings at which consensus is reached to an almost Japanese degree. It is very process driven.

In Britain, everything, but everything is secondary to the creative work. Its authors, 32 going on 10, are often considered too difficult and sensitive to talk about it to grown-ups, however, so they have to be represented by the suits. And the work, oh the work. I have to admit here to a mean-spirited little British pleasure here. When I'm in the piss-elegant marbly glories of a US provincial city's best-hotel-in-town I channel hop the TV into the middle of the night, looking for the kitschiest, klutziest, krankiest programming and advertising. To a British eye a lot of US advertising still looks and sounds astonishingly old-fashioned - even 1970s-ish - and formulaic. And a lot still appeals straight to the emotions in a way that has you feeling, like Oscar Wilde on the death of Little Nell, that you'd have to have a heart of stone not to laugh.

I'd say this is definitely worth a read. Some interesting points are made and it brings up some questions for American ad agencies to ponder.
Since starting on my advertising career path, I have always been in awe of the creativity that seems to come out of UK agencies. There's something that they seem to have their finger on that American agencies seem to stay away from for the most part. And even more strangely, when you see those "Best Ads You've Never Seen" specials airing, everyone seems to love the UK creative. But yet, we still don't seem to have much of their creativity in the ads that air on a regular basis here. Quite a shame really.
Sunday, December 05, 2004
[ :: adgruntie :: Knickers in a twist- will it be banned? ]

+ Brits and Comedy.

+ The Lovable lingerie brand launched its bid for the December dollar last Friday, erecting a provocative billboard over the Anzac Bridge.

The hoarding shows an underwear-clad model reclining beneath the tagline: "Come Dasher, come Dancer, come Dave, come John ..."

The convener of the Women's Electoral Lobby, Sarah Maddison, said the perceived play on the word "come" was "offensive and denigrating", and called for tighter regulations on open-air advertising. "People have no say over what information they consume in billboards, so why can't we have the same classifications that we have for movies? Why can't we insist billboards have a G rating?" she asked.

Lovable's marketing manager, Dianne Taylor, said the ad was "merely sexy, not sexist - just a bit of cheeky fun, and really just about empowering the female. It's a come-hither attitude we're capturing. Every second supermodel or celebrity has an underwear line - it's the latest fashionable thing. It's a tough market. You need to be edgy and stay relevant."

The ad was created at George Patterson Bates ad agency by a team of women.

[ :: adgruntie :: Absolute bullflop ]

+ CBS & NBC claim all-inclusive United Church of Christ ad is "too controversial." The ad shows very very briefly, two men holding hands who are denied entrance to a church. If this is what the controversy is all about then this is very sad indeed.

Ronnquist said she feels as though Americans are losing the freedom of the press.

"The media is now owned by the Bush administration," she said, referring to President Bush’s call for a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage.

According to wire service Knight Ridder, spokespersons for both CBS and NBC cited long-standing policies against accepting what is known as issue advertising.

The church received a written explanation from CBS, which said the ad is unacceptable because it challenges the exclusion of minorities by other institutions and because "the executive branch (the Bush administration) has recently proposed a constitutional amendment to define marriage as a union between a man and a woman," according to Knight Ridder.

Now that *is* disturbing. There is nothing in the ad that claims that these two men are "married" or in any kind of civil union. Just because they are holding hands??? Give me a fucking break here. If the stations want to claim it is "issue advertising" (whatever that means- since it seems to be a very loosely defined thing and easily open to the stations individual interpretations at least of late), then let it be that. The fact that they go on to say that it has to do with the same-sex marriage issue is appalling.

The ad will air on less moronic stations with a mix of broadcast and cable networks, including ABC Family, AMC, BET, Discovery, Fox, Hallmark, History, Nick@Nite, TBS, TNT, Travel and TV Land. Good for them.

If you want to see the ad, it can be viewed at stillspeaking.com.
Thursday, December 02, 2004
[ :: adgruntie :: Ad news from Scotland and Tanzania ]

+ The state of advertising in Scotland is looking good. Here's an excerpt:

The industry has also received an added boost from the Scottish Executive increasing their advertising spend and keeping many of their accounts in Scotland. Last year alone, the Executive spent more on advertising than some of the biggest household name companies - including Ford, BT and Nestlé. Its total spend went up to £6 million, helping the Scottish industry to start emerging from a two-year slump, although the threat of accounts moving south remains. Despite the loss of multi-million pound accounts such as the Royal Bank of Scotland, Kwik-Fit and Intelligent Finance to London agencies, advertising agencies are positive about the years ahead. Ian McAteer, chairman of the Scottish Institute of Practitioners in Advertising, says the industry is in a healthier state than two years ago: "In Scotland, there is certainly a feeling that we have weathered the storm," he says. "There were redundancies as agencies slimmed down and cut costs, but new firms have emerged. We need to capitalise on the upswing, but there is concern about the drip-drip of accounts to London and threats from pressure groups calling for bans on alcohol, food and toy advertising for children."

+ Telkom ad in Tanzania banned for being too realistic.

Telkom has misled consumers. This is according to the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), which yesterday ruled against the telecommunications giant, and instructed it to withdraw its advertisement entitled "Surgery".
The ad, created by Herdbuoys McCann-Erickson, raised the ire of several consumers in November, when they discovered that it was not a true tale. Six of these consumers complained to the ASA, on the grounds that the ad misled consumers into believing that the events portrayed in the ad had actually taken place....
The ad in question tells the story of "Juma" a Tanzanian boy who has "just turned six". The commercial explains that this would not have been possible had it not been for "the emergency operation, performed by Cape Town heart surgeon Dr Anton Louw". It concludes that "the real miracle is that Juma and Anton were three thousand miles apart, thanks to ISDN technology".
At the end of the commercial the payoff line "Touch Tomorrow" appears on the screen and a voiceover states: "From telephones to distant surgery, and this is just the beginning".
The truth of the matter, however, is that that there is no ISDN technology available in Tanzania, nor has remote surgery ever been performed in South Africa. The Telkom tale is just that - a tale.
But Telkom and its advertising agency believe that they never claimed otherwise. Said creative director on the project John Smeddle: "The ad makes no product claims. It’s a corporate ad, demonstrating the culture behind Telkom, not its capabilities. It tells a story about the company, and how it thinks. It tells a story about what is possible, what could be possible in this country, with the help of a company like Telkom and the technology it has at its disposal.”
It's Smeddle's contention that the payoff line "Touch Tomorrow" encapsulates the future orientation of the ad.
Unfortunately for Smeddle and his team, however, the ASA doesn't share this view.
"The commercial tells the story in a manner that could be likened to a documentary," says the ruling.