Thursday 31 July 2008
Friday 25 July 2008
At last, a serious post about UK advertising!
Read about the new Advertising Code from Ofcom announced yesterday.
Thursday 17 July 2008
Bad taste
Now and again I catch the titles to the Richard & Judy show, sponsored by Chevrolet, with the voiceover: "Great value, without the nonsense".
Trouble is, the car is in the backgound. The logo is too small to be recognisable. And the viewer's eye is attracted to the range of kitsch items that are dropped in the foreground – sometimes a miner's helmet, sometimes a vase, sometimes platform shoes, other times one of those tall wooden giraffe ornaments.
I don't get it.
Who's to say those items are nonsense? I reckon they are just the kind of things that certain R&J viewers might like! I know I do. Well, some of them anyway.
If Chevrolet are trying to raise their profile in the UK, why don't they build the brand on Americana ("Drove my Chevvy to the levee but the levee was dry" etc.?
P.S. Mind you, in my research for this post I was delighted to discover The Richard Madeley Appreciation Society which makes it all worthwhile.
Trouble is, the car is in the backgound. The logo is too small to be recognisable. And the viewer's eye is attracted to the range of kitsch items that are dropped in the foreground – sometimes a miner's helmet, sometimes a vase, sometimes platform shoes, other times one of those tall wooden giraffe ornaments.
I don't get it.
Who's to say those items are nonsense? I reckon they are just the kind of things that certain R&J viewers might like! I know I do. Well, some of them anyway.
If Chevrolet are trying to raise their profile in the UK, why don't they build the brand on Americana ("Drove my Chevvy to the levee but the levee was dry" etc.?
P.S. Mind you, in my research for this post I was delighted to discover The Richard Madeley Appreciation Society which makes it all worthwhile.
Sunday 13 July 2008
Lil-lets in La-La Land
Have you listened to the script for the new Lil-lets TV ad? The (female) voiceover says:
"Let's suppose you designed our tampon. Let's suppose you made the tip rounded so it's easy to use. Let's assume you made it cushioned with a soft cover so it feels more comfortable. Let's imagine you design it to expand gently all round for the perfect fit. And let's expect you make it in a full range of absorbencies to suit your flow. Well, we thought the same as you. Lil-Lets. Designed for comfort."
It's the 'us and them' approach that I have a problem with.
P.S. And of course the animation is blue.
"Let's suppose you designed our tampon. Let's suppose you made the tip rounded so it's easy to use. Let's assume you made it cushioned with a soft cover so it feels more comfortable. Let's imagine you design it to expand gently all round for the perfect fit. And let's expect you make it in a full range of absorbencies to suit your flow. Well, we thought the same as you. Lil-Lets. Designed for comfort."
It's the 'us and them' approach that I have a problem with.
P.S. And of course the animation is blue.
Thursday 10 July 2008
Copycats?
The Government's anti-smoking ad is designed to show that children copy their parents. There's mum in the background, smoking in the doorway. And there's cute kid in the foreground, 'puffing' on a crayon.
Guess what.
I'm told children all over the country are now 'smoking' their crayons.
That worked then, didn't it.
Guess what.
I'm told children all over the country are now 'smoking' their crayons.
That worked then, didn't it.
Saturday 5 July 2008
Viral marketing (2)
A boyfriend videoed his girlfriend 'hula hooping' in her underwear on their Wii Fit, then posted it on YouTube.
Nintendo claim they had nothing to do with it. Bet they wish they had thought of it though. At the time of writing, it's coming up for 5 million views.
Watch it here.
Nintendo claim they had nothing to do with it. Bet they wish they had thought of it though. At the time of writing, it's coming up for 5 million views.
Watch it here.
Friday 4 July 2008
Viral marketing (1)
Let me pass on this 7-up ad. As Tony the Tiger would say, "it's grreeeaaaattttt!"
Thursday 3 July 2008
Wednesday 2 July 2008
Tuesday 1 July 2008
And they say the Irish are daft
Have you noticed that it's Terry Wogan who intones 'Every Little Helps'?
That's fine. His personal brand is seemingly a good fit with a family supermarket.
A spokesman for Tesco says: "Everyone loves Terry. He's got such a wonderful, warm voice and he's instantly recognisable. We're delighted to associate our brand with him."
But why would the scripts be written as though Terry actually works there? We all know he doesn't stack shelves. He doesn't need to, with his legendary broadcasting career and reported £20m fortune.
Please, Tesco, stop Terry talking about 'we' and 'our' when referring to your shops; call it 'them' and 'their' and I might take your ads a little bit more seriously.
That's fine. His personal brand is seemingly a good fit with a family supermarket.
A spokesman for Tesco says: "Everyone loves Terry. He's got such a wonderful, warm voice and he's instantly recognisable. We're delighted to associate our brand with him."
But why would the scripts be written as though Terry actually works there? We all know he doesn't stack shelves. He doesn't need to, with his legendary broadcasting career and reported £20m fortune.
Please, Tesco, stop Terry talking about 'we' and 'our' when referring to your shops; call it 'them' and 'their' and I might take your ads a little bit more seriously.
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