Never be Tried and Trusted

For me, three of the most dangerous words in adland are 'Tried and Trusted'. In an industry that appears to love proprietry charts, systems and generators to distinguish one agency from another, I worry sometimes that we (at least in some agencies) have ended up being too guided by the success of the past.

As soon as we start to rely on an idea or toolkit simply because it has always worked we risk falling over. Advertising has always evolved, but now it is doing so quicker than ever, and just because something has worked for 20 years does not mean it is right for this brief, this client or this problem. If you can look at the problem and data that are relevant and then say 'this model definitely still applies' then brilliant, but fail to check and its the first sign of complacency.

There is nothing wrong with using models per se, as long as they help instead of hindering; don't steal time from the real issues; and are always sense checked for their relevance to a brief.

Some agencies have great models that are really just philosophies to drive themselves. It's why I will always prefer BBH's 'When the World Zigs, Zag.' to TBWA's 'Disruption'. The former (at least from my understanding) is a creative philosophy that doesn't get in the way of finding what is relevant; while the latter feels like a process that every bit of work is dragged through regardless of if it needs. [Please correct me if I am wrong.] Not to say it doesn't produce great work sometimes, but it seems like another hurdle rather than an enabler.

Every case is different, what works for one may not work for another.

Not only that, but this issue is also part of the problem involved in the 'advertising is dead/new model agency' debates that keep coming up. If it is dead, the reliance on archive models and ideas is probably a big reason why. The new models need to make sure their ideas are based on what is right, not what is currently wrong. Even the people claiming to look forward seem to be using the past as their start point.

This is why in my mind much of this debate can be summed up by saying: Advertising is not dead, it's just learning where it needs to go. The tried and trusted models aren't always right anymore.

I believe this industry works best (both in terms of results and in terms of creativity) when we treat every problem with an open mind based on the relevant problems/details/insights around it. Not when we stick a proprietary creative/planning system on top of the problem and end up having to solve two different issues to justify ourselves.

Client vs Creative

I was sad to find out the other day that one of the best toy ads of all time (that I wrote about briefly a while ago) was only ever shown about 5 times in the UK.



Apparently the client didn't like it as there were no images of children actually playing with the toy...
Such a wonderful ad, showing the huge possibilities of the product in a witty and engaging way; and the client killed it.

Happily its such a good ad that it is still remembered even though it was hardly seen at the time.

Review of the Year! - Part One

If I have time I still hope to organise the blogosphere ad awards for 2007 once people are back online, but in the meantime here is my personal review of the year in adland and marketing.

Best ads of the year:

3. Irn Bru - Snowman. Alright, technically it was from last year, but I never saw it; and it is a perfect pastiche in every respect. It commands your attention, and the moment when you hear the music and get the joke is just wonderful.



2. Cadbury's - Gorilla. Ok, I like it more now than I did initially. Having thought about the message hidden away it's cleverer than it appeared. But the real magic is in the CGI, timing, choice of music, and the direction. Admirably subtle, jumping on the 'big ad' wagon whilst keeping a sense of compactness and personality (unlike Guiness Domino for one).



1. Carling - Space / Igloo. This might be controvertial in some circles. But I stand by my comments in campaign. This ad singlehandedly expands the Carling brand without alienating it's core users. It's almost perfectly produced, the atmosphere, the timing, the writing, the way it understands male friendship without being patronising or stereotypical (*cough* Carlsberg). I finally see the distinction between BMB and TBWA under Trevor Beattie, this has the humour and disruption of old, but with a subtlety and message that is significantly better.

Future Marketing Summit Day Two - Part 3

Next up is TBWA, discussing the Nissan Qashqai work.

Enthusiasm > Pain !

Nissan wanted to rival VW Golf in terms of sales and perception, which involved needing 80% of sales coming from people who don’t normally have any association with Nissan.

Objectives: Make Qashqai a household name, create interest, build intrigue and engage for long launch period.

As TBWA rightly point out, the name is odd, yet it worked for the Nintendo Wii… it’s also harder to make puns about the word Qashqai!

They came up with a fictitious urban sport of Qashqai, with rules, ads, history, galleries etc. Not an easy task they say, but it actually became fun. The aim was to make the content the media, not about buying media.

Difficulty in tying it all together, what with being a “traditional” agency (eurgh…).

Made how to guide – rule book, including one for each country.

When people started to point out it was fake (of course..) they started to join in, such as whether things were mathematically possible.

The campaign does appear to be a good example of how big agencies can work together; with 12 involved in this case.

Results: Gave Nissan employees pride in the car, improved the profile of Nissan Europe within the company. Awareness / views / sales a lot above expectation.