Born to ...

The new work from Save the Children is very good. It gets across a message of action but in a way that shows the lost potential of wasted lives instead of just showing despair and a 'need' shot that makes you feel awkward and want to turn it off. It reminds you just why we should support charities like these.



via The Cool Commentator

Monkey and Al Return

The latest PG Tips ad just hits every proverbial nail on their proverbial heads. It's a lovely simple idea, produced nicely, witty, engaging, and it sure as hell makes you think about making a cup of Tea.

What more could a brand want from their tea ads?

In Defence of Footballer Tweets

I've heard a lot of people talk about how footballers should stop posting on twitter, but I find this an odd reaction.

We complain that football players are overpaid, that they don't understand the game or the fans, they only care about money and cars; yet when they spent chunks of their free time talking directly to fans we act as if they are doing something wrong.

Why is it right for Stephen Fry to use twitter and not Robbie Savage? Is it just down to presumed intelligence? Your idea of talent versus someone elses? Stop being so pretentious, twitter isn't yours to dictate who joins. Just because you presume a footballer is stupid or full of ego doesn't mean it is so. who made you king of the internets?

The best footballer on twitter (in more ways than one perhaps) is definitely Rio Ferdinand, one of the biggest names at the biggest club in the world; finds the time to invite questions and discuss things with the twitter community. That's the sort of commitment and engagement that we can learn from, and should be encouraging more of. I would hazard he is contributing more to twitter than most of the people who criticise him for being there.

Next time we talk to clients about putting air freshner brands or bathroom cleaner brands or weed killer brands (etc etc) onto social spaces, let's try and remember not to be hypocritical in criticising others...

Planning Postcards

Planning is an awesome job, but I do worry sometimes that it is too computer based, we don't have enough tangible things. So I was thinking about what we could do to bring a bit of real life back...

I got a lovely planning related xmas card from Gemma last year, which was what reminded me of the joy of real paper. I then read Postsecret at the weekend, that made me think about postcards and their simplicity in communicating messages.

SO

Planning Postcards... the idea is basic but I think will work nicely:

People who are interested can email me, and I will send out a few handmade postcards, one for each person, with a simple/interesting phrase or opinion relating to planning.

They keep that postcard (and blog/tweet about it if they so wish) and then create a couple of their own to pass on to other people, and so on, and so on...

If it works then lots of us will get nice handmade planning postcards, and after a while we might even get a few each from different people.

I can write up the rules on a sheet that we can send with each postcard to people who haven't seen this post, and maybe we can create something personal and individual.

So who would be interested? (Leave comment!)

Update: Thanks both of the people who have expressed interest by email!

Welcome to 2011!

Well another year goes by, and the world of advertising and marketing continues to be an interesting and exciting place to be, accompanied by some great people that I thoroughly enjoy talking to.

To start the year here are my DOs and DON'Ts for 2011:

DO ------------------------------------

Make Things - I've talked about this to people for a while now, and examples like Newspaper Club show just how important the tangible pyshical object will become over the next few years. People who have grown up with the internet are starting to really appreciate the value of real physical objects.

Stop Shouting - Tell don't Yell, as Gemma T rightly points out. People are not stupid, we don't need to blast our messages at them, we don't need to shove things in people's faces. We need to be engaging, entertaining and acknowledge the way people actually receive our work.

Be Honest - Being honest and open has been gradually getting more important over the last decade. This year is no different.

Be Less Cliche'd - This is always a good thing.


DON'T -------------------------------

Treat Facebook Like an Adspace - This one is blatantly obvious, but people are still doing it.

Use 'Rock' - This week a new radio station went national, a new pop station. Apparently it 'rocks'. No, it sodding does not. Tell you what, I'll go launch a Pop station that plays wall to wall Slayer and Cradle of Filth shall I?

Argue with Ourselves - With things the way they are, Tories cutting budgets and raising taxes (Slagging off Tories for raising taxes, oh the irony), we should be working together. Creatives, planners, account handlers, let's just work together and make some damn good work. We can always start bitching at each other once the budgets start going back up.

Merry Christmas Everyone!

Merry Christmas!!

It's Snow Joke

I am currently extremely angry at Manchester Airport, and pretty angry with Easyjet after a horrible Friday of battling the snow.

We arrived at Manchester Airport to pick up my brother on his way back from Germany. The plane was due at 10.30pm, and was shown as running ok.

We braved the car through the still falling snow to get there for twenty to eleven. Except on the way my dad phoned and said its' landing had been delayed until 23.54.

So we got to the airport and sat down to wait. The airport was cold, even with scarf and gloves it was freezing.

At twenty past twelve we checked the information board and it still said Due 23.54... Well clearly not!

At half twelve, the woman next to us waiting for the same flight tells us its landed in Luton. I search the whole terminal to find someone to ask, but there is NO-ONE apart from security, plus the Easyjet desk is closed.

I then used my phone to check Easyjet for a help number, only to find that their helpline for this kind of thing is only open until 8pm... what aload of fucking good that is.

The Manchester Airport display still said Due 23.54...

We then tried the Luton Airport site which confirmed the plane had arrived there. My dad then rang Luton Airport who told us a coach would bring them to Manchester. Which is fair enough.

We left at around 1.15am, at which time the display STILL said Due 23.54. How bloody hard is it to update one line on your display?? It's not like a Boeing 737 is something you can miss. It's had to book a landing slot, and if Luton knows it's landed surely you should know! How come a quick internet search can tell me more information than the airport that is supposed to be keeping us informed??

Most companies wouldn't dare to treat customers with that level of service. Just because you are an airport does not mean you are abdicated of responsibility for our experience and information.

Oh and to round things off, we were charged £12 for parking. TWELVE POUNDS, largely because the airport was apparently incapable of relaying one short piece of information.

2010 - The Questions

After being tagged by Rob C, here are my answers to his questions on 2010..:

1/ Best single thing [personal &/or professional] you did/achieved in 2010.
Being part of a decent TV ad where I was sole planner.

2/ Most shameful thing [personal &/or professional] you did/achieved in 2010.
Embarrassing lots of colleagues with the Agency Xmas Party video.

3/ Ad industry scandal or scoundrel of the year.
A tie between the 'Missing Planner' scandal and the grumpy genius scoundrel that is George Parker.

4/ Your overall rating for 2010 out of 10. [1 = shit / 10 = showoff]
7 - Mostly good but fewer exciting opportunities than last year.

5/ What do you think will be the most overhyped advertising related subject of 2011?
Gamification will probably start filtering through to agencies that don't understand gaming, and we will end up collecting XP and coins on everything.


I tag these questions to:

David
Gemma T
Adam and Dan
James
Ben

Dress Code Warning System

In response to Gemma T's comments about the pitfalls of client dress codes, I think the industry should adopt an early warning system that advises agencies of expected dress codes prior to first meetings (usually pitch or tissue meetings).

If every client includes the number we need never again face the difficult choice of whether to over or under dress. Thanks to Gemma for guidance on the female version of the code.

Review of the Year - Part 2 - Awards!

Not quite the Cannes Lions... but it's been a great year in many senses for advertising, lots of exciting and engaging campaigns worthy of merit. Here are The Ad Pit Awards 2010!

Best Campaign

Nike - Write the Future - Talk about catching the moment and running with it. A brilliant, if sadly prophetic piece of work. Making big superstar spokespeople utterly relevant and endearing instead of shoe-horned.

Runners Up: E4 Flashmob (Utterly brilliant), John Lewis - Always a Woman, Nike Grid, Old Spice, Skoda - Meaner stuff, Match - Music shop

Best Surprise

Ikea - Kitchen at Parties - Jona Lewie brought back to popular culture and a magnificent use of music to demonstrate product.

Runner Up: Gillette - Federer video

Most Improved Advertising

Virgin Media - Speedy Gonzales - Welcome back Speedy. This is how to use existing characters to sell a product. Hits the nail right on the head in a way that manages to sell whilst still being funny.

Worst Advert

Go Compare - Opera Twat - Somehow, somehow they made this even worse than last year. A campaign surviving solely on media budget, with no redeeming qualities whatsoever. It's not funny, it's not engaging, it's not entertaining, it makes me want to have nothing to do with the brand in a way I haven't felt since Jamster.

Runner Up: Argos - Xmas (Nice ad, now why not wait til Christmas to show it?)

Most Disappointing Work

Cadbury's Dairy Milk - Charmer - Product product product nice soundtrack product product product product product. Not what we expected from one of the most engaging campaigns of recent years.

Agency of the Year

Wieden + Kennedy - Nike write the future, Nike Grid, Old Spice Man... I think there could only be one winner this year. Some agencies have made great work, but this year W+K have been consistently outstanding.