The sentiment towards fat-cat CEO’s is decidedly hostile in the US. It started off when the head honchos of Big Auto went to ask for a bail out to Washington, for a joint meeting – flying separately in their private jets! The controversy over the bonuses paid to another bail out candidate, AIG hasn’t helped either. In a case of perfect timing, JetBlue and JWT, New York have created a wonderful online campaign pitching the…
You sometimes come across a commercial that makes you go, ‘Hey, wish I had done that!’ or ‘Wish I was part of that!’. Here’s one such to promote the Australian Football League. The magic is in the perspective or ‘seeing’ the game as an amalgam of skills from various sports – from basketball to boxing to bull fighting. Agency: George Patterson Y&R, Melbourne Good stuff.
Came across this interesting creative coincidence. Here’s a radio spot I heard for Volkswagen Passat, highlighting their on-board GPS system. Volkswagen Passat GPS And a print ad for Motorola Ming, essentially with a similar creative idea. The Moto Ming campaign won a Silver in the Outdoor category at the recently concluded Adfest in Pattaya.
Having spent a couple of years in Direct Marketing, I still find the practice fascinating. I must admit that I never got down to any heavy duty analysis of a DM campaign myself, having spent much of my time on conceptualization and execution. The hallmark of a good DM campaign is a continuous dialogue and not just a single mail-shot campaign. The process of engaging the right target audience over a serious of personalized communication…
According to Ad Age, an employee of the One Show inadvertently e-mailed a list of agencies that have entered the One Show’s 2009 advertising awards to several ad execs. The list gives a snapshot of how lucrative award shows can be – we are talking about the top notch awards that is. In all, there were 9,795 entries for the ad awards, at a total cost to the agencies of $3,507,860. The average cost of…
I am always fascinated with the magic that happens between a client brief or problem and the final creative idea. One such campaign is for Loctite – the adhesive brand from Henkel. The joy of fixing or ‘getting back’ toys that were broken is summed up in this ‘Welcome Back’ campaign. The ads have an eerie, haunting quality about them. I think this is a definite candidate for a Cannes metal this year. Advertising Agency:…
Frankly, I think the Nimbooz label is ghastly. What’s with that font – a tribute to the ’80s? Can’t say the same about the product idea though. A lemon drink is by far the next best alternative to water when it comes to quenching thirst and when it comes in bottled form from 7Up, there should be takers. If the pricing is right and there’s enough appeal on the imagery front, it should do well.…
Smart extension this – Bournvita getting into the young children segment. Cadbury Bournvita Li’l Champs, a nutrition supplement ‘for 2 to 5 year olds ‘with the goodness of natural ingredients and the power of 20 scientific nutrients. It contains DHA, which is vital for brain and vision development in the formative years of a child’. The campaign features Sania Mirza as the brand ambassador and urges moms to see her in their kids; the sub-brand…
I promise not to inflict on you, dear reader any more of my stories on the yellow-tinted-Macbook. Unless of course I have some good news. I wrote a part-pleading-part-miffed mail to the Apple re-seller in Bangalore and they have promised to forward the same to Apple. I have also mailed some friends in the Apple community to ‘take up the issue’. The gist of my problem: I am now living with a faulty Macbook (see…
The mobile services war heats up again with the entry of Aircel – a joint venture between Maxis Communications Berhad of Malaysia and Apollo Hospital Enterprise Ltd of India, in New Delhi. They have also roped in M S Dhoni as it’s brand ambassador. Delhi already has six mobile operators and Aircel’s new TVC urges consumers to move on. Dhoni is competent in this TVC (by the way, he looks decidedly bored in the still…