For Those Who Are Aboout to Blog...

There is a strange sense of mini-mourning going on around the planning/ad blogosphere at the moment...

As fresh from Northern Planners Blog break, both Russell, Marcus and Sacrum have declared their intention to quit or limit their blogging.

It seems unusual to me that blogging can take up so much time and effort as to need quitting though, surely if you just write when you feel like it rather than letting people dictate when you write?

Certainly ive never tried to force blog entries on here (hence the gaps that sometimes appear), I just blog when I have something to say.

Maybe they are just casualties of popularity, which is sad.

Holy Marketing, Its Brandman!

Any of you in the UK or US may be unfortunate enough to have had to witness the dire atrocity of sales that is the "Brand Power" (ta da da da dah DAH, Braaaannnd Powwwweeerrr!) ads.

Seemingly set in the mid 90s when calling something a brand made the public believe it was a powerful sign of quality, and with planning from the mid 1950s to boot.

With all the subtlety of a nuclear bomb hitting the statur of liberty with a gigantic sign in the sky saying "Look at this!"; and the tone of a patronising army major explaining the theory of relativity to a brain dead, hard of hearing checkout assistant at 3am in the morning.

Surely the brands involved in this horrific travesty of airtime must realize that these ads are harming their public perceptions; and if they aren't then viewing public, im utterly ashamed of you.

When Banging Your Head on a Brick Wall is Not Enough...

Oh for the love of god.

I am joined to the SoFlow group for adrants, and this enquiry came in earlier today:

"A client of mine is a traditional advertising agency who have asked me to help them source a technical consultant to help them implement a security policy to protect download and manipulation or spoofing of their client TV commercials when used online.They ask "is there any guaranteed method for preventing downloads and preventing manipulation or spoofing of the material? Can we as an agency place our adverts on the web in a secure way?"

I mean seriously, how behind the times must this "traditional" agency be. Well, for a start, just "using tv commercials online" is NOT the way to win your internet audience. Secondly, are you just stupid? Trying to "stop" people spoofing your ads... even if you suceeded, god knows what damage you could do to the brand by enforcing it.

This just reinforces why we needed agencies like HHCL. Thank god for their offspring (mother, naked, cpb, cynic etc) in keeping the spirit alive.

Impossible is Something

Its been on for a little while I know, but Adidas have done something remarkable recently. Produced an ad that uses a major celebrity in a way that is absolutely engaging, and in no way tacky.

The recent 'Impossible is Nothing' ads with David Beckham explaining about his high and low moments is wonderful. You get a real sense of personality and emotion that you rarely see on any ad, let alone a celebrity endorsed one.

Not only has it made me think more positively about the Adidas brand, it makes me think more positively about David Beckham. Showing the true nature of a person behind their wonderful abilities.

Here is a very long version, I couldnt find the shorter tv one at the moment.

Why we will miss HHCL... (now with added Blackcurrant)

Farewell

Everybody should wave a big goodbye to HHCL.
Whether or not they managed to last, the fact is that they made some of the most original and downright funny ads of all time.

And now the wreckage is being washed up at Grey... (as im sure you already knew)

Take a Bowie...

I know its not ad related, but did anyone watch the end of Life on Mars?
If so what did you think?

I personally thought it was great, thoughtful and powerful, without being too sappy. Im sad to see it end, best show on tv for years.

Shoe... Go On SHOE. Stupid ad...

Latest company to cross over into awful ad territory: Brantano.

The latest ad for Brantano shoes feature a female professor Brantano (supposedly on a par with Freud...) who discovers the part of the brain that makes women go mad for shoes.

Now, the ad appears to be aiming itself at women, yet taking the piss out of them in a remarkably unsubtle and charmless way. Its a little amusing, but it borders on the patronising in the way it depicts all women as helpless over shoes.


I cant find a video to show those of you who havent seen it, I will keep looking...

Badadmadness

Thinking back to Russell Davies comments at the FMS about how "The business model for shit is going away." I was wondering, why is it that bad ads still get made?

Do they work? Or is there just a total ignorance of a: how bad they are b: whether they work c: whether something better could work more?

I mean, if the Coke Zero ads worked, why on earth wouldnt other rubbish ads... but why?! Are people fond of being patronised and talked down to? Do they enjoy being treated as if they have the intellectual capacity of a mouldy peanut, or are people far stupider (arf) than we give them credit for?

Why do Loreal and Gillette still do the same terrible ads they have been doing for 30 years? Surely if they didnt work they would have been stopped?

We need better, but will better work?

Time is Never Time At All!

Wow, I can't believe i'm up to 150 posts on the ad-pit! It doesn't seem that long ago that I decided to start a blog on my thoughts on advertising and marketing; but look at all the clever readers I have already!

So a big thank you to my regular readers, and hello to any new ones; its nice to know that people take my thoughts seriously, even if they sometimes disagree.

All the best everyone, and long may the debate continue...

Rob