Celebrity culture

Have you seen Peter Jones in the ad for moneysupermarket.com?

Famous for his millions, he says: "I'm in it; shouldn't you be?"

I'm sorry, but I'm not convinced.

Meanwhile, I'm sure it's Paul Merton's voice in the Direct Line voiceover.

Famous for his humour, he's reading a very dull script.

External endorsements are a powerful sales tool, because what someone else says about you is more convincing than anything you can say yourself.

But if you're going to do it, purleease be sensible about it! Match the right person with the right product, and let them speak in a way that is consistent with their own brand as well as with yours.

Do what you say on the tin

So if you sell TV advertising, produce a TV ad about TV advertising.

I love this!



www.thinkbox.tv

It's true. 30 seconds really can make an impact that lasts the rest of your life.

Altogether now, "Woooah, Bodyfoooorm, Bodyform for yoouuu!"

Timely

And it's got correct punctuation!

The Stig...unmasked!

The anonymous racing driver on Top Gear has been revealed as...Michael Schumacher! Or was it a publicity stunt for Bacardi Rum?

Read the story on Times Online.

Either way, the tactic has worked.

I'll have a Bacardi and Coke with ice please. No lemon.

Beeaaauuuutiful!

Local Fishing Expert..
Watch the ad...

Some of the most beautiful filming I've seen in a long time is the HSBC 'fishing in China' ad. They are telling you it's worth investing in local knowledge. I'm telling you it's worth investing in fabulous camerawork and photography.

Words that should be used more often (part 9)

Kibbles

As used in the Bakers' dog food ad shown in the breaks in the Dog Whisperer programme.

A good lesson about media buying, and being in the right place at the right time.

Today's task is to watch what's on and place your ads accordingly.

P.S. Kibbles remind me of Tribbles (the small furry aliens in Star Trek). Wikipedia says a tribble is purring in a cage on Montgomery Scott's desk at the Starfleet outpost at Delta Vega in the new Star Trek movie. Grrr, I missed it. Now I'll just have to watch the film again, sigh.

Reality TV

B&Q famously uses its own staff in its TV commercials.

A bit wooden is one of my favourites.

You've probably noticed there's a lot of reality TV about these days. And it fits their brand image to build on this trend.

ASDA and Kwikfit seemingly use their own staff too. So does the Halifax.

Trend-spotting is a great way to inspire topical marketing ideas. So how can you make your own marketing more 'real'?

"Size doesn't matter." Oh, doesn't it?

You may have noticed that your favourite chocolate bars have shrunk recently (although the price has stayed the same). No, it's not that you've got bigger. Mars have admitted they've reduced the size of various products 'for health reasons'.

Pshaw.

(That's an expression of disbelief.)

If that were so, they would have advertised the fact (and reduced the price to match).

Read the story on softpedia.com.

Now we know...

Top tip: Don't try to get away with under-the-counter practices. You will be found out.

No such thing as bad publicity?

A rumour is going round that it's cheaper to buy a new washing machine every four years than it is to buy Calgon for four years.

What would you do if you were Calgon?

I'd be busy trying to prove the rumour wrong.

Crying wolf

Amazon is selling a kitsch T-shirt printed with three wolves howling at the moon.

A single joke review led to a stream of similar reviews and boosted sales beyond belief.

Read the BBC story here.

This example of people power just goes to show:

- Humour sells
- Anything is possible
- There's nowt so strange as folk