Yummy

Everyone's talking about the new Skoda Fabia ad, the one where the car is made out of cake. The soundtrack is 'My favourite things' from the Sound of Music, and the slogan is 'Full of lovely stuff'.

www.newfabia.co.uk Go to Baking Of > View the Ad

It's a great example of a USP (Unique Selling Proposition), and something we can all learn from.

Cars are full of features – wheels, chassis, engine, windscreen wipers, lights... But car ads don't try to tell us how wonderful each of these features may be. Instead, good car ads choose one benefit, and turn it into a feeling.

Skoda – I want a taste!

The sincerest form of flattery

OK, I admit it. I can't resist joining in with the Becks 'Do the Dance' ad.

It's not as easy as it looks! But at least the product, the words and the visuals are related to each other, as there are: "Only ever 4 steps."

I don't mind that it reminds me of the Guinness 'Anticipation' ad. I can still hear the music now: "Der de, d der de, d der de, d der de, ddddd der de, de der de, de der de, d." A lot of people tried that dance too!

That ad also relates to the product, because the guy dances around the giant pint while he waits for his Guinness to settle. Recently updated for Guinness Extra Cold.

And I remember the fuss about the original version when it first aired in 1995, because the agency was accused of infringing copyright. The claim failed. But, as I wrote yesterday, there are no really new ideas under the sun.

An Outbreak of Cubism

I saw a new TV ad last night, featuring a big cube draped in red satin being flown over the city.

"Ooh," I thought, "A new ad for Abbey!"

No – it was a new ad for IBM. But Abbey have been using a big red cube in their ads for ages!

And it was followed immediately by the B&Q ad. Featuring a big orange cube.

Just goes to show, there's no such thing as an original idea.

Fancy an e?

I've just been re-reading e by Matt Beaumont – 'the novel of liars, lunch and lost knickers'.

Via a series of emails, it tells the inside workings of an ad agency. As it says on the back cover, 'a tapestry of insincerity, backstabbing and bare-faced bitchiness – just everyday office politics.'

Brilliant book! Unputdownable!

It reminds me of when I was 19, and was accepted at Watford College to do a copywriting course. The letter they sent me said, 'Although you might be too diffident for the advertising industry, you clearly have talent so we are offering you a place.'

I chose to train as a journalist instead, and ended up as a marketing copywriter. Reading this book makes me glad I did!

You can get it here.

"I like pumping"

I like to watch Loose Women during my lunch break – it's sponsored by Café Switch. Trouble is, I don't know what that is! And the ad doesn't make it clear.

It features fingertips with painted nails and added hairpieces, pumping on a pair of plastic pods.

Very strange.

To me, it's important to write from the point of view of the customer. So I hate it when an ad assumes a level of knowledge which I don't have!

Unless it's a deliberate 'tease' to make me find out more...

So I Googled their website. Turns out it's a coffee drink which you make frothy by first pumping the squishy pods with your thumbs then tearing open the lid and folding the pods in half to pour the contents into a drinking vessel before adding water.

Sounds complicated?

Even more reason for the ad to be simpler.

I Love Dove

Many women compare themselves with the images they see in the media, and feel bad if they can't live up to the level of 'beauty' that is commonly presented.

But one company is challenging the trend, by using 'real' women in their ads.

I showed the Dove 'Evolution' film to a couple of teenagers, to prove that all is not what it seems. Their jaws dropped! And they demanded to watch it again and again (and again).

I'm on a mission to share the film with as many people as possible. So if you haven't already seen it, click the link below and prepare to be amazed.

Evolution

Oh, and buy some Dove products too. They deserve it.

What's in a name?

I have an IT client whose company name comprises 4 initials. It's hard to remember as it's hard to connect any meaning
to them. I solved the problem by designing a logo using each initial as a 3D 'key' from a keyboard, and by writing a range of quirky headlines starting with those 4 letters.

The HSA is currently running a series of ads that address the same problem in a similar way.

Scene 1: Woman stroking donkey
Copy: 'Housewife Shakes Ass'

Scene 2: HSA Logo
Copy: Healthplans Simple Affordable

A great example of How to Sell with Acronyms!

How to p*ss off your most loyal customers, in one easy lesson.

Have you seen the latest Mitchell and Webb ads for Apple Mac computers?

Most of them are, well, quite cool I suppose. Amusing. Irreverant. And no doubt that's the effect Apple was aiming for.

But there is one ad that states, 'PC for the office, Apple for the home'.

Now, while less than 10% of the world's computers may be Apples, it's over 90% in the design industry. And we design professionals don't like being taken less seriously than other businesses!

Apple: that ad is rotten.

"Don't worry, you have not got cancer."

That was in a doctor's letter sent to me some years ago after a routine test.

WHHAAATTTT!

I didn't even know they were testing for cancer!!! Suddenly, I was worried about something that I hadn't been worrying about at all before.

The current slogan being used in the ad campaign for Dolland & Aitchison opticians reminds me of that letter.

They state, "We promise to treat you like a person, not a sausage".

Until I saw that, I didn't know that other opticicans do treat people like sausages. Presumably that's what D&A research uncovered, but I must admit, it's not been my experience. In fact, I left them a while ago for a local optician who gives a more personal service than they did!

Now I'm worried about D&A. Surely that can't be the best thing they can find to say about themselves?

Turn it on its head

The other day, one of my clients asked my advice about an ad they'd designed for a local magazine. It had their logo at the top, then a picture and some text, then their phone number. It looked nice, but it was upside-down.

First it needed a headline at the top that answered 'What's In It For Me?' for their potential customers.

Then the picture and the copy.

Then the phone number. Big. As a call to action.

And finally, their logo.

Why does it have to be this way up? Because no-one cares who you are until they know what you can do for them.

What a let down

I remember an ad I saw when I was a child, with a Scalextric car that whizzed through the air with sparks flying and fireworks exploding all around it.

I told my parents, 'I want one of those'.

They said, 'It doesn't really do that, you know.'

But how could they show a car that flew with fireworks if it didn't really happen? I wanted to see for myself.

I pestered my parents. They bought me the car. And of course it didn't.

Food porn

There is an M&S ad with a lovingly shot close-up of a double chocolate pudding ... lush, dark sponge ... smooth, melted filling ... dribble of thick rich cream ... Santana's sexy Samba Pa Ti or Fleetwood Mac's The Albatross playing in the background ... and the slow female voiceover: 'This is not just food. It's M&S food'.

I was watching it with my 13-year-old 'sort of' step-daughter, and she said: 'I don't like these ads – what are they all about?'

Luckily for M&S, she's not their target market. But I am. And I think they're delicious!

P.S. You know an ad's made an impression when it gets spoofed on YouTube, here!

Definition of a bad ad

I really don't like those shampoo ads with the strapline: 'A Totally Organic Experience'. You know the ones, where the girl is washing her hair in the shower (or under a waterfall) and moaning: 'Yes, Yes, YES!'.

They say that sex sells. And it does! But these ads are not sexy. Not funny. And not clever.

In fact, they put me off soooo much, that I absolutely refuse to buy the product.

Definition of a good ad

A good ad is not an ad that wins awards. A good ad is an ad that makes you want to buy the product.

There is a great series of TV ads featuring a dancing or ice-skating robot that transforms into a car.

I love the ads. And they deserve to win loads of prizes. But, no matter how I try, I just can't remember what car the ad is for.

(By the way, the grandmother of my 'sort of' step-daughter said to her, 'Did you know you can now buy a car that transforms into a robot?' She didn't have the heart to disappoint her.)

The Planet Sweet

Do you remember your first job interview? One of mine was for an advertising agency, and I had to do a copy test. That is, they set me a load of questions and I had to write inspiring copy in response.

One of the questions was: 'What is the most recent product you have bought, in response to advertising?'

I remember snootily replying that I wasn't taken in by any of the usual advertising tricks. I was wrong. Since then, I've been conscious of adverts influencing what I buy.

For example, I have recently been on the lookout for the new sweets from Mars, called 'Planets'. A great name for them, on so many levels!

According to the TV ads, the packs include chocolates with soft, crispy and chewy centres – almost the same ingredients as a classic Mars Bar.

They show the first filling, soft nougat. 'Yum,' I thought, 'I like nougat.'

They show the second filling, crispy wafer. 'Hmm,' I thought, 'I don't like wafer much.'

They show the third filling, chewy caramel. 'Yum,' I thought, 'I like caramel. Two out of three ain't bad.' And I went to three or four sweet shops until I found my first packet to taste.

Mars is very clever.

They have stretched their brand into big bars, small bars, ice-cream, and now packet sweets. And they've launched their latest product with advertising that made me search it out and buy it.