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Opinion | Features
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.
TV audience measurement – why big isn’t always beautiful
In this guest post, Chris Walton argues that the media industry needs to take a new approach to TV tradingThere has been a significant amount of coverage recently about how successful The Voice has been. Indeed, audience figures of 2.6m+ people are very impressive these days. Based on reports, this is apparently double the size of audience that Nine was hoping for in the lead up to the programme launching.
Coke Zero break up ad taken off air
Coca-Cola has taken its “Break Up” ad for Coke Zero off the air in Australia after the Advertising Standards Bureau received complaints about its raunchy content.
The Coke Zero ad – which was created by the Danish agency Grey Copenhagen – has been running globally. It features a young man steeling himself to end a relationship. When he starts to break the news, it goes far better than he could have hoped, complete with pole dancers appearing from nowhere and the girlfriend saying she understands, and to call her when he wants to have fun.
Prior to broadcast, the Australian version of the TVC had already been toned down compared to the version airing in some parts of the world which included the girl inviting him to call “when you want to shag”.
But the Australian Family Association has labelled the ad – aimed at Coke Zero’s young, male audience – sexist, reported Adelaide’s Sunday Mail. The Advertising Standards Bureau told Mumbrella that it had received complaints and was investigating. And a spokesman for Coca-Cola South Pacific told Mumbrella that the company had voluntarily taken the Coke Zero commercial off the air until the ASB has looked at it.
However, the ad has so far only generated 45 complaints. The willingness of Coca-Cola to voluntarily pull the ad until the ASB has ruled, comes after its recent bruising encounter with the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission over its “myth-busting” advertisements for Coke.
The ASB will be keen to show that it can be a tough regulator after being attacked by the ACCC for okaying the previous ad. But if it does ban the TVC, it risks putting itself at odds to regulators in other parts of the world where the ad is still running.
April 15th, 2009 at 11:12 am
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Comments
15 Apr 09
1:34 pm
It is a horribly misogynist and highly offensive ad – I am surprised that it is running anywhere. I am no supporter of anybody who calls themselves the Australian Family Association and I love the idea of the punch line ‘let’s just hook up for fun’, but all of the women portayed in the ad are just nasty and demeaning stereotypes. You could achieve a better result with the same idea and a less offensive portrayal of what men want in women. Or am I just hopelessly naive?
15 Apr 09
3:02 pm
I’m not convinced the AFA is the reason it has been pulled. This ad’s biggest problem is that it’s just not very good. It uses an old idea delivered in an uninspiring package which doesn’t resonate widely, if at all.
Pole Dancers appear – SO WHAT. Girls are wearing bikinis and dancing lasciviously – SO WHAT. A girl is up for ex-sex – SO WHAT. No man is holding them back or putting them down. They all seem confident, empowered women to me.
Sexist? Misogynistic? No. That’s a misandristic view. The ad is a comical fantasy, like most ads. To not get that suggests a lack of cultural awareness and tolerance, which is the agenda of most religious conservative groups from any faith.
I believe the AFA (which is politically just to the right of Genghis Khan) never complained about Diet Coke break, the current Foxtel ads, etc. which portray men as sexual objects or clueless buffoons. Even if no-one outside AFA cares, this shows the AFA to be the ones with a broken moral compass.
15 Apr 09
3:22 pm
Your rant completely misses my point, which is that you don’t need to be conservative or religious to be offended by this ad, because it is just offensive. My complaint is not about women being portrayed as sexual objects, but as nasty and demeaning stereotypes. I’m not lacking cultural awareness or tolerance, I’m just objecting, like you, to the lack of depth and poor humour in the execution of this idea – an idea I don’t mind at all.
15 Apr 09
4:30 pm
JosieK
Bless. You make the incorrect and arrogant assumption that my “rant” is anything to do with your (confusing) comments. If it was, I’d have addressed my comments to you. I’m talking about the ad, the piece and the actions of Coke, AFA, ASB and ACCC.
Happy to critique your comment if you’d like. Please advise.
15 Apr 09
5:53 pm
It’s also a very poor imitation of all the Axe spots running around the world.
Here’s one: http://www.bestadsontv.com/ad_details.php?id=14988
And who could forget this local classic for Lynx: http://www.bestadsontv.com/ad_details.php?id=1171
16 Apr 09
4:57 pm
The AFA should applaud the ad for having its protagonist put a helmet on before racing out of a fireball. Safety first!
Its only sexist if you lack a sense of irony. The ad clearly satirizes male fantasies; the sexist female caricatures are a figment of the protagonist’s warped imagination. Its pretty obvious when he gets on that motorbike.
No more sexist than the Lynx ads, but certainly inferior in concept and execution.
16 Apr 09
6:45 pm
Don’t confuse the AFA with the AFA!
16 Apr 09
7:59 pm
Grow up, its just an ad. If you find it an offensive stereotype change the channel just like i’m sure you do when all those cleaning product ads featuring only women are on!
21 Apr 09
3:58 pm
It is indeed offensive.
My real objection to the add is not only the pole dancers etc in the ad and the obvious objectification of women involved, but the fact it is insinuated that this is how a break up SHOULD BE.
Women should live to serve male fantasties and when they object to being portrayed as vapid sexual objects they should change the channel? This sort of ad normalises sexual objectification and it smells a little when people’s retort is to call objectees prudes etc. Why should I change the channel???
21 Apr 09
4:28 pm
Anonymous,
A little late to the fray, but hey. As it’s Tuesday, I’ll be doing this in the sardonic style of Charlie Brooker. Here we go…
A wild guess, but are you female and ugly?
Could you compare and contrast your views on this ad with those of the Diet Coke Break ads.
In this exercise, I hope to see you graphically explain how your cognitive dissonance rips your conscience apart until you explode in an aerosol of faux-feminist excreta.
Quite frankly, I could do with the laugh as I read your trite blithering remarks descend into a pit of misandrist despair.
Solution: Take some valium, a glass of wine and Jessica Rabbit to calm yourself down. Repeat ad nauseam.
Then make my dinner.
21 Apr 09
5:55 pm
Nice. All that comment did was prove your idiocy.
Can you not disagree with someone without resorting to insults? In answer to your question, no I’m not. Are you?
21 Apr 09
6:12 pm
Anonymous,
Feminist humour-bypass victims are down the hall on the left.
Don’t wear your bikini or they’ll stone you to death.
4 May 09
12:19 pm
disgracefully sexist ad – i complained to coke and got the stock reply – so i’m thrilled it’s been pulled. offensive to women is clearly cool with coke. bring on the pepsi!!
5 May 09
12:51 pm
I’m afraid that I don’t have much time to watch tv, nor am i really interested in the verbose ramblings of an immature sapling who’s parents obviously gave him a thesaurus for Christmas one year instead of a bike….. but I would like to throw this very innocent question into the discussion – Why was this advert pulled when Richard Branson’s latest advert for Virgin is played over and over?
I see no difference is either portrayal of women. In both ads, woman are solely being portrayed as bodies to satisfy desire.
Interesting? Possibly the “smug old man” is more socially acceptal, than the hormonally challenged, young man.
Its all in the control Adgrunt.! I’m told it comes with age / maturity…… maybe one day for you!!!!
5 May 09
1:25 pm
I wonder if another factor was that by the time the ASB came to consider it, Coke had already voluntarily taken the ad off the air. Their submission to the ASB read a little like the fight had already gone out of them, preumably because of the ACCC battering
I’m guessing that made it a lot easier for the ASB to come to the verdict about an ad which is still deemed acceptable in much of the English-speaking world.
Regardless, I wouldn’t be expecting much risk-taking advertising from Coke anytime soon.
Cheers,
Tim – Mumbrella
5 May 09
1:28 pm
Me, you’re too kind.
Extremely sorry that you’re threatened by big words and the breadth of the English language. That makes me sad. As does your appalling grammar. Maybe you’re jealous of someone who can actually construct a sentence correctly?
For one so anti-verbosity I think you only meant to write:
“I see no difference is either Virgin or Coke’s portrayal of women. In both ads, women are solely being portrayed as bodies to satisfy desire.”
So why didn’t you?
6 May 09
8:57 am
The answer is simple…..I enjoy your passionate retorts, Adgrunt – they are funny!!!!!
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