Kermesse

Hannes, picking up speed.

Rocks and Rubbish

This weeks picks of the good, the bad and the brainless

The World Cup has just started in Germany and the country is expecting the event to boost Germany’s economy by 1.6%. That’s quite a kick. World Cup fever, when it’s fully kicked in, is meant to create 60 000 jobs but that is not going to do much to dent Germany’s 11% unemployment. The long term bounce Germany gets from hosting the World Cup is what’s important. The World Cup is really a giant advertising campaign for Germany. It can stimulate tourism, and demand for German related stuff (Bratwurst, BMW and Windhoek Lager for starters). The World Cup is a great way to get the world’s attention and hopefully to hold it. Present a memorable image, based on reality, but also on popular myths. We believe the Germans are smart, and strong and efficient. The World Cup will enhance or tarnish that image. To the degree that it does, Germany will experience bounce well beyond this year.

Rocks

Coronation’s ad featuring Van Gogh is playful, yet makes the point that it takes a special eye, a special touch, a special gut instinct to recognize value, or a good investment. It’s an excellent ad because it captures so much depth and subtlety very quickly, and conveys it lightly, colorfully, with wit and charm. It also adopts a subject which its target market will both appreciate and agree with. Great job. Another commercial I’d like to mention is Hyundai’s Sonata. The tagline is: look closer. And you do, because the body of the car and the commentator appears to be cut away. It’s interesting because of this creative element, and it makes it an imminently watchable piece of work.

Huh?

I don’t understand what is going on in these Hyundai bakkie ads. Something about people, and then cut to the bakkies. What’s that? It is an ad for an automobile right? So why do we see the automobile for about 1 second. There’s another ad with a kid playing with a remote control? Okayyy? Is this car for kids? But the kid can’t even see what’s happening. Couldn’t they have put an old granny or the kid’s dad in the car? What about showing us one useful thing, a demo on a road in a scenario that a person is likely to be in in real life (parking, overtaking, cornering etc). How fast can it go? How much can it carry? What can you use it for? In the bakkie ad why are we watching clumsy bricklayers?

And I’m still getting annoyed with Dettol’s permutations. The latest: ‘giving you the confidence to hug’. Er…ja.

And although I love all things Scottish, I think the MACnificent Scottish Leader is anything but. It’s lame. It’s not creative. Is that the best you guys can do? I’m going to make sure I don’t drink something that’s an insult to my intelligence…the one about the mathematical formula…1.6 something works much better for me. Only problem is, I don’t remember the name of that drink…just that I must CONNECT. Connect to what?

Rubbish

A black horse running on water. Shell. Enough said.

Advertising needs to capture your attention, for the right reason, but if you don’t remember the name of the product you’re promoting, you’ve achieved nothing. It works to base advertising on popular mythology: the idea of finance relating to art, wine, horseracing etc. works. So develop these, or work counter intuitively, but at least be aware of them. Find a golden thread and then build on it. Ask yourself, when being creative, if the extravagance you’ve gone to the bother of (when creating) really connects all the dots. Will pictures of a black horse running on the sea make me think of putting a certain kind of petrol in the car? There’s a better chance, I think, if I see the actual liquid, under the logo, going in at some point in the commericial. Caltex has people pretending to be petrol, cleaning the inside of the engine. Not bad, but doesn’t quite do it. So here, once again, is a shortlist of what to do to make good advertising:

Get the world’s attention, and hold it, or in the words of Gladiator: win the crowd.

Present a memorable image, based on reality, but also on popular myths.

Remind us who you are, link us to a positive image or symbol.

Make us feel good about the link, either by amusing us or having us solve a puzzle, or providing a twist.

Remind us who you are by being congruent to who you really are (because, you know we already do know who you are). Do that without boring us, or irritating us, and we’ll show you the money.