The new D&AD annual arrived this morning. So I was a bit depressed. Nothing of mine in there. Everyone is better than me. Should try another screenplay. Our industry's finished anyway.
But at lunchtime, I was reading The Independent, and I noticed... quite a few good ads.
This was probably the best one. Great use of irony to make the case.
Then there was this one.
Nice little insight. Strong argument for going wireless. It's an excellent campaign, this, for AOL.
Then this.
I really like the 'Valuable thinking time' thought. A great benefit of taking the train. And this is a witty execution. Hard-working too. It's offering fine food, space to think, and an intelligent funny tone - all in one ad.
Beautiful illustration on this new Orange ad. Seems Mother aren't going to be shifted off the account in a hurry.
Another nice insight. This time for Norwich Union insurance. We all have a cautious side, don't we? It made me read the copy, anyway.
A funny visual. Raised a chuckle. Caught my attention. Not bad for an ad from the government that's literally telling me to sit up straight.
George Bush has just been shot. You can't not look at this image. And one-eighth of a second later, you have taken in the message that there's a programme about this delicious fantasy on the telly tonight.
Of course, there were a few bad ads too. Like these.
OK, it's retail.
V. patronising
Oh well, pays the bills I suppose.
See me beat my chest!
This can't be good, can it?
Huh? It no make no sense.
But all in all, I was pretty encouraged by the day's crop. Who says newspapers are dead?
There was even one further item to cheer me up - a Q&A with one of the legends of our own industry.
He would have enjoyed one or two of the offerings placed around him today I'm sure, being in his day a noted exponent of the print advertising medium. Shit at TV, mind.
Here are some of the qualities that various industry figures say are required of a good account handler:
Patience, diplomacy, negotiation skils, ability to get bills paid on time, breadth of experience, eclectic, ability to do strategy and channel planning, helping stimulate good creative work, make things happen, drive change, clever, fun, to be around, sociable, likeable, rigorous, relentless, fearless, immune to pressure, unfazed by complexity, clear vision, truth-telling, respect confidences, sense of humour, keep things in perspective, don't try to take credit, no whinging, create, lead, manage, make it happen, be on top of everything, be ruthless, respect authority, know when you can flout convention, recognise the primacy of the idea, have a view on advertising, know everything possible about the client's brand.
Phew. Is it any wonder we slag them off, when we expect them to have all these qualities? Nobody has all these qualities.
But I wonder why it's locked during lunch time. Is this cafe so popular that it risks dangerous overcrowding if it allows entry between 12 and 2? Or is it to stop people leaving...?
Discovered the super-cool blog of American photographer Merkley. Here's 3 reasons to visit:
1) Pictures like this one 2) His tagline is "I may not be God, but at least I'm real" 3) He has just posted the entire first episode of hilarious new American comedy show "It's always sunny in Philadelphia."
First, an interesting post by the wise and likeable Northern Planner about his visit to London's soulless Canary Wharf financial district, which is also home to a single ad agency - Ogilvy.
Then - spookily - yesterday's Campaign reveals that Ogilvy is leaving Canary Wharf for that hotbed of creativity... Victoria. (If you've never been to Victoria, you have missed out on a big railway station. And lots of civil servants' offices).
Ogilvy just don't get it. If you want to attract creative people, you can't be in Victoria.
You have to be in Soho, NoHo or the wild East.
Or whatever the trendy/media district is in whatever city you're located. (Is this true, international readers?)
Just as individuals are influenced by their surroundings, companies must be too, mustn't they?
Geography is destiny, as Jared Diamond so brilliantly lays out in Guns, Germs, and Steel.
Apparently there are eight but I could only find this one. It's okay. Nothing earth-shattering.
But they have caused quite a controversy, mostly over the £1.2m cost.
I did enjoy this quote from someone called Luke Crawley of the broadcasting trade union BECTU: "They won't encourage people to watch. That can only be done through quality programmes."
Sure thing, Luke. Just like you buy a brand of running shoes purely on quality, ditto cars, and you buy beer purely on taste and airline tickets purely on price. Oh, and you don't care what clothes you wear either. And your girlfriend doesn't wear make-up and your kids don't want to go to McDonalds. Image is completely irrelevant. Sure, Luke. Sure.
Here's a fun ad from Y&R New York, via Copyranter that self-deprecatingly demolishes this archaic argument.
I am sure you read Russell's blog. Yesterday he (incredibly generously) posted what he calls his schtick, which is basically the presentation he has been giving for the last couple of years. It's the most interesting post about advertising/marketing I have read in a long time. Highly illuminating, and brilliantly argued.
Having said that, I do disagree with nearly all of it.
Mostly, he's arguing against Maurice Saatchi's one-word equity or "brutal simplicity" theory, and advocating complexity.
Now, the ideal way to resolve this is to place Russell and Maurice in a sand-floored arena, stripped to the waist, armed with tridents and nets.
However, this plan is fraught with logistical difficulties. Not the least of which is Maurice's packed schedule. In fact Maurice is so busy, I'm going to do him a favour and take on Russell myself.
1. Russell uses this funny video to ridicule the idea that the consumer is just sitting there, waiting to receive our messages. His alternative model is this other funny video portraying ad messages as interruptions to something more interesting that we're doing. I think he's only half-right. He's right that we're not 'waiting to receive' a message. But he's wrong that we're doing something more interesting. Often we're not. We're ironing when a radio ad comes on. We're slumped in front of the TV after a hard day at work when a TV ad comes on. We're staring into space on the underground, when our eyes rest on a poster. And in those situations, if your ad can do something like this then that's fine.
2. Russell shows this ad:
and wonders "What would you say the 'message' of that ad is? No idea. Me neither. Because it doesn't really have one... it's not about a single, clear message." Hmmm. Surely it's just saying "Nike is cool"? " It does this by associating Nike with basketball players, fancy basketball moves and hip-hop, which are cleverly connected by the 'idea' of having the players and moves create the track. Simple.
3. Russell says that "this:
is the model of idea creation that most agencies (advertising, digital, whatever) sell their clients. A bunch of smart strategists narrow down the strategic possiblities (with their clients or without) getting to a simple, smart, sharp, focused strategic idea which forms the basis of a controlled explostion of creativity. (Not too big, not too small). This idea is then implemented across a number of media channels to the happiness of everyone . This model is, of course, complete bollocks, and it's designed chiefly, to save money by a) keeping the really expensive people (the creatives) working for the minimum amount of time and b) making the process look calm and predictable. No good idea has ever happened like this.
The reality of any good process that produces great work is more like this:
It's a mess. A good strategist involves the executers as soon and as often as possible. She allows execution to feedback into strategy and vice versa. Something that happens at the end changes something you thought of at the beginning. It's chaotic, wasteful and unpredicatble. It involves lots of people, lots of dead-ends and wastes lots of ideas. But it's the only way to produce stuff that goes beyond the everyday run of communications. Something that people actually want to engage with. Something that works."
Brilliantly argued. But completely wrong.
"No good idea has ever happened like this."
Really?
So M&C Saatchi have never had a good idea? Not their road safety work? Or Vogue.com poster?
There were never any good ideas in the old days, before Honda, before complexity, before the internet?
And ruthlessly simple ideas like 'Lemon', 'Snowplough', the Hamlet campaign, the Lynx/Axe campaign, and Apple '1984' are no good?
Speaking personally, the (admittedly very few) good ideas I've ever had came from a simple brief.
Creatives spend ages sitting around discussing briefs. And all the creatives I know prefer simple ones. Our number one complaint about briefs is that they are confused, unclear or complicated.
Yes, Wieden & Kennedy do produce great work. And yes, it apparently does come out of complexity and chaos. (This no doubt explains the place's nickname - Weekend & Kennedy). But they are not the only people producing great work. And theirs is not the only way to produce great work.
Two brilliantly executed and very 2.0ish items on AdRants have convinced me that maybe it is. First, NBC's hilarious Bill The Promo Guy ad on YouTube. Second, an anti-smoking website from Colorado (pictured) that is so under-the-radar it may even work. Neither of these could have been done three years ago. They're great. And they're for big, mainstream advertisers.
Fun game, maybe more relevant to the UK than other countries, which supposedly identifies which urban subculture you belong to, e.g. Goth, Indie Kid etc. In case anyone's interested, I was a Blinger.
We all know that ad agencies, as currently structured, just aren't making enough money nowadays. So the question today is... which department do you axe? Account handling? Creative? Planning? TV? Traffic/Progress/Project Management? Or do you combine some of them, like Mother has done? Vote now.
Went to a meeting at 8.30am this morning. It was very interesting.. but definitely felt a little early. Aside from shoots, it's the earliest I've ever got up to go to work. What's the earliest time that a meeting can legally be arranged for? Is 8.30 acceptable? Or should it be 9? 10 even?
The general public think that advertising is deceitful nonsense. But can they do any better? No. This London shop owner can't even get a simple open/closed sign right. He's left it on 'open'... and padlocked the door.
Office toys have been around forever. Recently, grown men have started placing dolls in their offices. These are often Star Wars figures, or oddball pieces like the Kubrick collection. And I am no exception. My wife bought me a Sigmund Freud action figure, and he has gone proudly on display in my new office. Account teams come in with problems, Sigmund lies there in his blister-pack, listening. He's an excellent listener.
The first Christmas brief of the year, that is. I'm not complaining though. Could be nice. A christmas ad for one of our biggest clients. Anyone else got a christmas brief yet?
Computer: I've gone for a Powerbook. Apparently there's no right-click... this is worrying...
Leaving-do: We've gone for the medium-sized pub which is a medium-distance away from the agency. If anyone wants to come, you're very welcome, it's this Thursday at the Windsor Castle, Campden Hill Road, near Notting Hill Gate, London. From lunchtime onwards. The agency is contributing £300 for drinks so if you get there early you can drink for free.
I walk past this cafe every day. The sign proudly proclaims 'Cafe Open'... but that sign is painted and non-removable. In other words, this naughty cafe is claiming to be open 24 hours a day 365 days a year, when in fact it's rather lazy and they often shut up shop at about 5pm. I can't see how I could ever bring myself to have a coffee there. Bunch of liars.
Just got a call from the agency we're joining. Do we want to have a PC or a Mac?
I'm stumped. Obviously Mac is cooler. On the downside, I don't know how to use it. And I have a PC at home. Not sure if that would create a problem or not... anyone know?
Andrew said... Good luck to both of you. What are the things a creative wants to know about their new office by the way? 4:58 AM
1. Where is my chair 2. Coffee machine, toilet 3. My computer isn't working. what's the number for I.T.? 4. What can we put in to block out the glass wall so i can pick my nose in peace? 5.What time does everyone arrive and leave? Need to arrive 10 minutes earlier and leave 10 minutes later than the convention. Well, for the first month at least. 6. Where the hell is that guy from I.T.? 7. Where is nearest Pret A Manger 8. Nothing. Don't care at all (this contribution from my partner) 9. Where are the lined pads? And a pen? 10. OK, so let me speak to the head of I.T.
Had my photo in Campaign last week, in connection with our move. Sadly, I looked as friendly as the average serial killer. Nevertheless, getting your photo in Campaign is a must for the ego-driven-monster types like me who work in advertising.
My pet hate is when a creative team moves and Campaign publishes a photo of... the creative directors who hired them.
<-----This is a particularly bad example from a few months ago. The guys in the pic are not poor old Chiappe and Saunby, but the TBWA CD's (now ex CD's) Brooke-Taylor and McTear.
Yes, my partner and I are making a huge leap - from one multinational ad agency with three letters in its name to another multinational ad agency with three letters in its name.
Our creative director was kind enough to ask if there was anything he could do to make us stay, but there wasn't really. It's been 7 years. Seven happy years. But it was just time for new challenges.
So perhaps over the next few days I will be blogging about what it's like to leave somewhere and start anew...
1. You have no idea where everyone else in the agency sits 2. You don't know how to use the internet (except me and Copyranter. where the hell is everyone else?) 3. You have no idea how to book a taxi. Or a bike. In fact you are paralysed without a TV producer to plan your every movement and gesture 4. You constantly have to listen to people who have never had an idea in their lives criticise your ideas 5. The account handler asks you to change your script so the client will like it more, the planner asks you to change your script so consumers will like it more, the creative director asks you to change your script so awards juries will like it more. And the client asks you to change your script so it has a longer product sequence at the end. And in the middle. And the beginning. Actually, can we just have the product all the way through. Big. Put a spotlight on it. Some highlights. In fact, why don't we just make it dance? What do you mean yoghurts can't dance?
This is a frozen pizza from the Dr Oetker 'Bistro' range.
The TV ad, which I've put a link to here, concerns a couple who wave away a beret-clad accordion player from their table, on the grounds that their frozen pizza is already French enough.
It includes lines such as "served on a typical French baguette", "so very French", and "Bistro is French enough for me".
Guess what? A super then comes up which says "Made in Germany."
An ad is supposed to persuade. Get you nodding along in agreement. With insights that chime, because they're true.
There's not much point constructing an argument out of things that aren't true and which nobody agrees with.
"So much for British generosity." What? Whoever said the British were generous? There are a lot of things commonly said about the British. I've never heard 'generous'.
"They've given us a sport nobody understands." You mean the most popular sport in India, right?
"Trains that don't run." Of course! The famous Indian trains that don't run. Not the ones I've seen running - indeed packed - in tons of films and TV programmes.
Couldn't blog much from the U.S. because United sent my luggage to Tokyo so I couldn't use my laptop.
But now that I'm back, here's a few thoughts on differences between the US and UK ad scenes. Feel free to add your own.
1. Interactive advertising is huge over there. It grew 38% year on year. Seems to be second only to TV in importance to agencies now. We are way behind in the UK but it can only go the same way.
2. They don't have separate interactive creatives. Makes sense. I mean, we don't have separate creatives doing posters, for example.
3. All the creatives over there use a Mac for their print layouts. There are no 'scamps'. Not a layout pad to be found. This surely is a mistake. It means creatives are spending time on making something look good, time which they could use to have better ideas. And secondly, when something is presented to the client already 'finished...' it leaves less room for the photographer or illustrator to add their input.
4. The Top 20 UK agencies are all in London. So if you move agencies, you don't have to move house. But of the top 20 US agencies, quite a few are in New York, but others are spread around in LA, San Fancisco, Miami, Chicago, Minneapolis, Portland etc. So getting a new job most likely means uprooting yourself (and your family if you have one). Despite this, people in the U.S. move jobs a lot more often!!
5. A lot of creatives work on just one account. The reason is obvious - accounts over there are huge. But is it a good thing? On the plus side, you'll get to know that business well. But on the downside, I worry it could get dull...
Well, that's my first and totally unoriginal observation about US TV advertising. There's rather a lot of it. And it cuts straight into the programmes. No little pause or flash-frame ident. Straight in. Each ad follows straight into the next one too. Again, no pause. It's an all-out assault of Saving Private Ryan proportions. But I suppose you get used to it.
And the quality? Generally very low. If you think about it, the UK and the US tend to do roughly equally well at award shows around the world. But the US produces about eight times as much advertising. So that means the average quality is...
A lot of the low quality I think is a product of the advertiser trying to say too much. Each ad is trying to put across a brand message and several product messages at the same time, and then finish with a 'deal' or special offer at the end.
Simple stuff like the Mac ads (latest one above) stand out a mile.
Hi everyone. Today I'm turning my blog over to "Guest Suit." This person is an Account Handler of my acquaintance, who is going to give us a POV from behind enemy lines, every now and then.
Please feel free to post any abuse or questions.
GUEST SUIT WRITES: So, Steve Henry started at TBWA last week, as the new executive creative director. The hiring has been universally praised. The sentiment is that he may well be capable of filling the shoes of ad land’s most high-profile creative, Trevor Beattie. But why? What is it that makes a great creative director?
Before I begin, I want to tell a story about how one of the top consultants (consultants: AAR and the like), once told me that, when it comes to new business, really the CD is the star of the show. That wherever clients go, they’ll meet charming and charismatic account men, and clever planners, but it’s the CD that sets the distinct impression of an agency. They’re the ‘X-Factor’.
So, what divides the good from the great, I think, is this:
1. They should be high profile – both to attract attention, and so that their POV holds weight; 2. They should have a strong and (ideally) profound point of view; 3. They should have stage-presence – an ability to command the attention of a roomful of people with their conviction and confidence. 4. They should have the respect of both creatives and account teams. 5. They should know when the brief’s wrong but an idea’s right.
So that’s what makes a good CD according to an Account Man. And why’s an account man’s opinion important? Well, let’s not forget who actually hires these CD’s...
Rob over at The Ad-Pit mentions how annoyed he is by the Vauxhall adverts. You know, the ones with the kids behaving like adults.
As he says, the ads are actually quite good. But they have been aired so much, they are now irritating.
I totally agree. Those ads are irritating.
Surely this OTS (Opportunities To See) statistic that media people talk about is wack?
They normally tell you that the OTS for an ad is 3.4 or something. Yet although I don't watch much TV, I seem to see every single ad about 100 times...
J****, an account director at our agency, was in a meeting last week when the client nipped out and called our agency's chairman to say: "I want this guy off my business. Today."
The chairman sent his PA into that meeting and pulled the account director out, and then fired him.
Within 10 minutes of the client's call, J**** had left the building.
To think I joined this business 'cos I heard it was fun...
Had breakfast this morning with blog guru, genius planner and (as it turns out) extremely down-to-earth nice guy Rusell Davies.
As many of you will know, Russell has a keen interest in egg, bacon, chips and beans. I hope he liked the fare at Raffles.
The idea was to plan a 'Blogclash', a mooted joint-hosting in which planners and creatives would joust across the blogosphere.
But Russell has enough ideas to fill 100 hours (or indeed 100 posts), so we got pleasantly distracted and didn't get around to cracking the format for this blogclash. I suspect this is partly also because I am bursting with a Larry David-esque exasperation about planning, and Russell is just a lot more laidback and doesn't feel at all vitriolic towards creatives.
His theory is that creatives suffer so much rejection on a daily basis, they need to take it out on someone and that someone tends to be planners! Very neat. Give me a few days, I will think of a snappy come-back.
Well, England's participation is. And yet the advertising goes on. I've never quite managed to make my mind up about the Budweiser World Cup idents.
The EDF ones are clearly shit, but some of the Bud ones are okay, despite the central flaw in their "You do the football, we'll do the beer premise." After all, if they're not into football, why are they sponsoring it?
(Incidentally, the ad above is a spoof... here are the real ones.)
Hi, I'm Simon Veksner, founder of social media agency Hungry Beast. Formerly a Creative Director at BBH London and DDB Sydney. See house rules for posting comments.
OK, it's retail.
V. patronising
Oh well, pays the bills I suppose.
See me beat my chest!
This can't be good, can it?
Huh? It no make no sense.
Had my photo in Campaign last week, in connection with our move. Sadly, I looked as friendly as the average serial killer. Nevertheless, getting your photo in Campaign is a must for the ego-driven-monster types like me who work in advertising.
