More and more I’m hearing folks in the advertising industry finally starting to talk some sense.
Mark Earls former head of Ogilvy’s planning offices in London speaks here about the perils of a multi-channel execution of a single “big idea”. Today, many agencies and brands continue to focus on consistency rather than effectiveness. This is certainly evident in my recent blog post on MasterCard.
There is a quibble I have with something he said - though it might be semantics. He aligned the term “big idea” with “big insight”. Big insights are very different than big ideas. Many ideas, strategies, and executions can flow from a single insight. And while one insight might rise to the top, the second, third, fourth and fifth aren’t far behind. The key with insights is to get the ones that no one else has. Patrick Edson from MillerCoors talked about this a few months ago.
Earls quickly touches here on the decreasing relevance of the 30-second spot and how products and services are the future of advertising.
So what’s slowing the industry down?
Minds are boggled with how to structure awards shows around things that actually provide consumer value vs brand impressions.
I just got off the phone with Chase in response to an offer to upgrade one of my credit cards. The key driver for me was the rewards program.
This free plan even sounded better than the one I was paying for on my “prestigious” World MasterCard. I asked the representative to help me compare the other card benefits. She informed me that this new card was better.
“That couldn’t be”, I protested. MasterCard sent me several mailings touting the premium services on the World card, while this new Chase card was really just about the rewards.
I decided to do a little research. Which brought be to the World card microsite.
Firstly, the site is useless. It communicates card benefits as sound bite-rollovers on a 3D interface. A simple text-based list of my high-touch services is no where to be found.
Meanwhile, fluttering birds keep beckoning me after each 3D transition to “register and customize your world”. Customize what world? This crappy 3D one? There’s no information about the value of registering. Simply put, this site doesn’t give me enough information whether I’m a prospect or a customer.
The site reeks of an agency that is more accustomed to attempting to deliver on marketing “wow”, than on delivering consumer value.
Lastly, the visual execution is just wrong. The materials I received in the mail had a sense of exclusivity to them. This microsite feels more like a bad version of Mario 64. It’s just off-brand.
Furthermore the design caliber of this microsite (and the Priceless.com site framework) is amateurish at best. It’s not even worth a design critique.
It’s just hard to believe that the destination for one of the most iconic ad campaigns in recent times.
Hey clients, guess what? We ad agencies kind of don’t get this social media thing yet either. But don’t worry we have the interns teaching us what all this Twittering and Facebooking stuff is all about.
And while we badger you about your corporate sluggishness to adopt, we’re a little afraid of it too.
It’s truly rare when you come across a product placement that, not only doesn’t annoy but, actually feels integral to the storyline or a character’s development.
Enter HBO’s True Blood.
In True Blood, Vampires have come “out of the coffin” and are trying to live side-by-side with humans. And in doing so, some are trying to act more human. They’re on TV speaking about equal rights for Vampires. They’re out at bars ordering Tru Blood, blood in a bottle. They’re texting each other on their mobile devices.
And they’re hanging out at home playing Nintendo Wii. This family-friendly communal gaming console acts as a perfect device to reveal the human side of Vampires, even the evil ones.
Bravo to the team who connected the dots here.
Contrast the above clip with the Black Eyed Peas video below, which begins by feeling like an HP commercial.
Why would my twisted mind make that kind of a leap? Well, I’ve had the pleasure to work with the folks at Slim Jim many years ago. And that headline is (almost) on-brand for them. Remove the “Kills Three”, and it’s 100% on brand.
I just got off the phone with Chase in response to an offer to upgrade one of my credit cards. The key driver for me was the rewards program.