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Archive for category Television Advertising

Old Spice Versus Dairy Queen

Aug 2

Posted by Scott Westerlaken in advertising, Brand strategy, communications, creative, Marketing Strategy, Scott Westerlaken, Television Advertising, web video | 8 Comments

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Someone once said that imitation is the highest form of flattery. Ok marketing mavens out there! You may or may not have heard me rant over the last year about DQ’s ads, but now that some of you have actually started noticing them I think they are worth another look. What I want to talk about is the apparent blatant imitation. Let’s call a spade a spade; the DQ ads are a rip off of the Old Spice ads (I’m the man you wish you had) that shook the ad world for their recallable-ability. Rip offs really make angry as I’ve had ideas stolen on more than one occasion!

I really loved the previous iteration of the Old Spice ads; heck I even bought some Old Spice deodorant as a result of those ads. For context here is a link to one of the ads.

Very smart creative and brilliant execution…a winning combination.

Simply stated, DQ did a lousy job of stealing the idea. You be the judge….

 

I find the DQ ads childish and…I believe the campaign is a one trick pony, nowhere near as visually and mentally interesting as Old Spice. The DQ campaign has no legs, whereas the Old Spice work is built around a concept that continues to reveal new ideas and executions. Don’t believe me…take a look at the posts and at the views on the Oldspice youtube channel.  http://www.youtube.com/user/OldSpice . That means it continues to get consumer attention. I even see the Old Spice “I’m the man” campaign with even more legs than the Budweiser “true” campaign from many years ago.

 

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Back to the point, no one I know in the ad world would have the brass balls to steal a currently running campaign’s big idea. And what really astonishes me about the current DQ creative is that they have done some really creative work in the past.I relate the DQ idea to “we need an idea for this years TV marketing…think quick!  As our current campaign is tanking…

 

Maybe, maybe not.

OK now I vented my spleen it is your turn to comment. Am I right or simply righteous.

 

SW

Scott Westerlaken

With over 25 years of award winning experience in marketing, television commercials, film, video, communications, web, radio, print, and events, Scott has the ability to maintain focus on the big picture and offer a wide range of solutions appropriate to the clients message and budget. He has been recognized with dozens of awards in business, communications, and filmmaking from around the world. For the client, this means a truly unique balance of hands on technical knowledge and high level strategic experience that always leads to unique and creative solutions.

Wikio
Wikio

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Just because you own a car doesn’t mean you’re qualified to drive an F1 car!

Dec 16

Posted by Scott Westerlaken in advertising, Brand strategy, communications, Education, Low Budget Advertising, Marketing Strategy, Scott Westerlaken, Television Advertising, Video Production, Web | No Comments

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It started about five years ago when semi pro equipment started to become more financially within reach. Although my friend Al Graham says it all started in 1984 when the first Mac hit the market. Everyone with a camera and a Mac can now thinks they are qualified to do your company’s communication.

But I beg to differ… there is a lot more to telling your company’s story than just the accessible equipment, images and music! To craft an effective message your communications company must know more than the latest technology, they need to understand marketing and effective messaging to create a story that enhances your brand and objectives!

Hell, they might even have some insights into you potential target audience. It’s important that your communications team looks at what your target is looking for and not just what “you” want to say. The two are different and some folks can’t get over the “what I want to say is…”

The way I like to look at effective communications is by putting myself into the target’s shoes. What is going to motivate me to take the desired action and the opposite, what will I find un-motivating, boring, and or not important in the proposed messaging.

Your communications company also needs to have the experience, training and balls to tell you what you don’t need to say or show when you ask for something irrelevant to the messaging. Don’t you love seeing the TV ads where the entire family of the business owner is used in the commercial?! That really enhances the messaging!

We did some great videos for Inland Technologies this past fall that we have been using as great examples of getting specific points across to the target, and also avoiding technical points that, although vital to the making the services work, are not really vital to the viewer making the initial decision to initiate the sales cycle. Their President really summed it up well, “the services we provide are to make the clients problems disappear”.  Funny, but I think that a lot business’ forget that is really what they do! Would love to get your thoughts.

Scott Westerlaken

Scott Westerlaken

With over 25 years of award winning experience in marketing, television commercials, film, video, communications, web, radio, print, and events, Scott has the ability to maintain focus on the big picture and offer a wide range of solutions appropriate to the clients message and budget. He has been recognized with dozens of awards in business, communications, and filmmaking from around the world. For the client, this means a truly unique balance of hands on technical knowledge and high level strategic experience that always leads to unique and creative solutions.

Wikio
Wikio

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The Afterlife & Striving For Sainthood

Oct 25

Posted by Al Graham in Al Graham, Marketing Strategy, SEO, Social Media, Television Advertising, Twitter, Web | No Comments

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While not all advertising people could be described as Saints, for those who run ad shops that have remained stuck in the old days, the funeral march is well underway.

Yes, we all know and love Mad Men. But the version of the ad industry that Mad Men presents is long gone. We no longer smoke in the office, most of us don’t have a bar next to our desk, we aren’t all having sex with our non-existent secretaries and we don’t grab 15% commission of everything that moves. No, we don’t do business like they did in Don Draper’s heyday… unless of course the agency you work for or own is planning to become a “used to was” in the very near future.

The new world of advertising is dominated by those who have never lost sight of the simple premise that their very existence is tied to their ability to be their clients eyes and ears on the street and… have found a way to bring them closer to their customers. You can’t do that by sitting around the boardroom sipping single malt or by rushing home the minute the 5 pm bell rings.

The advent of Direct Marketing and the increasing use of data changed our basic understanding of the business in the eighties. But social media appears to be the biggest shift in how we communicate since Gutenburg invented moveable type printing.

Here are a few stats of interest.

• By 2010 Gen Y will outnumber Baby Boomers

• 96% of them have joined a social network

• 1 out of 8 couples married in the US last year have met via social media

• Facebook added 100 million users in 9 months

• If Facebook would be a country, it would be the world’s 4th largest

• 80% of companies are using LinkedIn as their primary tool to find employees

• 80% of Twitter usage is on mobile devices. People update anywhere, anytime. Imagine what that means for bad customer experiences?

• YouTube is the 2nd largest search engine in the world

• There are over 200,000,000 Blogs.

• 54% of bloggers post content or tweet daily.

If these stats don’t make you stop and think, you should quit your ad job and get a job driving a cab.

The results are in and they are clearly telling us that we can no longer move client product and services based on gut instinct, clever burn lines or TV Spots and Print Ads that are all about our perception of features and benefits. Consumers are much too smart to buy that stuff… and they have the tools at their disposal to get even smarter.

That is not to say TV spots don’t have a place in an overall plan. But the recognition that TV viewing is fragmented and consumers are consuming more time than ever online is a prerequisite for success in today’s marketplace.

Imagine, a meeting between David Ogilvy and Mark Zuckerberg and the discussion that would result.  I think you might be surprised to hear Ogilvy say “Advertising reflects the mores of society, but it does not influence them.” That statement I think would make Zuckerberg’s head move like a Bobble Head toy in the rear window of Ogilvy’s Mercedes. Was Ogilvy ahead of his time or were we just not hearing the things that Zuckerberg and others appear to know intuitively?

On that note let’s sum up. If you want to influence consumers you must be part of the conversation they are having. Your challenge is to heighten you listening skills so you understand “the mores of society” and given an opportunity finding something of moment to say. And by that I don’t mean “While Quantities Last”

So whadda ya think…. is social media the biggest shift since the Industrial Revolution?

AL_HiResAl Graham is a veteran of the advertising wars who once smoked like Mad Men’s Don Draper. He is also a veteran of many social conflict wars and has been actively involved in protesting dumps, airports, expressways and urban sprawl.

Wikio
Wikio

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Collaboration

Jul 19

Posted by Scott Westerlaken in Brand strategy, Marketing Strategy, Nova Scotia, Scott Westerlaken, Television Advertising | No Comments

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Scott Westerlaken

Scott Westerlaken

Collaboration is a recursive process where two or more people or organizations work together in an intersection of common goals — for example, an intellectual endeavor that is creative in nature—by sharing knowledge, learning and building consensus. Most collaboration requires leadership, although the form of leadership can be social within a decentralized and egalitarian group. In particular, teams that work collaboratively can obtain greater resources, recognition and reward when facing competition for finite resources.

Having worked in communications through two large recessions I know that the companies that survive are the ones that can adapt to the conditions and own them….. I When times are good, we don’t think to much of a client sending one piece of a project to someone else, yet when times are tight we fight like mad to keep all the biz internal….whether or not it might be a good for the clients needs.

As the economy is starting to come to life like a 1976 Chevy pickup one defining practice will be how companies learn how to collaborate with each other.. especially with their competition… WHAT?! Really…  Think about it.  Take your best competition and their best resources and combine them with yours.  Not only do you benefit but so does your client and you gain a completive edge over any other competition!  This idea came to me a few months ago.  I was doing a SWOT on a new start up and one advantage I targeted was the ability to be able to offer varied solutions to clients based on their needs rather than the start ups offerings…a true reversal of “build it and they will come.”

I also looked at the main competition; small one to five person operations with small operating budgets and internal resources.  This was key, as the experience of the start up organization was competing against 5 to 30 person operations with operating budgets of .5 to 3 million and a vast array of internal resources..  Now imagine my glee when I thought of a company that could pick the best of another, combine with its own best attributes and offer it to clients.  Fantastic!

There are the sphincter tightening moments as you might imagine!  The moments where you feel so exposed that you wondered why you thought an idea was great in the first place!  One of my associates looked over at me during the first project we did this on and said “you got balls man…you realize they could steal this client like no ones business?” Ummmmm yeh…. But I had to have faith that the client could see the value we were bringing to the table and at the same time the competition would see the lack of value by stealing the client as it would end any more collaborations.

Now imagine if larger companies stared collaborating in the same way!  The resource power would be incredible…but here is the issue holding organizations back… A company’s ability to collaborate externally is parallel to how well they collaborate internally.  Look at any number of teams or divisions within a company and there will be issues with how they collaborate with one another…do they all fall on the sword when mistakes are made or do they all duck for cover? Not a good scenario for an external collaboration.

Regardless of how you believe this may or may not work for where you are now, one thing I believe is certain, a company’s lack of fear for collaboration will enhance its prospects of success.  No fooling, it is hard to do you and full of risks.  Clients, I believe, will appreciate that you are looking after their best interest and for the best solutions to their issues…. Now who is next?

SW

With over 25 years of award winning experience in marketing, television commercials, film, video, communications, web, radio, print, and events, Scott has the ability to maintain focus on the big picture and offer a wide range of solutions appropriate to the clients message and budget. He has been recognized with dozens of awards in business, communications, and filmmaking from around the world. For the client, this means a truly unique balance of hands on technical knowledge and high level strategic experience that always leads to unique and creative solutions.

Wikio
Wikio

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An Evolution In Advertising & Ads That Make You Go Hmmm.

Jun 10

Posted by Scott Westerlaken in Brand strategy, Education, Marketing Strategy, Scott Westerlaken, Social Media, Television Advertising, Video Production, Web, web video | No Comments

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I just finished watching the 24th Annual London International Advertising Awards DVD. You gotta love advertising awards reels. After viewing them I always feel that maybe as advertising practitioners we are getting smarter! It’s also a very productive way to waste a few hours watching videos and calling it “research”!

There were a few surprise ads on the reel I had not seen and that blew me away, some that didn’t grab me and some that just left me shaking my head wondering why they rated so high.

The highlight 60 sec. TV spot for me was from Volkswagen. They received a gold TV win for “Dog-Fish”. I loved it on many different levels. The story telling was really well done, the acting was good, but the Visual Effects were fantastic.

Surprisingly, it didn’t win Gold for Visual Effects, that went to Evian “Rollerbabies”, which I find the close up’s of the babies looked really fake.

Truthfully the Evian ad is cute the first time you watch it then it gets more annoying each time around.

The other ad that made me go hmmm was the Nokia N96 gold winning ad “Bruce Lee-ping pong”

Interesting scene, got my attention…but really a Gold for telecommunications? It had me really wanting to see more “Bruce Lee” doing his thing rather than the two folks he was playing….Yet more Hmmmm..

There were some beautiful animation ads this year in the silver category. The Scrabble campaign “Sumo”, “Hula” and “Yoga”. All three also won a silver for original music. I like the ads but personally wonder how well they did for brand and sales.

Bakers Biscuits “Precious Biscuits” spot (silver for animation) was beautiful, but again, I hope it did something for the brand….

Another disappointment, but for different reasons was the Silver winner for Direction, Tampax, “Zack Johnson”. I really think it deserved a gold. The story telling and characters were great.

In a reverse of what the trend has been for years, the Public Service winners over all were a little week. I did like the Gold winner ECPCAT “Child Pornography”, but the silver winners Shelter, “House of cards” , Women’s Aid “Cut” and Anti-Knife Crime (OMG, really?) “Cribs” seemed weak to me.



What grabbed my attention this year was the “New” category. A “New” category?! “Entries for The NEW Category are for work that merges the power of an original idea with a relevant compelling execution. Emotionally inspirational, imaginative work, effectively creating new dialogues, creating new spaces of interaction, altering perceptions, setting new benchmarks that invite and reward at every level of engagement.”

All the winners were fantastic in execution. You got to love clients that are willing to reach out a little…The Grand LIA went to Fiat eco: Drive interesting but I loved a few others more.

“The best job in the world” by Tourism Australia really blew me away when I first heard about it and it still does.

Also the AC/DC Black Ice idea was interesting, especially the Excel spread sheet video…yup, you have to see it to believe it.

The Excel sheet can be downloaded here: http://www.acdcrocks.com/excel/

This category gave me hope that marketers are moving towards an evolution in advertising…when viewers get to a point that they don’t see advertising as advertising…..

All the winners can be found on the LIAA website, http://2009.liaentries.com/winners/ and it’s well worth a look through.  What have presented is just a very small snippet. Would love to hear back on what you liked out of the show!

SW

Scott Westerlaken

Scott Westerlaken

With over 25 years of award winning experience in marketing, television commercials, film, video, communications, web, radio, print, and events, Scott has the ability to maintain focus on the big picture and offer a wide range of solutions appropriate to the clients message and budget. He has been recognized with dozens of awards in business, communications, and filmmaking from around the world. For the client, this means a truly unique balance of hands on technical knowledge and high level strategic experience that always leads to unique and creative solutions.

Wikio
Wikio

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Back To The Future Of Advertising.

Jun 3

Posted by Scott Westerlaken in Marketing Strategy, Scott Westerlaken, Television Advertising | No Comments

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Have you ever noticed that advertising goes around in circles…we all know it does.  If you look back all the way back to the 20’s and track advertising concepts and styles you will start to see trends coinciding with the economic conditions of the era. More to the point, with every economic down turn you see a return to family values and wholesomeness and how those characteristics relate to the product or brand being advertised.  Case in point the “I’d like to buy the world a Coke” campaign

that débuted February 12, 1971, or how about the “Mean Joe Green” Coke ad of 1980

and Kellogs,


or Greyhound.

All of which debuted during economic recessions.

In difficult economic times people want good news.  They want that feel good feeling. They need a friendly brand they can lean on and feel good.  I wouldn’t be surprised to see updated versions of “The Waltons”, “Family Ties” or “America’s Funniest Home Videos”…oh wait that one is still on air!  Of note though, all were created when a down-turned economy left folks wanting to feel better.

So what does it mean?  It means we should be ready for lots of heart-warming family value spots and scheduled programming that reflects the times. It also means that if your marketing is not paying attention to what is going on in the typical family then you might be missing out.

SW

Scott Westerlaken

Scott Westerlaken

With over 25 years of award winning experience in marketing, television commercials, film, video, communications, web, radio, print, and events, Scott has the ability to maintain focus on the big picture and offer a wide range of solutions appropriate to the clients message and budget. He has been recognized with dozens of awards in business, communications, and filmmaking from around the world. For the client, this means a truly unique balance of hands on technical knowledge and high level strategic experience that always leads to unique and creative solutions.

Wikio
Wikio

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Baxter Milk, Internet Evolution, and the Forecast!

May 12

Posted by Scott Westerlaken in Scott Westerlaken, Television Advertising | 2 Comments

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Scott Westerlaken

Scott Westerlaken

Just a quick note that we haven’t forgotten about you!  In the past week, I have been picked up as a writer by international Blog/E-magazine Internet Evolution (http://www.internetevolution.com) and have been focused on getting my first article with them online…I promise to have a new article for the PHI blog in the next week!  If anyone would like to suggest a theme, please speak up!

Al Graham is working on a fantastic entry that is sure to enlighten and entertain and Chad is also working on another that should again raise some hackles!

Last week was also the launch to an ad we collaborated on with Wright Agency, Colin Timm and Hatch Post.  Directed by Gordon Miller, the ad is a great juxtaposition of milk and family values… love to hear you opinion!

SW

With over 25 years of award winning experience in marketing, television commercials, film, video, communications, web, radio, print, and events, Scott has the ability to maintain focus on the big picture and offer a wide range of solutions appropriate to the clients message and budget. He has been recognized with dozens of awards in business, communications, and filmmaking from around the world. For the client, this means a truly unique balance of hands on technical knowledge and high level strategic experience that always leads to unique and creative solutions.

Wikio
Wikio

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Shoot the messenger?

Apr 22

Posted by Scott Westerlaken in Low Budget Advertising, Marketing Strategy, Scott Westerlaken, Television Advertising, Video Production, Web | No Comments

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Scott Westerlaken

Scott Westerlaken

Despite popular opinion to the contrary, the Internet has not killed traditional TV advertising as a viable medium to promote products and services. In order to survive though, the network and local station approach to TV advertising that has to change in order to improve viewer engagement.

It’s no secret that ad revenue is WAY down.  Now part of this is the Pull(getting the programming you want now) versus Push (you watch what the network broadcasts) of the under 40 generation. Looking at this from a bigger picture, this is not the first time a medium has faced adversity and survived.  Think of the theatres during the eighties and the VHS revolution then radio with tapes and 8 tracks.  They all survived by figuring out the core value of their proposition, experience and entertainment.  TV can still AND IS doing that! The true reason TV is suffering is because the Networks and mostly the Local Stations are killing their own business by running bad ads, thus ruining the package for the audience.

Fundamentally we don’t mind watching for ads. Come on, think about it!  There are a number of tv shows that show nothing but the best or funniest ads from around the world.  Every year the Cannes and London International Awards reels tour major city theatres.  People will actually go to a theatre of all places to watch ads!  People don’t hate advertising, People LOVE advertising, if it’s GOOD!

Every time the networks and more importantly the local stations run a bad ad, they are in essence running a bad show.  In doing so they are forcing the viewer to look in other places for what they want, entertainment!

One quick cure for this is to treat the ad space with the same value as they treat the rest of the air time for programming.  This now puts a greater value on the space as people will want to watch (just like the show they tuned into did) and could also increase the monetary value placed ON the air time!  You are also giving the audience a complete experience rather than an incomplete one.

Unless the Networks and Local Stations put a higher value on the ad space, why should the media buyers and audience?!

SW

With over 25 years of award winning experience in marketing, television commercials, film, video, communications, web, radio, print, and events, Scott has the ability to maintain focus on the big picture and offer a wide range of solutions appropriate to the clients message and budget. He has been recognized with dozens of awards in business, communications, and filmmaking from around the world. For the client, this means a truly unique balance of hands on technical knowledge and high level strategic experience that always leads to unique and creative solutions.

Wikio
Wikio

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