The World Is Made of 57 Varieties

So Heinz have pulled their Salad Cream ad featuring two guys kissing after 200 complaints that it might be unsuitable for children etc etc (whining drone of Daily Mail readers wishing away their pointless lives).

Stonewall, the gay right group (who did a great ad recently also) have now asked people to boycott Heinz for giving in to the whining brainless misinformed wankers.

I understand both for taking the actions they have, but really the problem is much deeper than that.

Surely even Daily Mail readers wouldn't now (explicity) complain about black people kissing, nor would most complain about two women kissing. There seems to be a subset of equality that says "except for gay men", as if squeamishness is a suitable excuse for homophobia.

I mean really, is this ad THAT offensive? It's sweet and funny, and portrays a nice message about the tolerance and acceptance of kids that those sad whinging people could learn from.

Well done Heinz for letting it through in the first place, as for what happens now, I suggest we burn down the Daily Mail offices. Thats a far more suitable solution than cancelling it or boycotting Heinz.

RIP George Carlin

I just read that George Carlin died on Sunday. That's such a shame.

A comedian who stayed funny, insightful and edgy right until his death. The sort of brilliant genius Bill Hicks might have become.

Like Bill, Carlin showed contempt for the vacuous forms of advertising most of us also hate; and possibly his most known routine takes shots at religion, brilliantly condensing the 10 commandments into 2.

So go watch some George Carlin, and be grateful that not all edgy and dangerous comedians die young or go mainstream. Some grow old and never lose it.

Row Row Row Your Boat...

Our new John West ad launches today in Northern Ireland, and although I wasn't personally involved I think it's something that I can point to as a damn good example of why I want to be at this agency.

I love the lack of voiceover, the charm of the idea, and the fact that (unlike many agencies) when we found an existing video that was similar to our idea, we gave the director a break with her first ever ad shoot instead of just copying it.

Cheap as Chips

The new £6.50 Doritos ad is here today, and despite having a budget smaller than the Cillit Bang ads, and despite being user generated content; its actually pretty good.

It has a sense of fun and a sense of amusement that nicely fits the brand. And though a bigger budget would improve the animation, the actual content is pretty good as it is.

So score one for user generated content...

New Doritos Ad

Is Advertising Like Porn?

Seems like it from these observations...

...and the beat goes on... and on...

Oh dear. M+C Saatchi, what were you thinking?
Do you really need this long to tell such a simple story?

Dragggggggged out over 1 minute this ad just falls flat on its small bubbled arse; its a great choice of song, but as the lyrics suggest; the ad goes on, and on, and on.

It all feels like the milliseconds have been eeked out of everything. Why?

I thought the M+C motto was Brutal simplicity of thought; maybe they need to remember the brutal simplicity of short.

At least the 30 second cut should improve things.

Coor Blimey

Look at this load of top forty over here.
Looks like too much Flight of the Conchords mixed with a lack of charm, lack of wit, and some criiingeworthy attempts at writing do equal a rubbish ad.



This ad is stewed to taste shite...

Job Update

So, seven weeks down and I am still really enjoying my new job.

Been doing lots of interesting work and getting involved in the nitty gritty of pitch work and the like.

The people are still great and there is a nice sense of teamwork across the agency.

It looks like being a great place to be a planner. Until HuntingdonScampDavies opens its doors at the very least!

Bless You

Richard Huntingdon is back with a great piece on multiple routes and Tissue meetings.

Whilst there is nothing wrong with Tissue Meetings, I do worry that being asked to do multiple routes regardless of need is wrong.

A: It means the agency might be wasting time they could be spending on the best idea.
B: It means the client could be wasting money on ideas that aren't right just so they have more than one to look at.

As one planner here mentioned the other day: "I would never take anything into a meeting that I wouldn't want the client to buy."