Thursday 31 January 2008
Wednesday 30 January 2008
Words that should be used more often (parts 4 and 5)
"Cock-a-hoop"
I heard this excellent expression today in the same radio ad as the word "quandary".
"Fantastic!" I thought, "Two great words for the price of one!"
I eagerly waited to find out what brand the ad was promoting. It might have been something to do with cars (I think boots and bonnets may have been mentioned). But it never became clear.
What a waste of good wordage.
:-(
I heard this excellent expression today in the same radio ad as the word "quandary".
"Fantastic!" I thought, "Two great words for the price of one!"
I eagerly waited to find out what brand the ad was promoting. It might have been something to do with cars (I think boots and bonnets may have been mentioned). But it never became clear.
What a waste of good wordage.
:-(
Sunday 27 January 2008
Ah, nostalgia!
The new Mini Clubman ad has jumped on the retro bandwagon with its Etch-a-Sketch drawing...so good it's impossible to be real.
Wednesday 23 January 2008
Words that should be used more often (part 3)
"Wibble."
Not because it's been used in an ad, but because I saw it recently on one of my Internet forums (fora) and it made me laugh. And we could all do with more laughter in our lives.
Not because it's been used in an ad, but because I saw it recently on one of my Internet forums (fora) and it made me laugh. And we could all do with more laughter in our lives.
Monday 21 January 2008
Why I'll never buy another Audi
I was really excited when my brand new Audi A3 was delivered almost two years ago.
The first sign that things were a bit awry was when delivery man said to me: "Ooh, the kerb's a bit high, you'll have to be careful when you park here in case you damage the alloy wheels."
"Hmm", I thought, "Bet he'd never say that to a male driver. He obviously thinks a woman should not be allowed to drive an Audi. He doesn't know I was the proud owner of an adorable little MGF convertible before I had to get a 'sensible' car. Or how many years of safe parking I've managed to achieve, without any damage to my alloys, thank you very much. I'm clearly dealing with a man with intelligence lower than pond-life. Must remember to only use simple words when talking to him."
Moments later, I was sitting in the driver's seat, pushing all the buttons and fiddling with all the knobs, as he sat in the passenger seat, explaining to me where everything was and how everything worked. (Including the totally unnecessary pop-up cup-holder in the dashboard. As if I'd ever let anybody take a drink into my new car!).
I flipped down the sun visor on the driver's side, and expressed surprise that it had a mirror (with a dinky light that came on when you slid open the cover). Why would there need to be a mirror on the driver's side?
"Oh yes," he said, "It's a continental car so they put mirrors on both sun visors to suit left and right hand drive."
"Hmm," I thought. "They manage to switch everything around for left and right hand drive but they can't afford two different types of sun visor? I don't think so."
He went on: "Oh, but you can't use it to put on your make-up at 70 miles per hour in the fast lane!"
He wasn't joking.
I wasn't wearing any make-up. Why in the world would he think that I might ever look in the mirror when I was driving? Idiot.
Things got worse.
He was showing me the spare wheel and tools in the boot when he said: "Oh, but you won't need to know about those will you, because you'll just call out the AA or RAC."
He meant it. Poor, ignorant sod.
I spluttered: "I do know how to change a tyre, you know!"
Trying to redeem himself, he responded: "Ah, perhaps a smaller woman might need help to change a tyre!!!"
By this point, I wanted him to lie down in the road so I could test my forward and reverse gears over him.
It took all the joy out of the delivery of my new car. If he'd been the salesman, I never would have bought it. How dare he be so insulting to someone that had just spent so many thousands of pounds?
It's two years on. But whenever anyone asks how I like my A3, I still tell them about this appalling customer service experience.
Pah.
P.S. A copy of this post is going to the big boss at Audi.
The first sign that things were a bit awry was when delivery man said to me: "Ooh, the kerb's a bit high, you'll have to be careful when you park here in case you damage the alloy wheels."
"Hmm", I thought, "Bet he'd never say that to a male driver. He obviously thinks a woman should not be allowed to drive an Audi. He doesn't know I was the proud owner of an adorable little MGF convertible before I had to get a 'sensible' car. Or how many years of safe parking I've managed to achieve, without any damage to my alloys, thank you very much. I'm clearly dealing with a man with intelligence lower than pond-life. Must remember to only use simple words when talking to him."
Moments later, I was sitting in the driver's seat, pushing all the buttons and fiddling with all the knobs, as he sat in the passenger seat, explaining to me where everything was and how everything worked. (Including the totally unnecessary pop-up cup-holder in the dashboard. As if I'd ever let anybody take a drink into my new car!).
I flipped down the sun visor on the driver's side, and expressed surprise that it had a mirror (with a dinky light that came on when you slid open the cover). Why would there need to be a mirror on the driver's side?
"Oh yes," he said, "It's a continental car so they put mirrors on both sun visors to suit left and right hand drive."
"Hmm," I thought. "They manage to switch everything around for left and right hand drive but they can't afford two different types of sun visor? I don't think so."
He went on: "Oh, but you can't use it to put on your make-up at 70 miles per hour in the fast lane!"
He wasn't joking.
I wasn't wearing any make-up. Why in the world would he think that I might ever look in the mirror when I was driving? Idiot.
Things got worse.
He was showing me the spare wheel and tools in the boot when he said: "Oh, but you won't need to know about those will you, because you'll just call out the AA or RAC."
He meant it. Poor, ignorant sod.
I spluttered: "I do know how to change a tyre, you know!"
Trying to redeem himself, he responded: "Ah, perhaps a smaller woman might need help to change a tyre!!!"
By this point, I wanted him to lie down in the road so I could test my forward and reverse gears over him.
It took all the joy out of the delivery of my new car. If he'd been the salesman, I never would have bought it. How dare he be so insulting to someone that had just spent so many thousands of pounds?
It's two years on. But whenever anyone asks how I like my A3, I still tell them about this appalling customer service experience.
Pah.
P.S. A copy of this post is going to the big boss at Audi.
Thursday 17 January 2008
Word of Mouth on Wheels
1
Word of mouth is famously the best kind of advertising there is.
2
Cab drivers are notoriously chatty.
1+2=5
Cab drivers are now chatting to their captive passengers about holidays and other treats they've enjoyed, courtesy of canny advertisers.
See here, if you want a cabby to do your selling for you.
P.S. I chat to a lot of people too, so if anyone wants to give me a free Caribbean holiday to talk about, then please contact me at jackie@comms-plus.co.uk!
Word of mouth is famously the best kind of advertising there is.
2
Cab drivers are notoriously chatty.
1+2=5
Cab drivers are now chatting to their captive passengers about holidays and other treats they've enjoyed, courtesy of canny advertisers.
See here, if you want a cabby to do your selling for you.
P.S. I chat to a lot of people too, so if anyone wants to give me a free Caribbean holiday to talk about, then please contact me at jackie@comms-plus.co.uk!
Wednesday 16 January 2008
Bad news travels faster than good
I was looking for the price of local storage, so I did a Google search.
I found the website for a leading UK brand, but it showed no prices or phone numbers so I reluctantly gave all my contact details for them to call me back with a quote.
I also found the website of an independent company which contained all their prices, a handy guide to estimating the size of storage required, and their phone number. I spoke to a friendly chap who answered all my questions and was a pleasure to talk to.
When a bloke from the big business eventually contacted me, he quoted almost twice as much as the independent price, the conversation was aggressively salesy, and they've bombarded me with follow-up calls and mailings ever since.
After this experience, I would never choose or recommend the Storage Company named after a colour that rhymes with Mellow. Gotta admit, I have no idea how they ever got so...Big.
I found the website for a leading UK brand, but it showed no prices or phone numbers so I reluctantly gave all my contact details for them to call me back with a quote.
I also found the website of an independent company which contained all their prices, a handy guide to estimating the size of storage required, and their phone number. I spoke to a friendly chap who answered all my questions and was a pleasure to talk to.
When a bloke from the big business eventually contacted me, he quoted almost twice as much as the independent price, the conversation was aggressively salesy, and they've bombarded me with follow-up calls and mailings ever since.
After this experience, I would never choose or recommend the Storage Company named after a colour that rhymes with Mellow. Gotta admit, I have no idea how they ever got so...Big.
Tuesday 15 January 2008
Colour coordination
I'm intrigued to know why Orange chose to use rainbows in their 'Good Things Should Never End' ad.
As anyone who's been to Brighton recently will know, the homosexual community use rainbow stripes for their flag. Like the word 'gay', this now creates a whole load of new mental associations.
I'm not sure if that was the effect that Orange was hoping for.
P.S. The website is great though!
As anyone who's been to Brighton recently will know, the homosexual community use rainbow stripes for their flag. Like the word 'gay', this now creates a whole load of new mental associations.
I'm not sure if that was the effect that Orange was hoping for.
P.S. The website is great though!
Friday 11 January 2008
Builder's Bum
In the new Nimble ad, the builder's trousers keep falling down (snigger, snigger).
How things have changed since Nimble's iconic hot air balloon ad (voted one of viewers' greatest 100 ads in a Channel 4 poll). All together now: "She Flies Like a Bird in the Skyyyyy..."
Wonder if the new ad will last as long in the memory? For some reason, methinks not. It's just not kitsch enough.
How things have changed since Nimble's iconic hot air balloon ad (voted one of viewers' greatest 100 ads in a Channel 4 poll). All together now: "She Flies Like a Bird in the Skyyyyy..."
Wonder if the new ad will last as long in the memory? For some reason, methinks not. It's just not kitsch enough.
Wednesday 9 January 2008
Pathetically grateful
That's how I feel when anybody comments on my blog! So here, at blog number 100, is an appeal for more contributions.
If my thoughts on ads have prompted any response in you – positive, negative or indifferent – then please click on 'Comments' below the relevant post(s)*, and add your remarks.
It's easy, and you can be anonymous if you like. Youu probably won't need them, but just in case you do, here are full instructions.
I can't wait to hear from you. Your comments could make my new year a whole lot happier!
* Unless you write in Spanish and are trying to sell T-shirts. Yes, it has happened. I have no idea why.
If my thoughts on ads have prompted any response in you – positive, negative or indifferent – then please click on 'Comments' below the relevant post(s)*, and add your remarks.
It's easy, and you can be anonymous if you like. Youu probably won't need them, but just in case you do, here are full instructions.
I can't wait to hear from you. Your comments could make my new year a whole lot happier!
* Unless you write in Spanish and are trying to sell T-shirts. Yes, it has happened. I have no idea why.
Tuesday 8 January 2008
The real test of great advertising ...
... is whether it prompts me to go out and buy something.
Despite the industry's best efforts so far this season, I have yet to see an ad that has encouraged me to hit the January sales.
I like owning new things. And I do love a bargain. But shopping in sale-time?
I hate it!
Despite the industry's best efforts so far this season, I have yet to see an ad that has encouraged me to hit the January sales.
I like owning new things. And I do love a bargain. But shopping in sale-time?
I hate it!
Monday 7 January 2008
Quit It (one from the archives)
It's the time of year when lots of people are trying to give up smoking*, as evidenced by the number of ads for nicotine patches et al.
It reminds me of one of the most famous cigarette ads of all time: "You're never alone with a Strand" – an ad so unsuccessful that the brand was taken off the shelves soon afterwards. It featured a smoker on his own on a dark street, but people assumed Strand cigarettes made you lonely so were put off buying them.
With the UK smoking ban forcing smokers outdoors, perhaps it's becoming true for all brands!
* Good luck to you all. Filthy, nasty habit that it is...
It reminds me of one of the most famous cigarette ads of all time: "You're never alone with a Strand" – an ad so unsuccessful that the brand was taken off the shelves soon afterwards. It featured a smoker on his own on a dark street, but people assumed Strand cigarettes made you lonely so were put off buying them.
With the UK smoking ban forcing smokers outdoors, perhaps it's becoming true for all brands!
* Good luck to you all. Filthy, nasty habit that it is...
Sunday 6 January 2008
Friday 4 January 2008
"Facebook me"
That's what I heard a young person say to another young person at a New Year's Eve party I attended. In the 'old days' they would have said; "phone me" or "give me a call" or even "send me a text."
Social networking seems to be a whole new communication channel spreading by word of mouth (or word of pixel, I suppose). And it's not just associated with young people. You can 'Facebook me' too if you like.
Social networking seems to be a whole new communication channel spreading by word of mouth (or word of pixel, I suppose). And it's not just associated with young people. You can 'Facebook me' too if you like.
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