Well, I'm back for a short moment to talk about something I have absolutely no authority or experience to talk about. No, not music or books - this time it's advertising.
I have been watching a lot of Blip lately, and I think mainly due to my geographical region (Australia), I have had about four ads recycled non-stop, meaning I've had a lot of time to think about them. So, as an uninformed viewer, let's discuss them.
Ad #1 - Man of the Moment - Wild Turkey Bourbon.
I'll try and post links to each ad, but I don't know how many I'll find. Now, for this ad, I'll put my cards on the table. I'm a male university student, which is about the prime demographic for every kind of alcohol ever sold, so this ad should certainly be made to appeal to me. The problem is that I don't drink alcohol. At all. So, to be fair, I wouldn't buy this product no matter how you sold it.
What is the ad? It is a man named Matty Johns (apparently a football player) talking to the camera, asking for stories to be submitted about men who have been heroes or acted responsibly at key times (or as Johns puts it "birded up"). Because nothing says good decisions and heroism like alcohol.
What does this ad do right?
Matty Johns is charismatic and has a friendly, brotherly manner. His setting is intimate, and the ad is well paced, being only 30 seconds long. A footballer is a character who appeals to the key demographic, and it is a very relateable sport, as most Aussie kids grew up watching and playing it. The idea is also very clever. Finding remarkable individuals and pinning your brand on them has always been a classic idea (think of the gifts Marty receives after accepting the duel in Back to the Future Part 3). Finding a person already interested in your brand, who will achieve fame with your brand and will be then constantly associated with this brand cut out a lot of middlemen. Bravo.
What is wrong?
"Bird up" is fucking stupid. I don't care how clever you think you're being, it doesn't work for several reasons. Firstly, just how the sounds. I believe it's meant to mean the same thing as "man up", but it just sounds wrong. Honestly, if I was going to just cram the word "bird" into a common two-word phrase, I'd go with a campaign saying "drink up or bird off", stealing the place of sod, fuck or bugger, depending on the context.
Secondly, the association. To use the phrase "bird" as your marketing slogan, you need to have a much bigger market share on bird imagery. Just think of how many different companies, ad campaigns or even sporting teams have associations with birds. In the NRL alone, there are Roosters and Sea Eagles. Birds, no matter what variety, are very common mascots. Admittedly, it would be difficult to create a tag line using the word "turkey" (which, in Aus at least, Wild Turkey is completely associated with) without just calling people who don't drink cowards. This would be a completely different rant if they did. All the same, there is a reason I spend about 10 minutes looking for a Jack Daniels Man of the Moment ad before realising to tiny bird-turkey connection. At least it was the same product, but that says a little about me, but a lot about the campaign.
Finally, and I continue to write a mini goddamn essay on the phrase, "bird up" is not a phrase that is going to appeal to your late teen - late 20's demographic. Making up a new phrase, even if it can't be easily associated with you product, is a viable idea. Many advertising inventions have slowly become part of everyday language. The problem is, your product is meant to be for "hard" men, and people like that aren't going to use an invented phrase to replace an already inoffensive one. If a bloke uses "bird up" instead of "man up" in a regular conversation, he risks being ridiculed for censoring himself, blindly parroting pop culture or being easily taken in by advertising BS. If I were this company, I'd pick a phrase that cannot be said without swearing and replace it with the word you want to plug. Take a phrase that cannot be used around children and the elderly and put in your product. In this way, people who wish to censor themselves without sounding stilted have a slim chance of adopting your phrase. Replacing inoffensive with inoffensive is unlikely, and being aggressive just pisses people off. Take the offensive, and make it family friendly. Wild Turkey is making an advertising campaign with Australian sportsmen, so they should get used to that.
Ad #2 - Powered by Glucose - Lucozade
The premise of this ad? A bloke showing a series of activities, listing them off and performing them whilst constantly facing the camera in different situations. It's difficult to explain, and I can't find the exact version I saw, but watch it to understand.
What did this ad do right?
Clearly this ad is attempting to match the almost cult following of things such as the old spice ad campaign. The ad may have several faults, but I have to say that, above all, it's entertaining. There was one night where this was literally the only ad Blip showed. Instead of getting bored with it, it took on this hypnotic quality, in which I attempted to learn each of the spoken activities, noting little details about each scene. It has a quality which makes it memorable and distinct.
A difficulty which falls to makers of energy-drink manufacturers it making an ad showing how the product can be fun without being aggressive. How to say "This is the perfect accompaniment to enjoyable activity of your choice" rather than going as far as some ads do, with more the line "YOU WILL HAVE FUN WITH THIS DRINK. You'll dance, then drink, then party, then pick up a cute girl, then drive fast, then screw, then dance some more...". This ad walks the line well. My drinks extend to a single Pepsi or Coke (whichever is cheaper in bulk) a day, but this is the right approach to reel someone like me in.
What is wrong?
Although at points the ad seems to try just a little too hard to be quotable or referenced, I can't really call an ad out for trying to be entertaining. Let's talk about a bigger problem... what are you selling?
I honestly thought the drink was merely called "Glucose", as this is the most spoken phrase in the ad. I only found the product to be something called "Lucozade" after typing several activities listed in the ad into Google. The problem is simple - in an ad designed to become a "thing", something quoted, referenced and parodied, why did no-one stop and think "Do we actually say the name of their product in this?"
To be fair, the bottle is shown in the last 5 seconds, but the name is seriously never said allowed. This is a serious flaw. I watched this ad, but the best way to burn a name into someones mind is by saying it. There are many words spoken in this ad and Lucozade could easily be one of them. Of the four ads I look at, however, I have to say this will be my favourite, so take what you will from that.
Ad #3 - Start With Vegemite - Vegemite
What is it? This ad is of a breakfast being made backwards, by which I mean the film is just played backwards. The breakfast is either Vegemite and avocado or egg on toast.
What did this ad do right?
It's interesting. The food, even something as simple as avocado, is interesting to watch played in reverse, and it's something with a lot to watch. The product, Vegemite, is plugged, but not to the point of it being the main ingredient. I think it's well balanced.
The music is perfect. It catches the mood you want to associate with Vegemite, and is disturbingly catch. Despite the song not actually referring the Vegemite, I think it's easy enough for it to be associated. I have very few problems with this ad.
What is wrong?
The meal ideas seem dreadful. To make it three for three, I don't like Vegemite. I think there's a container of cheap Promite somewhere in my pantry, but I won't be the one to eat it. Both egg and avocado do not spring to mind as good accompaniments for Vegemite. Honestly, I think the biggest problem is that Vegemite is the least appetising object on that meal, and I don't like egg either. Sure, these arguments are sort of petty, but there aren't any gaping logic holes.
Overall, a decent little ad, with very few problems, but not outstanding in any way.
Ad #4 - La La La - Credit Union Australia (CUA)
It could be that I just finished reading the archives last night, but the first panel of this comic comes to mind when I think of this ad. Just replace the middle thought bubbles with the concept of this ad, and there you go. What is the ad? It's a bunch of people covering their ears and screaming "La la la" because they are locked into insurance plans and don't want to hear about CUA's great deals. Try saying that with a straight face (or without a CUA paycheck).
What did this ad do right?
The ad seems very well made. Every shot seems to be thought out, planned and methodically filmed. No, it's not much, but this ad isn't much either. I swear to god, the larger a company is, the less interesting and impressive the ads are. I don't care if you sold your soul for cash, just hire some good PR people. Bloody hell.
What is wrong?
Well... not much, actually. This ad is so creatively void, what can possibly be wrong with it?
OK, it's boring. It selling insurance. People don't want Lucozade style ad campaigns for selling insurance. Something plain, inoffensive and a little interesting (2 of 3 isn't bad) is all insurance companies really need. I suppose comparing this ad to ads for three consumables isn't fair, but I think a point should be made. Insurance companies want to be taken seriously, and this ad... well, I suppose its not not serious... so it does the job?
Anyway, I do have one big problem with this ad. IT DOESN'T PLAY ONLINE. I should explain. The ad provided at the link is again a slightly different version. This means both a different version and a different play speed. This is because the version on Blip doesn't play smoothly. It plays like a video that keeps buffering. This ad just wasn't designed for the Internet. It might seem that my Internet is the problem, but I have watched this ad and one of the others back to back. I have never had a problem with the playing speed of other ads. MY only conclusion is that this ad was incorrectly uploaded. For fucks sake, its an insurance company. It has the money to check this shit!
Anyway, this ad is offensively inoffensive, attempting to target every demographic simultaneously, and suffering for it. To be fair, the best thing I can say about insurance ads in general is "annoyingly gimmicky," so I suppose "dull" is about as good.
Well, I can't really say more than that. If you want to see more ad reviews, either leave a comment or wait a good while until I have something else interesting to say. It'll be a wait. Also, the use of the word "else" implies this is interesting. Sorry about that.
Feedback welcome.
H. Rourke
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