I loved the last commercial that St Luke's did for BT. Remember?
The one with the massive amphitheatre full of people.
I thought it was an inspired, simple, powerful metaphor for how the
internet works. One of my favourite ads for a long time.
What a pity these new ads for BT don't match up. Unlike the amphitheatre
ad, they use one of the oldest advertising constructions in the book:
dramatise the negative, then reveal the solution to be the product. Thus
we get a series of commercials that do no more than this.
Either you can get a wacky motivational guru to train your salesmen, or
you can build a super-duper website with BT's help. Either you can run
daft stress counselling lessons for your staff, or you can get
stress-free IT systems from BT.
Either you can give all your staff silly post-modern beanbags to sit on
(to make the office more like home), or you can buy some wonderful
homeworking IT solutions off guess who - yeah, you guessed it, BT.
Crazy, huh? Sadly, the advertising gives you no reason to believe that
BT is going to be any better than any other IT company. And in the
absence of a reason, there's no warm feeling down the trouser leg
either. But I'm being unfair. Actually, the ads aren't bad. They're just
not as good as that amphitheatre ad.
PlayStation 2. These press ads feature "legends" whose time is over.
They have been usurped by the "legendary" Jak and Daxter PlayStation 2
game. Hercules sulks, unloved. Robin Hood sits alone and forgotten, no
longer merry. This isn't the most original advertising idea I've ever
seen, but the ads are nicely art directed and well written. I wonder who
Jak and Dexter will usurp next? Harry Potter must be quaking in his
boots.
Next, some tube cards from GNER. It's a tough job advertising Britain's
railways. My advice would be to do it with wit, style and a little
humility.
While GNER should be applauded for having the courage to advertise at
all at the moment, I think these ads feel just a little mechanical in
their construction. They may win minds, but will they win hearts? Like
all three of the advertising ideas I've reviewed so far today, they feel
rather predictable.
And so, I'm afraid, does this commercial for Goodfella's pizza. Set in
the Goodfella's testing kitchen, it features a penny-pinching accountant
and an extravagant chef. The accountant wants to scrimp on the pizza's
ingredients; the chef wants to be generous. The chef wins the
argument.
My feeling about this commercial is that it could have been a whole lot
better if it had some dialogue. Perhaps the accountant didn't think that
a sound-man was necessary on the shoot.
From the predictable to the bewildering. If anyone sees this commercial
for Ame on telly, please feel free to drop me a note to tell me what
it's all about. After repeated viewings, I worked out that Ame is a
Japanese soft drink, but that's about it. It gives me the same mixed
feelings as studying Haiku poems did at school. Either it's genius, or
it's crap.
And lastly, a TV campaign for the Samaritans. The endline is: "We're
better at listening than raising money." The "comic" commercials feature
spoof "unsuccessful" fundraising activities by the Samaritans.
An ugly fat bloke is photographed naked for a fundraising calendar. And
two fundraisers fail to finish the marathon dressed as a big, wobbly
yellow telephone.
Sorry. I'm not sure that suicide is a laughing matter. The most powerful
advertisement I ever saw for the Samaritans was attached to Clifton
suspension bridge in Bristol. An infamous suicide spot. Positioned at
the point you walk on to the bridge, the sign read: "Despair, suicide,
who cares? The Samaritans." One of the most appropriate uses of media I
have ever seen.
SONY COMPUTER ENTERTAINMENT
Project: PS2 - Jak & Daxter
Client: Morven Telford, marketing manager
Brief: Make way for Jak & Daxter, the new legends of our time
Agency: TBWA/London
Writer: Tara Ford
Art director: David Dao
Illustrators: Aaron Murray, Andy Holmes
Exposure: UK national press
GREEN ISLE FOODS
Project: Goodfella's
Client: Andy Kinsella, marketing director
Brief: Position Goodfella's as the most generous frozen pizza
Agency: Partners BDDH
Writer: Steve Nicholls
Art director: Matthew Anderson
Director: Andy Morahan
Production company: Harry Nash
Exposure: UK and Ireland
BRITVIC
Project: Ame
Client: Adrian Troy, brands controller
Brief: Establish Ame's Japanese provenance
Agency: Barrett Cernis
Writer: Jonathan Eley
Art director: Ray Barrett
Director: Luke Losey
Production company: Serious Pictures
Exposure: Cinema
THE SAMARITANS
Project: Christmas campaign
Client: David Richards, director of marketing
Brief: Differentiate the Samaritans from other charities and create
cut-through in asking for donations
Agency: Ogilvy & Mather
Writer: Peter Reid
Art director: Carl Broadhurst
Director: Dominic Brigstocke
Production company: Union
Exposure: National TV
BT
Project: BT Business
Client: Catherine Kehoe, head of business communications
Brief: Communicate the benefit of BT's ICT offeringto businesses
Agency: St Luke's
Writer: Roderick Fenske
Art director: Steve McKenzie
Director: Daniel Kleinman
Production company: Spectre
Exposure: National TV
GNER
Project: GNER rail service for business
Clients: Sara Borland, marketing communications manager; Moray Shutt,
senior product manager, business
Brief: In a straight-to-the-point way, reaffirm how GNER adds real value
to your business
Agency: AMD Advertising
Writers: Sophie Hayes, Laurence Percival
Art directors: Nicholla Longley, Laurence Percival
Exposure: National 48-sheet posters and press
