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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.
Four fight it out for ad of the month
Voting is now open form Mumbrella’s ad of the month contest.
The finalists are:
- Goodby, Silverstein & Partners – Commonwealth Bank
- BMF – Football Federation
- Bakers Delight – AJF Partnership
- Bondi Advertising – Fantasy World Cup
Mumbrella readers can vote at the bottom of this page. The closing date is the end of Monday August 2
CommBank:
Football Federation:
Bakers Delight:
Fantasy World Cup:
Have your vote:
With the support of:
July 29th, 2010 at 2:54 pm
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Comments
29 Jul 10
3:14 pm
When you say ‘Ad of the Month’, do you mean ‘Worst ad of the Month’?
29 Jul 10
3:30 pm
Lean month.
Bakers Delight is poo. But the Fantasy World Cup spot makes it look like rolled gold. The Comm Bank ad is very good though. Luckily.
29 Jul 10
3:37 pm
Fox Sports – The old cut away to show coach is really speaking to kids or a mirror or empty chairs gag.
Football Federation – The even older body paint gag .
Commonwealth Bank is so bad it has no precedent.
As least Bakers Delight has a message that is going to work in the market place.
29 Jul 10
3:41 pm
Please tell me Eek.
In what way, shape or form can Comm Bank be considered good?
29 Jul 10
3:50 pm
eek you have the brain of a mouse
29 Jul 10
3:53 pm
Comm bank – rip off of Amelie. Where’s Barbs?
FFA is good, although it is bad because I have no idea who the green and white team are
Bakers delight – it’s about bread. How interesting can you make that subject matter?
Fantasy football – Robbie Slater, you’ve had your 15 minutes mate…..
29 Jul 10
4:00 pm
bodypainted fans again??? groan. Bondi best of a bad bunch!
29 Jul 10
4:04 pm
Hi Milo,
Directed by the same director as Amelie – hence the similar look.
Cheers,
Tim – Mumbrella
29 Jul 10
4:22 pm
This is beginning to sound like another less productive cowardly blog. Keep it premium gentlemen…
29 Jul 10
4:35 pm
Commonwealth has to rate as worst of the year…or maybe decade!
29 Jul 10
4:52 pm
If you disagree with someone else’s opinion and you attack the poster personally, you’re on the wrong blog.
29 Jul 10
7:21 pm
Go Bakers Delight!!!
29 Jul 10
8:26 pm
A very, very, very thin month. Bakers Delight.
29 Jul 10
11:24 pm
If you want to know why the Comm Bank ad is so good Mr Anonymous, call Andrew and ask him why he hates it so much. There is your answer.
Personally, I thought the Bakers Delight ad was another spot for the Holden Owner’s Grant.
And Andrew, I’d rather have the brain of a mouse than the creative repertoire of one.
Even a mouse can learn to do things differently.
30 Jul 10
8:22 am
bakers delight once had a really nice lo fi direction where the bakers made the ads. now they’ve traded this in for what is essentially just another woolies ad right down to the annoying acoustic guitar which if i hear in another australian ad im gonna scream!
30 Jul 10
8:37 am
Hi all
Why all the snide comments about other peoples work? Objective critique is one thing, but I am seeing more and more comments on this blog (and others) that are designed to insult.
Agencies are doing their best, brands are doing their best, and it’s an uncertain time for everyone. Anything that gets up and aired/read/screened is a win of sorts for everybody. Rather than bringing people down, why not help build them up to do even better work next time? People put their hearts and souls into their work, and if the comments that seem to be more and more pervasive are anything to go by, their are a lot of mean hearted people out there.
Yes, people are often pitted against each other, but there is such a thing called the spirit of competition, and I am wondering where it has gone. Imagine if the energy put in to crucifying other peoples work was actually put towards making your own work better . . . really, think about it.
Just because you can comment doesn’t mean you have to, so every comment is always a choice. And that choice can be used in so many better ways.
Cheers,
Peter
30 Jul 10
9:28 am
C’mon Peter, agencies should know exactly where their work sits on the ‘creative’ scale. They also should know anything shy of excellent is going to be lampooned if posted onto a blog, especially if it was posted as a PR exercise for themselves. Sure the cloak of anonymity is easy to wear but there’s no point saying ‘LOOK AT US!’ if there’s not much to look at.
30 Jul 10
10:36 am
Harden up Peter. If you want to go into battle for these four ads as the representation of our best efforts for the past month, you’re going to need to.
An opinion only insults you if it’s not to your liking. In my opinion, the Bakers Delight spot is nothing different and nothing special. The strategy might be ok, but creatively it’s wallpaper.
And fuck me, are you serious about that whole “If you can’t say anything nice don’t say anything at all” schtick? Seriously?
This is an article asking people to judge. The standard here is not great. What would you do, give everyone a participation award?
30 Jul 10
10:52 am
Hi Eek and Oliver
I’m not saying that work shouldn’t be critiqued, if fact it should be, vigorously. I am simply critiquing the critique. I am not convinced that calling something “poo” is decent critique.
Also I don’t equate the “best ad” with the one being the most creative (and I say this as someone from a creative agency). Last I knew this isn’t a creative blog. Given we don’t know the strategy, or the objectives of the campaign, we lack insight to write things off.
Oliver, I agree with you that people who put their work out there deserve to be critiqued. In fact, I also agree that far too much work is PR’s by agencies in general, there needs to be more introspection by agencies rather than worrying about what other people are doing, My point is more about the poor level of critique.
And yes, I do actually believe that standard will be higher in a supportive environment rather than one of negativity.
Cheers,
Peter
30 Jul 10
10:53 am
And yes, my typos are atrocious, but the message is solid (case in point?)
30 Jul 10
11:13 am
Apologies Peter, we’re going to have to agree to disagree.
Now, I’ve got a fairly broad vocabulary. It’s something I pride myself on and as such I like to exercise it at every available occasion.
It just so happened that on this occasion, I personally felt that the Bakers Delight ad was poo. Not disappointingly lacking in artistic or strategic merit. Not devoid of an emotive hook that made it bearable or believable. Just poo.
Pooey poo.
The kind that goes plop.
30 Jul 10
1:22 pm
eek why waste your talent here when there’s a specialty brochure agency out there dying for a scribe with your incredible wit and dynamic turn of phrase?
30 Jul 10
1:24 pm
Oh Eek.. I’m wondering how much work you get done these days old mate.. Seems that slamming other agencies work is now your one big strength..
Go get some lunch for us will you.. Mines a bucket of wings and nuggets with a large Coke.. Not so much the flavour and nutrition for me, it’s the ad’s that do it.
ta
Mouse
30 Jul 10
3:16 pm
Bakers Delight makes me want to go out and buy their bread – I can almost taste it…. love this one.
30 Jul 10
3:18 pm
I’m actually struggling to see when this got personal?
A mouse is allowed an opinion, is it not?
Personally, I thought the Baker’s Delight ad was a fairly workmanlike effort to mask an ok strategy and a semi-stolen line.
You’ve got three CDs in there and no one picked up on “We’re for dogs”?
The ads have been running for a while. Surely you’ve seen them?
Or maybe “Just do bread” and “Refreshes the parts other breads can’t reach” didn’t make it through research?
So, instead of playing the man, defend your ad. Come on.
This should be fabulous.
30 Jul 10
6:05 pm
Commbank and FFA were okay, did the job but didn’t appeal to me personally. I thought the Fantasy WC ad was horrible and actually turned me off the product.
Not overwhelmingly magnificent, but Bakers Delight was nice, memorable and made me want to go out and buy bread.
30 Jul 10
7:14 pm
One vote for the Commonwealth Bank ad. Cheesy yet different.
The Bakers Delight ad is bland, reminds me of their bread. No wonder they are losing market share to the supermarkets. (Do you get a Holden with every loaf?)
Football Federation – predictable, yet laughed first time around.
Fantasy World Cup – time to put the kettle on
30 Jul 10
8:54 pm
comm bank – long walk for a ham sandwich. who is this appealing to really?
FFA – unoriginal and hammy direction.
Bakers – the fresh food people. no ham in this sandwich so why is this even on here, seriously?
Fox – sweet station ident with a ham sandwich budget, but not an actual ad so again not really sure why its here? good performance though from a footballer (not helped by that annoying station VO)
2 Aug 10
10:23 am
Go Baker’s Delight! LOVE the new campaign!