See You Slater...

I think it is only fair considering how much I hate their previous ads, to give credit to M+C Saatchi and PC World for their latest campaign.

Gone is the terrible hard sell feature list and poor salesperson dialogue; and in comes Hollywood actors and a bit of budget.

What we now have isn't earth shattering, but it at least focuses the brand on people, their uses and needs for their computers. It shows PC World to be helpful, friendly and part of that transition of the PC from grey box with Doom to a multimedia hub with Doom. Suddenly it feels like there is a reason to go there, we all know its cheaper to buy PC stuff online, but now there is a glimpse that the experience and advice makes it worth that premium.

Whether they have fixed instore to live up to it is another thing...

But whether this is client or agency raising their game it is to be commended. Dragging away from hard sell tactics is a difficult choice to make in times like these; and to go head first into a product-less branding piece from where they were is excellent.

This isn't going to get any pencils, but hopefully it puts the brand onto a road where they can keep improving their communications for years to come.

New PC World ad at Campaign

Big Update Part 3: In the hands of the god fearing

Let's not underplay this. The fate of the whole world rests on today.

Today America decides whether to let intelligence or fear win, whether to let ignorance and racism beat truth and change.

Today we find out whether America is the intelligent, caring nation that we all believe is hiding underneath the layer of ignorance that we have seen for eight long long years. Or if it is actually as stupid as we fear in our worst imaginations.

This affects us all. Our jobs, our security, the welfare of humankind around the world. The survival of the human race as we know it.

Frankly if John Mccain wins today then the USA might as well be wiped off the face of the earth, for it will have no respect left, no credibility left, no rightful place in the world left, and no justification for ever ever declaring how they are free.

Barack Obama is no Nelson Mandela, but then Mandela is no Martin Luther King. But after the last eight years, the potential impact Obama could have on his country and the world is greater than either of those two great men. BBC News last night showed clips of southern American women declaring 'I know for a fact that Obama is a terrorist.'

Maybe, just maybe after 8 years of Obama, they might realise the terrorist was already there; and Obama kicked him out.

Review of the Year - Part 3

2007 has been a good year for traditional advertising. The anticipated collapse never happened, digital advertising appeared to be suffering from a mild hangover, and despite a flurry of brands with 'big ads', and too many 'chain reaction' ads; it wasn't half bad.

But, there is always rubbish:

Disappointment of the Year

After a decent build up campaign, and a huge huge budget, I was expecting something more than a giant domino themed version of Cog. It's a decent watch, but lacks the Guiness charm, and feels like a weak attempt at aping W+K; rather ironically, the creatives moved to W+K almost immediately after this ad launched...



The "What Were They Thinking" Award for Bandwagon Jumping

Oh. Dear. Someone read about UGC and appeared to miss the bit about quality control.

[sourcing ad... ]


Worst Ads of 2007

Still badly written. Still badly acted. Still failing to get a good message about the company across. Had a great discussion about this campaign with Graham at Cheetham Bell JWT ; might talk about that soon.



Yes, we can see what they were going for, but they just got it very wrong. We do not like, empathise or positively associate with Mickey at all.



Oh the stereotyping, woe the lacklustre use of a decent tag.

What in the World??

After discussing the brilliance of M+C Saatchis latter BA ads (see bottom video) on Facebook, I was reminded of how any brand can have good ads if the agency and company tries hard enough. How any agency can make good ads.

It saddens me then, that these awful PC World ads are still appearing. Ads that not only are horrible and cringeworthy to watch, but fail to get across a positive message about the brand other than "good value" (which they aren't, usually).

I wonder, what could be done with the brand if the agency or company (or both) were to realize there is so much more they could say and do. (Hell, even a better ad with the same strategy would be alright..) We know from the BA ads that M+C can do better; so why is it they aren't?