Playstation "For the Players"

Today I want to have a quick look at this Playstation ad, created by US agency Drum. Drum created this short film, inspired by the user created twitter hashtag which trending globally in late February of this year. The short film capitalises on Millennial nostalgia, charting the brands growth with that of its primary user base. The ad donates the passing of time with both the growth of the featured characters, the change in cultural references in the setting and the London skyline. The film was covered extensively in blogs and websites, linked in to the major release of PS4 information and hype.

Nostalgia within the target demographic seems to be at an all time high, with references to 80's and 90's culture constantly mentioned on social networking sites. Exploiting their brands important role within this period was a clever move from Playstation, whose advertising is generally of a very calibre to begin with.

ECRE "Bloody Stairs"

McCann Erickson's Paris division created a print and television version of this ad for the European Council on Refugees and Exiles. The television ad shows us a familiar picture of a plane with a red carpet placed upon the air-stairs. This image indicates importance and the triumphant music invites the audience to think of arriving celebrities or dignitaries. As the camera pans out, the music falters and we are able to identify the red carpet as a trail of blood. The print ad focuses on this final scene, using the same copy as the television piece.

This ad broaches the important work the ECRE do, encouraging the general public to think about these issues in a heightened way. Changing a person's opinion through advertising is hard, but this ad forces the viewer to acknowledge (and perhaps, alter)  their preconceived opinions on refugees within their own country. It's a great example of an agency taking on Non-profit work and taking a daring step that truly engages with the public. 

Volkswagen's Area View System "Nap" & "Scout"

Another look at a Brazilian Cannes Lion Print candidate today. The campaign was for  Volkswagen's Area View System, a feature in their new models they wished the public to have a greater knowledge of.  AlmapBBDO was tasked with creating the print ad for the feature.

While the ad is funny and demonstrates why the product has a valuable use, it's focus on children is incredibly savvy marketing. Volkswagen pride themselves on creating family cars, and by highlighting children in both aspects of the print campaign, the real purpose of the product is displayed. Keeping children safe. A well executed ad that deserved to be considered best practice. 

Miami Ad School ESPM "RIP"

While looking at the Cannes Lions winners for 2013 I stumbled upon this great print ad for Miami Ad School ESPM, an advertising school based in Sao Paulo, Brazil. The print ads catalogues the overuse of certain historical figures in modern advertising, namely Albert Einstein, Marilyn Monroe and Che Guevara. The print campaign, created by the Brazilian wing of Ogilvy, highlights tired ideas and demonstrates how the school can help eradicate this type of overused creative.

My favourite aspect of the ad is the strong copy featured in each version, encouraging the marketer to "Let Him/Her Rest in Peace". The school's message is clearly communicated with this and despite being cluttered with visuals, is strong enough to remain with the reader.

 

Energia

Another look at a campaign by Irish agency Boys and Girls today as part of our small retrospective.  This print campaign for Energia was accompanied by a series of radio ads that focused on Energia being the country's largest electricity supplier to Irish SME's. Energia were faced with an issue, despite having a large business consumer base, they were largely unknown by the general public. Competing against established names like Bord Gáis and ESB, this campaign aimed to put Energia's name into the public conscious and build brand awareness.

The ads juxtaposed two business environments together in a humorous fashion, highlighting the wide range of companies in Energia's client base. These print ads were the beginning of a massive campaign, involving television ads and the sponsorship of Pat Kenny's infamous move to Newstalk FM. 

Quick link

Just a quick link to the site Joe la Pompe. Around since 1999, the site finds copycat ads the world over and names/shames. Great reminder that plagiarism is quickly spotted and rarely forgotten!
http://www.joelapompe.net/

Music Faux Passe

Today I read about an advertising music faux passe I had to share. All three of these ads ran concurrently, some even airing in the same timeslot. Choosing a popular song to identify with your brand is all well and good, but it seems like a massive misstep to not view who else is using the exact same song. Major blow for the agencies media buyers also, as running the ad in the same slot as another with the same backing music deeply diminishes the chances of the second product being remembered.

 Realistically, while the song (M83's "Midnight City" if you're interested) is great, it is so deeply ingrained in my head as Made in Chelsea's theme song it is a poor choice for any brand!

 

Powers "It's Ours"

Today I'd like to continue a short look at the work of Irish advertising agency Boys and Girls. This outdoor and print advertisement for Power's Whiskey won them a bronze award in the Outdoor category of this year's Kinsale Sharks International Creative Festival. Authenticity and craft were the keywords in this campaign, and intrinsic to Power's brand identity as a whole. The company wished to promote their strong sense Irish heritage and tradition.

In the ad, landscape photos of Ireland are rendered on to images of Power's whiskey in glasses. In the words of the agency themselves; "The Burren was photographed to provide the basis for the Hot Powers execution. Ladies View in Killarney was shot showcasing a changing Irish landscape. A Barley field in Louth captured a key ingredient in the Whiskey and Ballintoy Harbour in Armagh provided a memory of a great weekend." The images are beautiful, and truly reflect the brand image. I think this work is a great example of a simple creative premise executed to perfection, creating an advert that appeals to multiple generations. 

Folláin 2013 Print Ad

Boys and Girls created this beautiful print ad for Irish jam producers Folláin in May of this year. The campaign's simple design harkens to the simple manufacturing of the product, resulting in a pleasing brand symmetry. Paper manipulator Yulia Brodskaya, who has created work for The Guardian, Cadburys and Ford, designed the image.

It's great to see emerging Irish companies chose emerging Irish creative agencies to partner with. Boys and Girls work is refreshing and something I am beginning to be able to identify at sight. I'll have a look at a few more of their successful campaigns in the coming days. 

Peperami "It's a Bit of an Animal" and "Nibblers"

Quick post today on Unilever's Peperami. Lowe and Partners worked with the Peperami brand for 16 years, creating the character of "The Animal" and a series of zany advertisements. Another feature of these ads was the strong strapline that closed each segment.

In 2009 the brand took a bold move, moving away from traditional agency Lowe, and inviting creatives on Idea Bounty to conceptualise a new campaign for the brand, offering a prize of £10,000. This unorthodox move generated publicity for the brand. Personally, I prefer Lowe's work to that of the crowdsourced effort. It's sharper, funnier and fresh, even looking back at it ten years later. I've included an example of both here today so you can decide which method you prefer more. 

Carlsberg "Nightclubs"

I'll end this review of the Carlsberg "Don't Do" campaign with this last ad, which shows what Carlsberg would do if in charge of nightclubs. As stated before, the campaign was incredibly successful. While I have only showcased ads created primarily for the Irish market by OwensDDB, many other agencies (in particular Saatchi&Saatchi) produced similar ads worldwide. Many of the Irish ads were also shown to international audiences.

Upon the campaigns completion, Carlsberg faced many challenges with creating a campaign that easily encompassed the brand values and viewpoint as concisely as this series. By 2005, Heineken had become the market leader and Carlsberg was forced to rethink their strategy to ensure consumers remembered why they loved Carlsberg. However this stall in Carlsberg's growth cannot diminish the success and popularity of this brilliant campaign. 

Carlsberg "Flatmates"

Continuing on with our look at some of Carlsberg's "Don't Do" campaign, Flatmates remains a top audience favourite. Carlsberg is a brand that has a playful image and this ad really reinforced the target markets opinion that it was a likeable brand. The total campaign saw a steady rise in sales for the company, and entered into the pantheon of great Irish advertising. Also worth noting is the copy line, "Carlsberg, probably the best larger in the world", is still widely remembered and universally believed as a catchphrase.

OwensDDB's market research showed that consumers valued the brands integrity and lack of pretension. Many of the ad's also prominently featured football, a key interest in the target demographic and tied to Carlsberg's corporate sponsoring of Irish football. The cleverness, insight and imagination this campaign portrayed makes it clear why it is still so widely remembered and has become a key distinguishing feature for the brand. 

Carlsberg "Dreams"

Going back to a slightly older ad in this post, with Carlsberg's 2002 "Dreams", one of the featured ads in the outstanding "Don't Do" campaign. Ireland qualified for the FIFA World Cup in 2002, and the national hysteria surrounding the event had began to rise. Carlsberg capitalised on this, providing a humorous ad that hankers back to the country's infamous Italia '90 success. Jason McAteer, an Irish football player, is a great use of celebrity cameo and really ties the ad together. Another great shot is taken outside a chipvan, a subtle reference to "The Van", a film fondly remembered by the Irish public.

Even still, OwensDBB, the agency which created the campaign, receive feedback from focus groups that Carlsberg should reinstate it's "Don't Do" campaign. I aim to cover a few more of this series in the coming weeks, as an example of some truly engaging best practice. 

Eircom MusicHub

Today I wanted to look at an Irish ad that captured attention of the national audience. Chemistry, an Irish creative agency, were behind this concept, which was a current Facebook craze. This is a good example of taking a creative vision from a trend, while still creating an ad that is both timeless and accessible to people who have never seen the original inspiration.

Emmet Wright, Chemistry's creative director had this to say about the brief and execution; “At the time, music-streaming was a new concept and Eircom needed to hit high numbers, and our brief was to look at how best to introduce this service. We developed a concept that would work, not just with early-adopters of technology, but would also educate and motivate the late majority”.

The advertisement was pivotal in Eircom securing their annual subscriber target within five months. It was also a coup for Chemistry who won numerous awards, with the campaign remaining their most successful to date. 

American Apparel

Today I wanted to look at a company who creates all advertising in house, American Apparel. The company is known for their sexually suggestive advertising, ranging from the scintillating to the purely tasteless. It is a testament to their creative viewpoint that I struggled to find three ads that were suitable to display here. The company has designed and printed their own campaigns since it was established in 1989. Most of the work contains women, who the company feel encompasses a natural beauty. Champions of the brand have applauded the lack of airbrushing displayed in the ads.

Yet detractors comment on the gratuitous use of flesh, sexual settings and overall misogynistic tone prevalent in the print campaigns.  The company has battled with regulators in multiple countries over provocative pieces, and often had to withdraw campaigns due to complaints and industry standards. The company's CEO, the infamous Dov Charney, has had several sexual harassment lawsuits brought against him. Some of these lawsuits were even raised by models featured in print campaigns.

In 2008, The Guardian awarded AA with the title of "Label of the Year". I think it would be fair to say that the company peaked during this period. Recent sales have been low, and consumer backlash to the increasingly explicit advertisements has begun to stir. What once was viewed as a provocative and exciting way to market a brand is now seen as stale and tacky. It will be interesting to see if that company attempts to move in a different direction with their branding if sales continue to fall.