Archive for iunie 2006

Advertising: Fresh chickens

When one has no advertising idea to make the tagline work (chickens so fresh they look alive), take a kid and make him look stupid because he can't tell if a chicken from a grocery store display is dead or alive.

I believe that every client gets the agency that it deserves.

Leave a comment

Advertising: FIELDVERTISING




Pretty crazy but, this works perfectly next to airports where people already see the advertising from far up.
Created by Artfield, a german company shaping agricultural land into art but also advertising, using only natural colours and elements.

Leave a comment

Et cetera: Nike vs Adidas vs .......

The World Cup is more than just the global championship of soccer — it’s the quadrennial armageddon that pits Nike against Adidas for the ultimate prize: billions of dollars in soccer-gear sales.
After the group stage and the first elimination stage, Adidas is in front. The german sponsor has three teams in the competition (Argentina, Germany, France), while Nike has only two teams still in contention (Brazil and Portugal). The other teams battling for a place in the semi-finals wear different stripes. Puma for Italy, Umbro for England and Lotto for Ukraine.

So which brand is going to win the World Cup? My money is on England, although I am a very big brazilian fan. Wouldn't be great for Umbro to win the battle between Adidas and Nike?

Leave a comment

Advertising: Learn english





Excellent use of illustrations!
Another great work from Ogilvy Budapest for British Council Budapest

Thanks Dalbir

Leave a comment

Planning: the difference between an understanding and an insight

It's easier to list the understandings you can glean from data than it is to arrive at an insight.

An understanding is a rational interpretation of data - the WHY behind people's actions and words. So, for example, if 78 per cent of people surveyed say that their health is one of the most important issues for them and 71 per cent say they worry about whether the food they eat is good for them, your understanding might be that people see healthy food as playing an important role in a healthy lifestyle.

However, if you also know that 63 per cent of people feel they don't have time to cook a healthy meal in the evening, your insight might be "people want an evening meal that is healthy but quick to prepare".

Listen for the ringing of bells!
A good way to test whether you have found an insight rather than an understanding is to see what reaction your finding provokes in your target audience. If it rings bells, people nod when they hear it and it provokes a strong response, then you have probably found an insight.

5 Comments

Advertising: Italian style applied to beer




Homage to the 1960's movie 'La Dolce Vita'. You can't taste life if you rush it. That's what the Italians say. Relax, sit back and savour the "Dolce vita". Pero, con moderazione :D

Digital agency Mook produced the site in collaboration with creative agency The Bank and Nastro Azzurro's PR agency, Gabrielle Shaw Communications.

Leave a comment

Naming: Heroin



Did you know that heroin was a name registered by Friedrich Bayer & Co. for their morphine substitute in 1898?

2 Comments

Advertising: "I like words too much"

As I said before, I am a great fan of long copy.
Following, there is an interview with Neil French, from Taschen Magazine, summer 2006 edition. He is one of the greats as far as long copy goes.

T: You always talk about the importance of copy.When you are flicking through a magazine, for example, you see a lot of images, and you keep flicking. Should a good ad be like a good book that you don't want to stop reading?

NF: Well, the short answer is yes, of course. But while you're flicking, you need an art-director to make you stop flicking and start reading! Only then can you concentrate on making the copy work. There's one recent ad I wrote that many people have asked for reprints of; it's on walls of copywriters' offices all over the world...if not on the walls of art-directors. The headline is "Nobody reads long copy anymore. Here's why." And of course there are columns of copy. Basically what it says is that if you can write interestingly then people will read. And if they don't, it's your fault for not being interesting.

T: Would you say something about advertising today?

NF: I don't think it has changed that much since I started. It was like being an apprentice, so when I started I looked at all the stuff that had been done before. But I think I was the first bloke to do an ad which was entirely copy. No picture at all. No, actually there was one before. The first one was written by an American chap and I think it was written for Cadillac in the 1930s or something. No picture, just text. I loved that. I fell in love with it. For years I carried it around in a folder with me to remind me what the masters do. It was the Mona Lisa of copywriting.However, in those days most ads were headline, picture copy and logo. Certainly, when Helmut Krone was the kingpin of the art directors and everything was in three columns, that became the way to do it. Just recently the whole genre has changed. I think Marcello Serpa's agency changed everything. He is a really clever guy. He realized that he was not going to win a huge amount of awards at Cannes with Brazilian ads because nobody else reads Brazilian except the Portuguese. His flight of genius was not to do any words at all. No headline, no nothing. Just a picture, and astounding picture and a logo on the bottom right. He invented that, and everyone all over the world just slavishly copied the style, without understanding the genius of the original reason!

T: And what about your way of doing ads?

NF: I like words too much. I'm just not a visual person. So I started by writing copy, trying to copy other copywriters. I copied Bill Bernbach for a while, unsuccessfully of course. I copied David Ogilvy for a while, unsuccessfully of course. Then at some period I found my own voice and then I was all right. I still prefer long copy. Let's say you have ten people and you show them a nice big picture ad with the logo in the bottom right hand corner and see what happens.Well, eight of them at least will look at it before flicking. Two of them might look at it a bit longer, but there is nothing else they CAN do but look at it. You can't do anything else. Now, if it's a long copy ad, and if it's good copy, eight of them will still just look and flick. But maybe one of them will read the first paragraph before he flicks. And only one out of ten is going to start, and enjoy it, and get through to the end. But him I've got. I own his soul for five minutes, or whatever. Now I'd rather have one person completely sold on my product, than ten who vaguely remember it. For me that is power.

T: Is it hard to get copy-ads approved these days by big clients?

NF: I have been really lucky because I have a reputation in Asia and the clients tend to call me personally and say "can you do us some ads, Neil?"If I had to go and get them on cold call I would starve. In fact, in the WPP Annual there is only one copy-only ad... and that is because the client called up and said he wanted one. It was great fun, because when they asked me I said he doesn't need a long copy ad.What he sold was sold totally on the basis of price. His product is cheaper than any competitor's and as good as them all.We have had the client for a long time. It is a hugely successful, nofrills airline in Asia. How difficult is it to say "Everybody else 500 dollars, us 50 dollars"? It doesn't take creativity to say that. Anyway the client said,"No, you misunderstand me,Neil. I want a long copy ad." And I said,"No, you don't need one." And he said,"Let me put it another way. Write me a long copy ad.""Ah. I see. Right. OK." It was a tough job. I sat there forever throwing bits of paper into the bin. Bad idea. Bad idea. Bad idea. And then I found a way in. I am not sure if it is a great way in, but it an amusing way in. And I wrote it, and he liked it, and it ran. I personally doubt that it put another bum on a seat, but I think the point was made and I think he just wanted to prove that you can make a long copy for a cut-price product. And he enjoyed bullying me!

T: So if you have a good idea you keep the client.

NF: If you can get the client enthusiastic about his own advertising that is fantastic. You know, clients are not always stupid. They frequently come up with good ideas themselves and I am happy to go along with that. If a client has a good idea I will say,"Oh, yes!", and steal it, and get an award, and keep the award, and give the client no credit whatsoever!T: You write things for all kinds of clients. Do you think it is better to do a worldwide campaign?NF: No, not really. I wish it were, because wouldn't it be wonderful to deal with the people who approved the new Honda ad, for example? I guess it is worldwide now and I would have loved to have done that. But I am not that good, I could never have done it. Everyone would love to see their advertising worldwide. I think there is only one campaign I have ever done which went worldwide and that was for the United Bank of Switzerland. Generally speaking, I tend to do everything on a local level. I have done campaigns in Brazil for Brazilians, in Mexico for Mexicans, in Spain for the Spanish and in Singapore for the Singaporeans. All over, but very rarely does it go more than regional.

T: Does it have to do with specific and more personalized solutions? Is it also a fact that locals can usually find a better way to tell a story?

NF: Yes, and also that I am a disbeliever in global answers. I think people are so similar, and so different. Actually we are more similar than we are different, Look at a row of people from all over the world and there will be a slight change in colour, a small change in shape, but that is about it really. All the rest is the same. All the buttons that make them work are the same. But in order to get there, that is where culture comes in. That is where the different cultures operate on a different level. So for Singaporeans the way to the heart is entirely different than that for Brazilians. Germans are very different to even the Spaniards. Or the Japanese to the Americans. Talk about poles apart. They are planets apart. And that is what interests me. I know where we have to get to. It's the road that's interesting.

T: One would think that if you have a worldwide account you can solve a bigger problem easier, but in the end it might be nice also to have the pleasure to solve everything possible around you.

NF: I find it very much more interesting to be able to go into a town and listen to people talking about my ads. Very rarely are they talking about a worldwide campaign. Who remembers the name of the person who invented the Marlboro cowboy? Somebody invented him. It is a worldwide campaign, probably the greatest ever written, but nobody knows who did it. Buried. It is kind of sad. Who wrote "Just do it"? Who did the design for it, the swoosh? I know, but I bet not one in a thousand advertising people know. Not one in several million ordinary people. So I like the applause, I like the adulation. I am not kidding you here. It would be foolish and stupid to say I didn't like it. And you just don't get it from worldwide accounts. You might get a lot of money for your agency, but you don't get famous. Creative people don't get rich doing worldwide campaigns. Sad, but true. Because you are so powerful, they burry you quickly. It's true. I mean, who wrote "It's the real thing" for Coke? Nobody knows. It went worldwide. Somebody wrote it. Why aren't they super famous, after all it's one of those campaigns that changed the brand. But no.

T: What is your view on advertising as a selling tool?

NF: Yes. Well, when I grew up in this business there was no such thing as interactive television. Interactive television is probably the only truly direct response, where you can press a button and buy a product. That is real direct sale. It always amuses me when people say this is a direct sale ad. And I say, "So what is an indirect selling ad?"

Leave a comment

Advertising: Big Ad


Gold winner

Name: BIG AD

Client: FOSTER'S AUSTRALIA

Brand: CARLTON DRAUGHT BEER

Agency: GEORGE PATTERSON Y&R AUSTRALIA



Leave a comment

Advertising: Tate-Create your own collection





This campaign just won the Outdoor Grand Prix at the Cannes Lions. I love it! It proofs, yet again, that long copy works if written in an engaging manner. People read. Especially interesting stories.

Leave a comment

Advertising: Adidas-Jose +10




Football as fantasy.

Adidas understands as few others have that football is about dreams for over a billion fans worldwide. It gives these ordinary people an outlet for their imagination. Few of them will ever get to play in a World Cup and even fewer will become legends, but every single one of these boys and girls will be transported from the reality of their lives by the fantasy of the beautiful game. This spot does an amazing job of recreating that sense of possibility that Jose feels as a young boy in a tough neighborhood.

It shows the power of soccer to transform.

Vale!

Leave a comment

Planning: Do-it-yourself opera



If you’ve got a passion for opera, you no longer need to limit yourself to the schedules of the hushed halls of La Scala or Covent Garden to hear your favourite stars or arias.
“La Traviata” in your garden, with a professional cast of 20, costumes, stage and pianist, starts at around $10,000, not including travel costs. Bagging today’s hot soprano will cost between $15,000 to $25,000, depending on the event. Getting Luciano Pavarotti for your party might be dicey, but a good lead-time, a cheque for $30,000 and a fully stocked fridge would certainly put you in the running.

This is opera. So it’s not all about money and space; it’s also about the thrill of finding yourself two rows back from Don Giovanni as he descends into Hell.
And the singers are enthusiastic about DIY opera. "Whether you are organising a corporate function, dinner, cocktail party, intimate soiree or a stadium event, you can sit back, relax and enjoy your evening knowing that success is guaranteed with the Diamond Divas."

via economist

Leave a comment

Advertising: Thong



Client: TRIUMPH INTERNATIONAL
Agency: SPRINGER & JACOBY AUSTRIA
Bronze at Eurobest

Very clever use of the medium.
Simplicity in an complicated world.

Leave a comment

Et cetera: Who is the coolest footballer ever?



At the start of the World Cup, Cool Hunting asked who was the coolest footballer ever. They got loads of entries from all over the world, ranging from the sublime to the ridiculous. There were plenty of votes for Pele, and while he is one of the greatest players ever, some of his fellow countrymen beat him in the cool stakes.

The coolest footballer ever is Brazil's Sócrates Brasileiro Sampaio de Souza Vieira de Oliveira, more simply known as Sócrates: "For the name, the beard, the shorts and the chain smoking for the few occasions he was actually on the bench--a jinga de verdade, (loosely translated as a truly elegant player)."
He was also his country's incredibly elegant captain, wore a headband like no other, and was a qualified medical doctor. Too cool.

Leave a comment

Branding: Why are people loyal?

It is relatively easy to come up with a number of different reasons why people are loyal to something, whether another person, a product or a brand. Here are a number of common reasons:

  • the object satisfies a physical or virtual need no other object can satisfy
  • the object satisfies a physical need in a different way to other objects
  • it is to the customer's advantage
  • the object satisfies a psychological need

But true loyalty goes beyond rationality and businesslike matter-of-factness. One thing in particular separates successful loyalty schemes and programs from those less successful. And this is by no means always to do with money or type of product.

It is in fact sincerity. Just as true love cannot be bought, neither can customer's loyalty. Sometimes consumers let themselves be taken in for a while, or choose momentarily to suppress their feelings and instead make purchases based upon what are perceived to be the most rational reasons.

However, sooner or later they can no longer hold out against their feelings. Eventually they will decide no to select a brand they no longer want to be associated with, no matter how good the product or how attractive the brochures the company may produce. Most advertisements and brochures have been carefully designed and they have gone through several approval stages before they reach the customer. Anything controversial is removed, all errors are corrected. Only correctness remains. Devoid of any personality.

Without a heart and true commitment there is a great danger that it will all be perceived as a marketing gimmick which will be weighed and found wanting, regardless of how elegantly it may or may not be designed. Commitment and openness are not sufficient by themselves. The aim must be to create a personal dialogue which will be comparable to the dialogue that was known from the "old-fashioned village store"- a dialogue characterized by intimacy and knowledge.

Leave a comment

Advertising: English fo Beginners



Brand: British Council Budapest
Agency: Ogilvy Budapest
Art Directors: Gyorgy Varszegi/Dalbir Singh
Copywriter: Satbir Singh

Beautiful. Just plain old beautiful.

Leave a comment

Branding: Top 20 Mistakes Marketers Make When Rebranding

Smart marketers evolve their brands over time to keep them relevant. Some do it well, while others become the target of cynical bloggers. To gear your next rebrand for success, sidestep these all-too-common mistakes:

1. Clinging to history
2. Thinking the brand is the logo, stationery or corporate colors
3. Navigating without a plan
4. Refusing to hire a branding consultant without industry experience
5. Not leveraging existing brand equity and goodwill
6. Not trying on your customer’s shoes
7. The rebrand lacks credibility or is a superficial facelift
8. Limiting the influence of branding partners
9. Believing rebranding costs too much
10. Not planning ahead for adaptation
11. Bypassing the basics
12. Not calling the call center
13. Forgetting that people don’t do what they say. (They do what they do)
14. Getting strong-armed or intimidated by consultants
15. Putting the wrong person in charge
16. Strategy by committee
17. Rebranding without research
18. Basing a rebrand on advertising
19. Tunnel focus
20. Believing you’re too small to rebrand

Details and how to avoid them on ReBrand resources site.

via dexigner

Leave a comment

Advertising: Adidas Fresco





TBWA Berlin painted the ceilling of the Cologne Hauptbahnhof.
The 800 sqm art work, features the Adidas football players and is reminiscent of the sistine chapel.

Pretty cool.

1 Comment

Branding: Redesign of Design Observer



The designer of the type used in the logo, Gotham, is Tobias Frere-Jones.
They have also joined The Deck, a leading advertising network of blogs.

Leave a comment

Naming: How Brazilian soccer players get their names

Brazil's affinity for nicknames might stem from the country's historically high illiteracy rate. As such, shortened spoken names are typically used more often than longer birth names. In Brazilian society, the use of a first name or nickname is a mark of intimacy. It's also often a class signifier. Lula (the country president's nickname), for one, is known for his working-class roots.

More here

Leave a comment

Advertising: Love Life






A sleek and thoughtful campaign, targeted at Switzerland, which deals with the serious issue of the dangers of unprotected sex, uses two fast paced and poignant TVCs relating their tagline “No Action without protection” to the very physical sports of Fencing, Ice Hockey and Motorcycle racing. With all participants completely naked.
The Love Life website features some more fun and quirky sections. Check out the Love Lips section and send someone sexy message through a sultry speaking condom.

Leave a comment

Planning: Blunders in consumer insights

Taking consumer comments literally
We all know by now that consumers are apt to say one thing and do another

Investigating just our brand, rather than the larger worlds of activity
One of the most common refrains we hear in this business is "Just tell us about our brand!"

Driving methodologies rather than findings
Often when our telephone rings, the client on the other end will simply say he or she needs a quantitative survey. Why is this a blunder? Seems innocent enough. The reason is because all too often we consider the methodology before we consider the question we want answered

Pre-determining the target audience of a survey tool that is to determine target audience
It's such an easy trap to fall into

Inflating the sample to increase objectivity
We all do it

Letting those in positions of authority ask the questions
Never let those in positions of power have any control over the nature, direction or type of questions being asked

Believing consumers' emotions are easily measurable
Many companies interested in understanding the emotional component of their brand make the mistake of assuming consumers can express or communicate their emotions with language--be it written or verbal

Leaving consumer insights for the end
The most insightful consumer research requires a great deal more patience than many marketers and brand managers are willing or have time to give


Leave a comment

Branding: How are brands built?

It’s a mistake to think that advertising builds the brand. Most of my clients do.
Advertising only calls attention to the brand; it might even create brand interest and brand talk.
Brands are built holistically, through the orchestration of a variety of tools,
including advertising, public relations (PR), sponsorships, events, social causes, clubs, spokespersons, and so on.

The real challenge is not in placing an ad but to get the media
talking about the brand.

As David Ogilvy put it best:

“Any damn fool can put on a deal, but it takes genius,
faith and perseverance to create a brand.”

Leave a comment

Advertising: The art of traveling





Brand: Jeep Grand Cherokee GPS
Agency: Contrapunto Madrid
Bronze at Epica Awards

The use of the iconic arrow is beautiful and inventive.

4 Comments

Advertising: Becel margarine

30 second ad for Becel Margarine.

It received the highest ranking of any commercial featured in the Hard Sell section of Canada's Globe and Mail.

Written and directed by Tim Piper and co-art directed with Mike Kirkland.

Leave a comment

Advertising: Attention

Information doesn't seem to be in short supply, nowadays. Precisely the opposite.
We're drowning in it.
The only factor becoming scarce in this world of abundance is human attention.
I believe that in the years to come, our attention will have a very high value.

In order to get the attention we need to practice an attention economy.
Build attention traps. Create value by manipulating the ruling attention structures.
Judo, not brute force, gets the best results.
Draw your inspiration from your audience not your muse.
And keep in touch with that audience. The customer is always right.

Leave a comment

Et cetera: The World Cup in numbers

The World Cup is about to start!
So here are some interesting numbers about de competition

1930: First World Cup 0: number of African teams involved then
51: African sides at the start of qualifiers for 2006
5: places reserved in finals for African teams
51: European teams at the start of qualifiers
13: places reserved for European teams . . .
23: players in each squad
0: Italian World Cup players based outside Italy . . .
1: Ivory Coast players not based in Europe . . .
6: Trinidad and Tobago World Cup players based in Scotland
16: World Cup players (all nationalities) based at Chelsea
40: percentage of US footballers who are women . . .
50: percentage of Women's World Cup competitions won by US
£20m: annual earnings of Ronaldinho
£19m: annual earnings of whole Australian team
9: games played by Australia to qualify . . .
26: games played by Trinidad and Tobago to qualify
4: Dutch managers at the World Cup . . .
4: Brazilian managers at the World Cup . . .
0: English managers at the World Cup . . . ?!?!
6: teams from the southern hemisphere
£676,000: average income of players in English Premiership
£900: average income in Togo
100,000: England fans expected to travel to Germany . . .
4,000: tickets allocated to England fans for England v Trinidad and Tobago
314m: average number of TV viewers per match in 2002

1 Comment
Un produs Blogger.

Search

Swedish Greys - a WordPress theme from Nordic Themepark. Converted by LiteThemes.com.