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Opinion | Features
My memo to your boss
So let me guess?
You really want to come to Mumbrella360, but you’ve got to justify the time and cost to your boss?
Good news! I think I can help.
Woz not great
In this guest post Tony Prysten argues that the thousand dollar price of seeing out-of-touch Apple co-founder Steve Wozniack on his Australian tour was a waste of money.
This week, for the cost of two iPads (yep, two) I went to the Woz Live conference in Melbourne. I was not impressed.
What the hell is transmedia?
From advertising campaigns to online video series, the term ‘transmedia’ gets quite the work out. But what does it actually mean? Cathie McGinn trawls the media landscape for a definitive definition.
Transmedia, all media and multiplatform are terms often used interchangeably when referencing modern storytelling techniques. Yet, depending who you speak to, there are distinct differences between them.
According to industry experts Encore spoke to, the key elements that define transmedia can be summarised as follows: platform, time, audience, adaptation, and creative collaboration.
Innovation is the remedy for the ailing magazine industry
With magazine circulations plummeting, FHM closing and rumours rife on future ownership of ACP Magazines, Paul Merrill says the only way forward is launching new titles.Eight years ago in the UK, nearly a quarter of all magazine sales came from magazines that were less than four years old. In Australia, the figure was slightly lower, but still significant. Today, the situation is very different. For a start there are so few new magazines. Yes, Masterchef briefly flared, and Top Gear made an initial impact. But Grazia and Alpha fizzled, and now ACP has shelved their plans to launch Elle.
More than a game: broadcasting the Olympics
The 2012 London Olympics will be the biggest televised sporting event of our time. Brooke Hemphill discovers the logistical challenges and technical requirements of producing the event.
From July 27 to August 12, the Australian media will go sport crazy as the Games of the XXX Olympiad, aka the 2012 London Summer Olympics, unfold. The games will be the most televised sporting event of our time as broadcasters look to master every manner of technology at their disposal.
The Voice - Australia's best example yet of social TV
In this guest post, Sputnik’s Rodd Messent has a theory on why audiences have taken to The Voice .I am an addict of Channel Nine’s hit show The Voice. Such is the extent of my addiction I seriously think my housemate might kick me out of our apartment for the semi-frenzied yelling and tweeting that ensues in our lounge room each time the show airs.It’s the first time in almost three years that such disagreement has resulted in less than civil behaviour towards one another, and it’s made me think it might be a microcosm of the large volume of online debate about the show and, correspondingly, an explanation for its success as a social TV experience.Why brands are the US Army - and culture jammers are the Viet Cong
In this guest posting, Dave Burgess, who painted ‘No War’ on the Sydney Opera House, claims that ‘amoral’ advertisers have copied his idea.
Culture jamming is a 28-year-old term coined by the San Francisco-based band Negativland, who declared that the ‘Studio for the cultural jammer is the world at large’.
Branded content is dead. Long live branded content
In this guest posting, Anthony Freedman argues why branded content is making a comeback.
A few short years ago, probably concurrent with the advent of the PVR, a new term emerged within the marketing communications industry; branded content. This was really synonymous with advertiser funded TV shows where programming was created by brands and deals struck with networks to broadcast them.
There were varying degrees of success with this model.
Shock advertising: 30 ads that would give Australia's ad watchdog a coronary
Is shock an underused weapon in Australian advertising, asks Robin HicksToday, Sydney agency The Cabana Boys used an image of a mouth sewn together to shock people with the idea that problem gamblers lie to conceal their habit. Is it the most disturbing image ever? No. Will it get banned by the Advertising Standards Bureau? No. But it did make me wonder why shock is not used more often in Australia – and not just by charities and government bodies. (WARNING: NSFW)
The making of ratings blockbuster The Voice
Jason Mountney goes on the set of Channel Nine’s talent search series, The Voice, to see how the format, based on an international franchise, has come together. What ingredients have gone into making this certified hit that’s rated more than two million viewers on three consecutive nights?
Mike Goldman has one of the toughest jobs on the set of the Nine network’s new talent show, The Voice. He not only has to narrate the show, but also keep the audience from losing their enthusiasm as they realise shooting TV programs takes a lot longer than the one-hour bursts they see in their lounge rooms. A lot longer.
Nine problems stopping The Global Mail from getting an audience
While it’s a shame The Global Mail has failed to make an impact on the media landscape, the signs have been there for some time.I love the concept of a well resourced, philanthropically-funded independent news site. Anywhere in the world, that’s a rare and wonderful thing. In Australia even more so. So I hope that Grame Wood gets to see his investment make a difference.
And I have no inside info on whether Monica Attard’s sudden departure is linked to the site’s failure to find an audience so far.
Regardless, here are nine areas they can easily start to address:
Journalism’s new model?
Does the launch of philanthropically funded news site The Global Mail signal a new era for journalism or is the model destined to be a passing fad, asks Cathie McGinn in this article first published in Encore magazine.With little fanfare, philanthropically funded news site The Global Mail launched in February this year.
The online-only title received a generous five-year funding commitment from businessman Graeme Wood, founder of accommodation website wotif.com, who donated $15million.
Five things that make a great suit
In this guest posting, Gareth Collins argues that the role of a great account manager is to make the work betterI’m surprised at how many suits I meet who don’t know their role in the advertising business. The question ‘what does an advertising account manager or director do?’ is frequently met with answers such as project manager, relationship manager, plate spinner or go between … and those are the nice ones.
Success is judged on the ability to manage a process, be strong administratively and get stuff done. And while a good suit needs to do all of these things brilliantly, if these are the traits that define a great suit, then I’m in the wrong job.
What the hell is transmedia?
From advertising campaigns to online video series, the term ‘transmedia’ gets quite the work out. But what does it actually mean? Cathie McGinn trawls the media landscape for a definitive definition.
Transmedia, all media and multiplatform are terms often used interchangeably when referencing modern storytelling techniques. Yet, depending who you speak to, there are distinct differences between them.
The top seven...most patronising pieces of communication
Sometimes brands have big ideas. Sometimes marketers get so caught up with a grandiose idea that instead of finding engaging ways to sell breakfast cereal, they start to believe their own rhetoric. And sometimes it’s just lazy marketing. Here are my top seven inadvertently patronising pieces of communication…
1) Last night thousands of women gathered in Sydney’s Centennial Park to take part in She Runs the Night, an event created by Nike.
Cadbury’s ad celebrates dogs in cars
Dairy Milk in Australia is having another go at tapping into the viral success in other parts of the world of Cadbury’s epic Glass And A Half Full productions.
Featuring a Blue Danube soundtrack, the ad – reportedly shot on the Oran Park raceway in NSW - consists of dogs leaning out of the window of Lamborghini repainted in Cadbury’s colours.
The ad has been created by Saatchi & Saatchi Sydney. The last attempt to localise something in Cadbury’s Glass And A Half Full Productions series was a remix of the drumming gorilla, using John Farnham’s You’re the Voice. The move was poorly received.
November 2nd, 2009 at 9:04 am
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Comments
2 Nov 09
9:23 am
The ad is shot at Oran Park if the grandstand in the background is any indication.
I’m not in marketing, just a simple consumer . . . and I am totally baffled by this advert and how it is meant to increase the sales of chocolate . . . . ????
I would prefer they save the money and drop the price of the product. That will stimulate sales more than a drumming gorilla or dogs in a car. Appears they could save lots of money on marketing salaries, too.
2 Nov 09
9:38 am
nope, not a fan. bland.
2 Nov 09
9:39 am
Gorrilla spot- fantastic.
The eyebrow kids- great spot.
Dogs in cars- utter crap.
2 Nov 09
9:39 am
It’s weird the trade rags are only picking this up now, it was first broadcast almost 2 weeks ago on TV and the site’s been live for a while.
I really like it … plus the dog at 0.38 is the same as mine. Not sure how it directly relates to chocolate but I think it brings a bit of fun and creativity to a 1 min ad
2 Nov 09
9:40 am
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
2 Nov 09
9:41 am
I love this ad!! Agree that there is no direct correlation between the product and the ad. I thought it must be for pedigree or something at first with their “we’re for dogs” tagline.
2 Nov 09
9:41 am
What Art said.
2 Nov 09
9:52 am
From a simple marketer.
Salience and association Matt, are the goals of these kinds of ads.
You get the association, as a consumer, through the entertainment value in it.
Then you’re meant to say “oh hey, seen that ad for Cadbury? Cool huh?” or, when next passing the supermarket shelf, stop and go “oh, Cadbury. I remember that ad. It’s cool, I’ll get some”.
This one, in my opinion, isn’t half as bad as the gorilla with whipsering jack over-dubbed. Doesn’t have that same affect as a localised American ad, with Australian accents over-dubbed (makes me cringe every time I see one of those). It’s actually pretty engaging, in my opinion and it resonates in the mind (mine at least).
The first two, with the Phil Collins gorilla and the eye-dancing kids, were gold. Fantastic executions. Artistically engaging and memorable.
Downside though, they were almost too good so continuance was always going to be hard.
This one would’ve been better as the first, than the third. It’s a good ad, but following the gorilla or those kids? It definitely runs a distant third.
2 Nov 09
9:55 am
It does nothing for me. If there were less dogs, it was in serious slo-mo and we saw real pleasure on a couple of dogs’ faces … maybe with a proper big grin and a drool trail disappearing into the wind as they just looked amazingly happy … MAYBE then the ad would work to evoke pleasure. As it is, I bet there’s another 4 dogs playing poker in the back seat, which is where the real action is!
2 Nov 09
9:56 am
Sarah
I am certain a dog food brand somewhere already used the dogs out the window idea for their product.
2 Nov 09
9:57 am
Agree with Tama.
Poor and dull execution, and I’m a dog lover.
2 Nov 09
10:05 am
Meh! iAd2.0 in my opinion.
Also what happened to good ole research – most chocolate has a toxic effect on domestic pooches. Any correlation in my head is not a good one – unless of course the subtext is dogs living by the “live fast, die young” ethos but I can’t see it.
2 Nov 09
10:07 am
Meh – carries on a bit too long I think. Initially thought the idea had some entertainment value but the fact that there is absolutely no correlation to the product and the ad doesn’t evolve at all, just seems like a slight disappointment.
2 Nov 09
10:16 am
great brand alignment, poor execution, poor creative…
If the car was going faster to get more “flap” from the dogs cheeks and then the dogs were in super slow mo… it could have worked
Plus it was just avg. seeing the dog harnesses holding the dogs in… amateur.
2 Nov 09
10:39 am
Agree with 1.Tama Leaver on this, could’ve been done better.
Loved the phil collins gorilla. The JF one, bad bad move. The kids – annoying. This is boring and doesn’t invoke a sense of joy at all.
2 Nov 09
12:40 pm
It’s not the most joyful ad, is it?
2 Nov 09
2:44 pm
Chocolate isn’t good for dogs.
2 Nov 09
2:46 pm
Its quite simple really. Chocolate is supposed to be fun and not taken too seriously. If you didn’t smile when you first saw the ad, you are only kidding yourself.
2 Nov 09
2:47 pm
i agree with tama – should have been one dog – super slow motion – happiness and joy with tongues and slobber jiggling ever so slowly in the wind
2 Nov 09
3:03 pm
Am I the only one who thinks of “Animals Close-Up with a Wide-Angle Lens Wearing Hats” when looking at this but somehow missing the irony?
I can just imagine the brainstorming meeting on this one… “we need DOGS in CARS! …ummm….purple sports cars! yeah! BRILLIANT!”
2 Nov 09
3:15 pm
I really like this ad. I makes me laugh, and probably the execution could have been a little better, as mentioned in the previous comments, but I think it is fun. I think of it as the dogs having fun sticking their heads out of the window…it is their ‘joy’ just as ours is/can be enjoying a bit of chocolate.
2 Nov 09
4:03 pm
OK, I’m joining the thread late and the point that there was no correlation between a drumming gorilla and chocolate has already been made … drat.
Then I thought, being a dog-lover, chocolate is poisonous to dogs. Double-drat.
But I can confirm that it is at ‘soon-to-be-closed’ Oran Park. Then it hit me! Did anyone else pick up that the Lambo is driving around Oran Park in thewrong direction. Maybe that is symbolic of the ad!
2 Nov 09
4:22 pm
Why are there no boxers ?
Chocolate is bad for woofers.
Why weren’t they driving a ute [localism anyone ?] not a poncy Lambo
Tama is right. It should have been one dogy [Moi] in super slow mo.
2 Nov 09
4:25 pm
Is this ad made for consumers or award judges. The only correlation between this ad and the product is the colour of the car. Think of your audience would they relate it to chocolate if they didn’t watch it all the way through? This ad is not strong enough to stop the remote flicker. And if you did make it to the end there is often a what the F has that got to do with chocolate?
2 Nov 09
4:55 pm
The whole point of Cadbury’s ads right now is “random.” What did a drumming gorilla have to do with chocolate? What did two kids whose eyebrows danced have to do with Cadbury? In both of those, at no point did you have any idea they were for Cadbury until the end. Yet both ads have been internet sensations and highly remembered, without the chocolate association.
When the eyebrows ad came out, I found it annoying, but my partner and the teenagers (who are miles away from this industry) in my household all thought it was funny and the teenagers facebook and msn messenging went beserk about the ad. Isn’t that what advertisers dream about? Creating an ad that people not only remember and talk about, but also remember who the ad is for? You hear people describing an ad so many times, but when asked who the ad is for, they can’t remember but people always remember that those ads belong to Cadbury.
The latest ad with the dogs made me laugh. Did I associate it with Cadbury – no. But it is similar to the Bondi Flip flash mob. If the general public like it and remember it as a Cadbury ad, then it obviously doesn’t suck.
2 Nov 09
4:59 pm
I like the idea behind this. But the execution just seems so lame. The cliched music doesn’t help either.
2 Nov 09
6:15 pm
This ad is bloody dangerous … some dick head will see the ad and think it’s ok to feed dogs chocolate! Dogs can become poisoned by a substance called Methylxanthine alkaloids which is found in natural products such as chocolate.
3 Nov 09
8:30 am
Like the ad, anything that has my fav furry creatures in it makes me smile. Like chocolate too. Gee never knew that people took ads this seriously.
3 Nov 09
6:21 pm
Fail
3 Nov 09
9:09 pm
Inspiration possibly coming from the “Birds” clip – http://is.gd/4LRty – just putting it out there.
4 Nov 09
4:20 pm
To do it once was cool (Gorilla ad)
To do it twice was interesting (Eyebrows ad)
But to do it three times in an attempt to stay ‘cool’ is just try-hard.
It’s like Sly Stallone trying to do another instalment of Rocky….FAIL.
8 Nov 09
7:24 pm
in case you didn’t know rocky actually made a huge revenue on the last installment so i don’t know how much of a fail that is.
but dogs & chocolate…….wtf?
seriously, it’s not that memorable