Comparethemeerkat.com was a clever, inspired piece of advertising. It was an advertising property which served the brand, Comparethemarket.com very well for years. In December last year the brand introduced Maurice Wigglethorpe-Throom, CEO and founder of the comparison site, and his assistant Spencer. In an as yet unreleased (to the public) spot, Maurice and Spencer explain what credit card interests can do to you. This by far is the best analogy I have come across to explain…
The Leica M-Monochrom, shoots only in black & white. In a riveting new film for the brand, a story is told of war time Germany. Its a story of a war photographer and makes for gripping viewing. The twist – the story is told from a camera’s point of view. The camera in its new avatar is described as the reincarnation of black & white. Hence, the story of a camera which died many decades…
How do you get 800,000 SKY TV subscribers, who receive their bill in the post, to move with the times and sign up to email billing? Here’s how.
Now that my daughter has outgrown the alphabet-learning and basic puzzle apps, she spends a lot of time with interactive books, educational apps, word games and such. Here are a few apps worth considering if you have a kid aged 6-8. 1. Lulu in Australia An interactive story, albeit short, that shows learning is fun. 2. Art Maker from ABC’s Play School This is a fun way for kids to create pictures, animated movies and story slide…
A new ad for Barclays in the UK strikes a chord with parents. Its a departure from the ‘tugging at the heartstrings’ kind of sweet, sugary ads about parents & their bonding with kids. It’s a more practical approach with a kid making outrageous demands of the exasperated parent. The link to Barclays? It promotes a ‘Family Springboard’ mortgage which allows parents to put their savings towards their loved ones’ mortgages and get their money…
Wow. This is a triple treat. One: Medifast, a weight-loss company and its agency Solve, brought a new twist to the old ‘before-after’ format of category advertising. They filmed three people before starting a diet and again eight months later. Two: the creative idea of letting ‘past & future selves’ meeting each other. Three: the non-ad-dy creative execution – the spots are largely unscripted and lets the real actors speak from their heart. Agency: Solve, Minneapolis…
Lovely spot to promote a Monday-only promo at Starbucks, UK. Agency: BBDO; Production: Brand New School Always nice when the agency doesn’t opt for the run-of-the-mill promo spot to promote a er..promo. And quite a lateral leap from Monday-only promo to ‘Mondays can be great’.
Pundits, as is their wont, are telling successful companies how to do business. Apple is their favourite, as any comment about Apple gathers global media attention. Such comment is usually speculation quoting ‘people close to the situation’, suppliers in Asia or just a hunch. The myriad tech, mainstream blogs and news media then take over as news of Apple guarantees page views, eyeballs and invites trolls in the comments section. A negative comment or news…
Samsung must be given credit for this. While the iPhone set a new standard for smartphones in 2007 (and some others, ahem, copied it), the S2 changed the conversation and shifted focus to the ‘big screen’. A lot of people are attracted to it and Apple too changed their screen size, albeit their own way with the iPhone 5. The S3 and Note (and now Note 2) have gone on to become even bigger hits…
Harvey Nichols has consistently produced great work over the years. Both DDB, London and Y&R, Dubai have come up with great concepts executed beautifully. The campaigns usually cover these areas: theme ads for the brand, campaigns introducing new collections, ads announcing the Harvey Nichols sale and those which highlight specialist sections at the store. The theme ads dramatize the idea that Harvey Nichols are not just extremely desirable but are epitome of fashion. The common…