I’m a little late with this one (well late in the new ‘Twinstant’ age). Google splashed out a reported $5,000,000 for a 60 second spot during the recent Superbowl game.
The background:
Google’s refusal to advertise through ATL TV until now is testimony to its undisputed dominance of the search engine market, with latest figures hovering around a 70% share. With many predicting Microsoft’s Bing taking up an ever-increasing margin Google appeared to have gone with the biggest advert in the world in an attempt to obtain maximum reach and plug the gap.
The Big Idea:
Titled Parisian Love, the concept tracks our character’s journey from falling in love, right through to [well, if you've not seen it I'll leave the pay off for now]. It’s a stunningly simple concept born out of a very realistic use. I’m a big fan of it, laying out it’s core services through an emotive narrative.
Does it work?
I belive so: Due to their track record of no TV advertising it’s hit the world’s blogs, tweets and conversations heavily. Much more than I’d expect an ad to do as part of an ordinary ongoing campaign. Let’s face it though – Google don’t really need to worry. I can’t see the phrase “Bing it” taking off for now.
I fully expect them to dominate for the time being, even if their cavernous gap to their competitors is narrowed slightly.
Summary:
All in all it’s a lovely look at how something as rudimentary as a search engine can play its small role in bringing the world a little closer to us, and maybe, just maybe, helping two people fall in love. Overly romantic? Perhaps. I still love it though.
As many of you know, for so many great reasons I choose to spend some of my free time helping run a Scout Troop. Right now I’m organising the Scouts’ annual night hike competition – so it’s essential that I walk all three routes prior to the event, ensuring they are still walkable for kids.
Last night with a belly full of Herdwick Hotpot and enough outdoor gear to stock a new Blacks, I headed off to the hills well after darkness had fallen. Despite torrential rain, wintery blasts of sleet and a stiff wind, my walking partner for the night Dan and I are experienced enough not to worry. Both of us went through Scouts, both of us list hill walking way up our list of things we enjoy, and both of us are pretty capable with a map, compass and being able to walk off the bearings we’ve set.
The fun ended when, traversing a 10 foot drainage ditch ankle deep in mud, we hit upon an lake with our only means of getting around being through a swamp.
The fun ended when, traversing a 10 foot drainage ditch ankle deep in mud, we hit upon an lake with our only means of getting around being through a swamp. The water was nearing our boot limit, our feet began to sink and it quickly became clear we would need to rely on our experience to get us out of this one having gone well over a mile or so beyond a worn pathway.
Navigating from an outdated map we set a new bearing only to find ourselves in a freshly ploughed deep clay field with no path in sight. We now had two choices: Stick to a bearing our map said was correct, or head towards a distant road, which from training we knew meant a likely escape route. We did the latter with boots weighing over 5kg with clay. Our legs now aching under the weight we climbed a fence to safety with little time left to plan and walk a new route. We wanted to give up, tired, nearing midnight, and miles from our destination.
But after finding much needed respite in a pub we decided that as leaders of Scouts, upholding their standards, we couldn’t give up. We plotted, we planned, and headed back out to finish the job in hand: To find a route which could get our Scouts safely back on the challenge night.
At 01:00 this morning as we finished at the Hut a few good things struck me:
• Don’t give in, even when adversity faces you.
• Solutions can always be found if you work hard enough at problems.
• If all else fails in our lives the simple pleasures are the ones which will make us truly happy.
So here’s to the simple things. Here’s to real life and nature beating anything else in our magnificent world. I’d do it all over again.
Postscript: Extra lessons learned:
• Farmers move or remove footpaths without warning; so know your bearings!
• Always begin and end a walk at a pub, and preferably include one half way through
• Pubs make the best places to hold up and plan stuff (unless there’s a Zombie attack)
• ALWAYS walk a route before letting 15 children loose on a night hike
• Lamb Hotpot is superior to Bean casserole for farting competitions.
Pringle of Scotland have remained largely unchanged since their inception in 1815. In fact since Otto Weisz’s team created the signature Argyle pattern it has remained part of their collection ever since.
However the brand went through some very tough times, got bought out, and over diversified. They nigh-on collapsed. However another buy out saw them strip back again and re-focus firmly on their roots.
Two new films released for the brand in 2010 do the tricky job of highlighting a premium and historic brand in a thoroughly modern way. One retains the air of exclusivity and Mysterious Scottish beauty which has won them fond places in so many heart. The other re-introduces them to a classy, fashion conscious and youthful audience at the Milan Fashion Show – many of whom may not know of their illustrious history.
First off is their new ‘brand film’ by art photographer Ryan McGinley, starring the Academy Award winner Tilda Swinton. Then the wonderfully quirky animated short created by David Shrigley for the Brand’s return to the Milan Fashion show.
Being a good creative is more than just turning out the work. It’s about being great in front of clients, delivering coherent presentations when it’s ‘your turn’ in the pitch, adding hands-on creative conviction to a suit’s informed deliverance, and much much more.
I’d go as far to say that a good creative should pitch as well as the best of suits, be an actor in the board room, sell their ‘baby’, and convince the audience that the Big Idea is sound and has been worked deep into the campaign.
Whatever you say, it’s about saying it with conviction. So it’s good to see the character which Joel Bauer creates has NAILED his pitch, rehearsed the lines, speaks with CONVICTION and KNOWS his stuff. Learn from him, erm, no, don’t…
So, Dr Pepper have ‘done a flash-mob’. Nice, there’s nothing quite like a pastiche to raise a brand’s profile.
My 2010 rule for this blog was not turn it into an easy forum for slating ads and the agency’s intentions. Why? Well first because I believe that being positive with all you do leads to a happier life – I’ve not much time for negativity, and secondly I may end up working for an agency who’s produced an ad which I’ve slated.
Back to the point: Dr Pepper released a torrid ‘flash-mob’ ad on Youtube on Monday – a pastiche of the brand’s original 1978 ad featuring the same song and similar dance. Now back then in America, the ad apparently went down a storm – being suitably camp and jolly. For reasons yet unknown an agency thought it wise to produce a thoroughly modern ‘flash-mob’ version for 2010.
Firstly, hardly anyone will know of the original who buys Dr Pepper. Secondly, it doesn’t replicate it well enough be ironic or a tribute. And thirdly, setting it on a Wall Street trading floor with the now senior singer from the original, surrounded by cheer-leading dancers looks VERY naff.
The original was a classic, I fear the new one won’t be looked upon quite the same. So far the new ad has received poor reaction. What’s your view?
The 1978 Original “Be a Pepper”
And the MUCH improved 2010 version:
What a stunning Sunset over Luton tonight.
It may be the lamest competition ever. But you WILL win something if you win. Here are the details:
You’ll win a chocolate bar – a mystery one of my choosing.
It will be posted.
It may get broken.
If the postman’s sack is hot, it may melt.
You can’t ask for a specific bar.
There is no cash alternative.
The winner will be my decission, and is final.
A winner can not be a winner if there’s only one result (so retweet it on Twitter).
If you have a nut allergy then you must specify if you win.
Please check the packaging for allergy and nutritional information before consumption.
I take no responsibility for any future weigh gain.
This competition and prize should be enjoyed as part of a healthy, balanced lifestyle.
Chocolate is not a meal replacement.
It does not count towards your five-a-day even if it’s Fruit & Nut.
I accept no responsibility for any death as a result of this competition.
Ok, legal over. Here’s the competition image:
Flickr Creative Commons willhowells e1262804679805
I’ve blogged this image before when it was over last year (yes, it was). But this time The Government have said it too. So it really must be true. Will it last? Will it make any real difference to client or retail spending? Do you think it inspires public confidence to spend?
This year will be a big year for me so I’m pretty chuffed that things (might) pick up. It’ll be big for two VERY exciting reasons: They’ll both become apparent in time, and give me PLENTY of blogging material.
“Oh good” I hear you cry. “Just what we need, more inspired nonsense from @GrahamCreative“.
Watch most new films and you take for granted those elements rendered in CGI – you almost forget they’re there. So why go to the ‘effort’ of doing it for real when CGI is often more cost-effective? This is a dilemma which was raised in an important meeting the other day.
“Why bother doing it when it’s easier to fake it?”
Somebody in a meeting.
For one thing, TV advertising is not simply reliant on cost. Value yes, not cost. People now gravitate towards honesty, trust, and that thing which was once called conversation which we now called viral.
Sony, along with Fallon went to spectacular effort for their first Bravia ad making damn sure that the ‘behind the scenes’ filming had almost as much tender loving as the ad itself. Now this entire spot could have been produced in CGI and we’d still think it was cool, but what helped it transcend from cool to something people ‘loved’ were the production values required to do it for real.
Wherever possible brands are encouraged to embrace old production values and to put money into doing an ad the ‘hard way’. In fact Honda went very public with their behind the scenes for ‘Difficult is worth doing’ – even producing a blog. Honda and W+K both knew of the enormous PR gains and connotative benefits of this approach, as did Sony with Fallon London’s Bravia spots. What made these win so many fans and awards was the solid big idea, but to really engage the wider public it’s usually better done the ‘old-fashioned way’ and ‘do a DVD’ – offering people a chance to prove the brand’s honest credentials with a ‘making of.
What encouraged me to put this post together was BBH’s latest spot for Barclaycard entitled ‘Rollercoaster’ (watch it here). The behind the scenes were more entertaining than the ad. It appears at first as if there’s no way it could have been done for real. And you’d be right – to a point. The track was real (40′ of it), the buildings are real, and even all the camera angles are real. And so despite CGI effects from the Mill, there’s quite a compelling build story behind the scenes. That said the ad failed to really grab me, nor did the ‘Making of’. I fear that’s due to a boring product and a slightly weak big idea: It just lacked that little bit of soul.
“There’s an extra bit of soul that comes from seeing stuff that’s real”
Richard Flintham, ECD Fallon London.
Richard sums the whole process up pretty well there. In everything we try and create we’re searching for that extra bit of soul. It’s what turns something good into something great. Keeping it real keeps the lid on that soul, and for me it won the last decade, and despite it being impressive, CGI is in reality, Fake.
So here they are: Two of my favorite ads of the last ten years. Both are strong ideas brilliantly brought to life. Real life.
Sony Bravia ‘Balls’ – The making of.
Sony Bravia ‘Balls’ – The Ad.
Honda ‘Difficult is worth doing’ – The making of.
Honda ‘Difficult is worth doing’ – The Ad.
