Friday, June 29, 2007

iIs iIt iJust iMe?

Who isnt bothered in the slightest about the iPhone?

It looks nice, its seems to have typical Apple flare in design and usage... yet I just can't seem to find any desire in me for it.

I love my phone. I love cameras. But...nothing.

I wonder if its already so popular that its lost its cool before it has even launched here.

Image from uk.gizmodo.com

Thursday, June 28, 2007

Dont Glug Back in Anger

Im really not sure what to say about the latest Oasis ads.
Trying to position a fruit flavour drink which is pretty chocked full of sweetners and other stuff as a water substitute is a little strange.

Personally when I drink it the chemically taste makes me more thirsty...

Would you get away with positioning Pepsi Max as a substitute for water? I doubt it, yet thats what the new campaign seems to heading towards. The only possible difference I can see is that the acid in fizzy drinks hurts your teeth...but really, I find it quite close to Sunny Delight levels of dodgy positioning.

I mentioned it briefly...

But this is my 203rd post!
I find it hard to think of what i've posted in all of those... but as people are still reading it must be alright!

Thanks :)

Monday, June 25, 2007

My Presentation!

From Interesting 2007 - Can Video Games Be Art? (I did say more than what is written on the slides, I shall post the video when it is available)

Post 201! Send £1000 for £1million of Marketing Advice

Or... what marketers should learn from spamming fraudulent bastards.

I recieved this email at work today:

Dear Friend,

My name is Edward Moore QC.Principal partner Edward Moore & Associates London UK and I was compelled by my late client's request to contact you on a matter of great financial reward.My client late Hassan zahrul (Malaysian by Birth) ,an Industrialist and Real Estate Guru died recently leaving a vast wealth in your name as his "Next of Kin".

Do contact me immediately via my Direct Telephone:+44-7045...... or better still send me an email to my direct email address as below stated for immediate action on this matter.

Email: edward.m....@yahoo.co.uk

I expect your immediate response and call and also let me have your direct telephone and mobile lines so i can call you as well.This matter demands urgent action and i urge you to make this possible.

Awaiting your response.

Edward Moore Q.C
Principal Partner
Edward Moore & Associates
Direct Telephone:+44-7045


So, a QC and partner of a firm uses a Yahoo email address?
Even though I know of not one single Malaysian... one has left me a fortune?
Despite being London based you use a dodgy 070 number?
Ive been sent this at my work address?
The email box says "sent to undisclosed recipients"
Ive been left money but you can't tell me my name?


The point you may wonder... is:

So so many companies advertise and market in this fashion. Promising you a great product, or that using it will give you women, or shows you to be smart, or will save you money etc. But how many people are actually that stupid to fall for it? Only a tiny number.

You cannot lie to people now. You can hardly get away with a little white one, so telling someone your rubbish cheap product is brilliant won't work. People will find out and tell others. Your brand cannot live a lie.

Friday, June 22, 2007

The New Wave of Advertising

Richard has been talking about HHCL's new Wikipedia entry; which rightly refers to them as being a 'punk agency'. But also discusses the flaws in being punk, going against everything else...

This reminded me of a topic I was thinking about a while ago. How what really works, and what is still needed are more New Wave agencies. Those with the spirit of punk, but applied and refined to something lasting and meaningful.

Punk died because it ran out of things to rebel against, and because once punk became the standard it was hard to rebel against itself.

HHCL did the Bill Grundy shock, the fury and outrage, and produced its share of classic tracks. But it could never last forever. We now have some of the new wave, the Blondie's, the Big Audio Dynamites, and the Siouxie and the Banshees.

But what we REALLY need is a PiL agency. With the brains and fury that made punk initially so exciting and meaningful; but refined into something even better. Any takers?

Thursday, June 21, 2007

Feed Me Now Seymour!

W+K's lunchtime revolution ads for Pizza Hut are clearly having an effect.

Ive heard one radio ad and seen one print ad that are complete and utter rip off's of the concept. Including one for a chinese restaurant that borders on photocopying!

I will try and get an image of the print one shortly...

Wednesday, June 20, 2007

Egg on Your Face...

The British Egg Information Service was hoping to re-run the famous Tony Hancock ads to celebrate the 50th anniversary off the famous "Go to work on an egg" campaign.

However... they have been banned by the British Advertising Clearance Centre as they arent shown as part of a varied diet.

Its hard to argue against it, after all; you wouldnt expect to see a cigarette ad shown just because it was made before they were banned.

Shame though. Good ads, and that Hancock was a good egg...

Eggsclamation - Guardian Story

Tuesday, June 19, 2007

RIP or RIH

Rest in Peace or Rot in Hell?

What will you say about the death of Bernard Manning?

Someone who offended millions with nasty jokes, or a normal guy who just liked to push things to the limit? I dont really know, but after hearing one or two jokes I never watched to find out.

But in a time when it seems to be ok to make offensive jokes if we do a little wink (Ricky Gervais and Jimmy Carr for two) isnt it a little hypocritical to condemn Bernard and not them? Sure they may not be openly racist or homophobic, but i've heard nasty and offensive jokes from them; so why is ok to like one and hate the other? Would Manning's worst 'jokes' become acceptable if he winked after the punch line?

Its confusion like this that causes stupid posh people to say racist words on tv without understanding the offense they cause.

Monday, June 18, 2007

Interesting People

Finally met lots of the clever people whose blogs i've read for ages!
Was rather odd to be introduced to people and know who they were, yet have no idea what they looked like!

Some of the clever folk I met/saw for the first time:

Faris
Charles
OrganicFrog
Lauren
Marcus
Sacrum

Some clever folk I met again!:

Will
Beeker
Ben

Thanks for being great everyone!
I shall post my presentation soon...

Interesting 2007

What a great day.
I don't have time for a full write up yet... but I didnt see one person there who thought it was anything less than brilliant.

AND...we saw Sacrum :D

Full write up later!

Thursday, June 14, 2007

Oh Brother...What Art Thou Thinking?

I think that Big Brother should be mandatory viewing for marketers.
Note, I mean figuratively, not actually watching that hype ball of fake garbage.

Its an absolute masterclass in how people say and do different things.

Millions of people every year say "I'm not watching that rubbish again"...but they do.

People say they want to see sex and huge arguments, and they do; but as soon as they do they complain like mice with mouldy cheese.

People are rightly appalled and disgusted by stupid posh people using racist words without even realising they are being offensive. But they watch it, and will turn in specially just to Big Brother 27, Now with 10% more N-word.

Had Channel 4 censored the word, would they have had half the viewers? I doubt it.

Listen to people talk about Big Brother, and find out what is going on. Because you will rarely get such an insight into how people think and react to unusual stimuli than this....apart from maybe the London 2012 logo. ;)

Wednesday, June 13, 2007

Interesting 2007

Im looking forward to Interesting 2007 this weekend.
Apparently i'm on second, so I better get my presentation honed!!

I have created a facebook group for the event, so everyone who is going or talking please add yourselves to it!

Interesting 2007 Facebook group

Tuesday, June 12, 2007

Rats...

As some of you aware, I didnt get the job I was going for in London...

Still, I don't believe I did badly. I was in the last nine at an agency "everyone wants to be at" for an account management job (when i've been mainly aiming for planning).

Im waiting for feedback which should be useful.

It seemed a nice place, not radical in thinking; but certainly way ahead of many agencies.

It must be said though, I feel no shame in losing out to some of the clever and funny people they were interviewing as well.

In time friends...in time...

Happy Birthday!

Its like watching kids TV again with the cartoon character cards made by relatives...

Happy Birthday to a grumpy angry opinionated yet exteremely intelligent old sod.

and

Happy Birthday (for Sunday) to a less grumpy, less angry, but also extremely intelligent guy.

Monday, June 11, 2007

Put the Fun in Fundamental

There are plenty of advertising topics that don't get talked about enough.
Integrity - Honesty - (Real) Involvement

There seems to be a fear that being honest will lose money when in fact the opposite is true.

There are so so many ads and agencies that just dont understand people, and appear to have no real insight into making people involved with their brands.

Debate is going on here.

With a little luck. The debate should also come to plenty of other people next year... we will bring what must be said to those who must hear! :)

Thursday, June 07, 2007

A Room With an Interview...

Well that was an unusual but fun day!

My interview/open day went well I think. I was pretty nervous at the start of the presentation (I never realised how talking to 6 people close up was so scarier than last time when I spoke to about 50 people!) but I think I did much better after that.

The day was fun, and regardless of what happens i'm very very glad I went. Though I never did find out which person there reads this blog (though we suspect its the planning director). If anyone from the agency does read this, thanks for inviting me along. I hope I did well enough to justify picking me!

Two amusing things though:

1. I had a surreal moment of recognising a "famous" adland figure solely by his hair sticking over a cabinet... probably given it away with that one!

2. I actually used a Homer Simpson quote in one of the interview questions (and not just for random effect, it was actually part of my spur of the moment answer!)

Oh, and the journey...

I got off the train and to my hotel (in Bayswater, about 10 minutes tube ride to the interview) at 11pm, and found out the room had a water problem and I had to be transferred.


To Wembley! 25 minutes away...

But to their credit the hotel gave me free drinks at the bar while i waited, paid for the car there (and back the following morning to ensure I got to the interview), AND put me in a Hilton which was really nice. So while it was a total pain, they dealt with it brilliantly. Well done Clarion Collection Shaftesbury for demonstrating exactly how problems can win customer loyalty.

Annoyingly though, the car company in the morning didnt arrive on time, so I left twenty minutes late...and arrived at the agency 10 minutes late thanks to hideous London traffic. You couldnt make it up. Transferred, late car, traffic...

Still. At least I had a fun day, met some very nice people, and hopefully miiiight get this job everyone keeps telling me I deserve. So thank you so much for your support people who keep backing me, I really really appreciate it.

Tuesday, June 05, 2007

The Speech Starts Here...

Im very happy to have been tagged by Cynic Rob with a Thinking Blogger Award for making him think!

It's good to know my rants and thoughts are useful!!

So now I am nominating 5 blogs that make me think. I imagine (as they are good) they have already been chosen...but never mind!

1. Northern Planner

2. Adliterate

3. Almost Always Thinking

4. Beeker

5. Sacrum Applicant.

How Lo Can You Go?


Wow. The fuss over the new London 2012 logo is immense.
Designed by Wolf Ollins, it has a weird Jet Set Radio feel to it.

I like it moving, but im not sure about it still, and I dont think much of the colours. A bit too early 90s fluro...which is in style now, but in 5 years?

Its not timeless, but it might just be perfect as a piece of design to fit a specific moment. Time, and fashion will tell...

Friday, June 01, 2007

El Capitalo


This coming Wednesday (6th) I shall be in Central London for an interview.
If anyone else is about then and wants to meet up for a couple of hours between about 5pm and 7/8pm then let me know!

I believe Will may also be turning up.