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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.
Latest CommBank ad focuses on promises kept
Commonwealth Bank has released the next in its new series of stylised black and white ads.
The new campaign marks a change of direction from agency Goodby Silverstein & Partners after the previous work involving a comically inept American ad agency.
CommBank has also uploaded a behind-the-scenes look at the making of the ads:
(Hat-tip: @karalee_)
June 30th, 2010 at 12:37 pm
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Comments
30 Jun 10
12:59 pm
Why why WHY do commonwealth bank creatives continue to weave in as much self-referential crap as possible into their TVCs? first we had the appauling “Crazy US Ad Agency” creative, and now we need to sit through an ego-stroking voice over talking us through the bloody run sheet for the ad!!! “Now the Themline, Now the logo”…biring, self centric and irrelevant.
Comm Bank Creatives: get your hand off it. Stop with the self-congratulatory crud and start making ads that aren’t about you.
30 Jun 10
1:12 pm
It’s these damn Americans and their damn kids promoting the wrong kind of advertising. We were once a good breed in Australia, bur obviously Australian agencies aren’t good enough!
Needs more cowbell.
30 Jun 10
1:40 pm
Yeah… we’re in a drought Commonwealth dudes.
30 Jun 10
2:01 pm
The voiceover is almost sinister. Which is probably about right for a bank.
30 Jun 10
2:12 pm
Let’s not underestimate their determination to be different: they got Jean-Pierre Jeunet to film the ad for an Australian bank in a location that looks like a gated community outside LA. That’s pretty determined to be different.
Pick a famous film director, an abstract theme that excudes the coolness of the famous film director, a VO to shoe-horn in the core messages and call it a bank ad.
Can I have a go? Can I?
George Miller directs; happy housewife wants to buy expensive fish food for little Simone, but there are too few coins in her purse, talking animals save the day. The cool cats and wise owls represent bank staff, saying other banks charge too much for too many electronic transactions, but CBA helps you look after the dollars and cents…
Your turn!
30 Jun 10
2:23 pm
Enough with the meta-advertising references in your ads. Please.
It’s condescending of GS&P, and kind of like giving trinkets and baubles to the indians.
30 Jun 10
3:06 pm
it’s a welcome move away from those “Crazy US Ad Agency” ads
30 Jun 10
3:11 pm
Oh please! You seriously have to be kidding me with this ad. For a long time now I’ve heard how bank ads (for example our good friend bank manager for ANZ) are so off the mark because they are completely unrealistic and paint no picture of what the service is really like, let alone the overall experience with banks and their employees and offerings.
This is by far the worst. There is absolutely nothing sincere about this campaign, and the way they have tried to highlight how they will always be there for their customers, is bottom-line pathetic. At least those American agency ad’s very cringe-like funny (even though it reminded me of The Office). This fails to emotionally appeal and engage completely! Epic Fail in the words of my generation!
30 Jun 10
3:14 pm
I don’t hate this.
30 Jun 10
3:23 pm
I can hardly bring myself to write anything about this expensive waste of money, they should have just given the whole budget away in community grants! The Comm bank continues to have absolutely nothing in common with the average Australian, maybe something to do with the American brains (term used loosely) that have no idea about Australia or Australians. Only one person should go down for this, that Marketing Director at Commbank who jerked himself into appointing a US ad agency. One man, one massive misguided trip! And it continues!
30 Jun 10
3:36 pm
Is the voice-over Tiriel Mora – Dennis Denuto from The Castle?
If so, I can’t wait for Series 3 from GS&P in which they employ Working Dog for the “F***ing Photocopier” TVC. Suffer in your jocks all you other banks!
30 Jun 10
3:54 pm
agree about the watering the garden, but atleast their ads are diffferint and we are talking about them – isn’t that what advertising is about?
30 Jun 10
3:57 pm
I’ll probably get shot to shit for this, but I quite like these. There’s nothing crazy about them, there’s no ‘wham bam give me your business man!!’ kind of punch in the face and they’re, well…. cute.
Sure I could knock them, and say ‘oh I would have done X’ or ‘Why can’t they do Y’ but forget that, I like them for what they are.
A refreshing little break from the everyday banking ad, that focuses on a few key things – great service, work in the community etc.
And for everyone worrying about an it being an American agency: really, that’s your biggest gripe? That means no one here has any desire to work with American brands, because they’d have to stay with American agencies right?
30 Jun 10
3:57 pm
no
30 Jun 10
4:00 pm
this is just such junk…even worse than those annoying american ad wankers.////…and what’s with this obsession to drop in references to ‘insert logo’ here..it’s just pathetic…im a CBA customer and they certainly aren’t different and these ads just annoy the hell out of me…Goodby FAIL
30 Jun 10
4:20 pm
The voiceover is creepy.
I see the pitch that Goodby made with the concept would have went something like their old “ad agency” ads – “how about this? We read everything on the script except the dialogue?”….. really?
30 Jun 10
4:35 pm
This is a piece of self-indulgent work. Only ad people would get all the references and cues in the ad – they obviously had their most important ‘target audience’ in mind.
@BigMal – if people are saying the ad is ‘different’ – i don’t think that’s what advertising is about. Advertising is a lot more that the given ‘build awareness/recall’ objective….
30 Jun 10
4:46 pm
Big Mal. If you honestly believe that advertising is all about getting noticed then you are an idiot. More often than not, a simple truth told well and relevantly, like Bunnings does every day for one, is all that’s needed to make great advertising. No doubt in your world Bunnings ads are just crap. So, for all those people wondering why clients are finding agencies less and less relevant, look no further than Big Mal.
30 Jun 10
5:16 pm
I thought the first ones were mildly funny but these are funnier.
30 Jun 10
5:18 pm
I love the behind the scenes – all that equipment and crew for a TVC? I would agree that the money could be better used to sponsor the children’s charity and EMPLOY more staff so they actually deliver on their service promises.
Then let the customers do the work and use social media to describe their good experiences. Nothing puts me off more than standing in a queue in the bank whilst being bombarded with their commercials telling me how good their service is.
Get real guys – TVCs are dying – social media is where it’s at
30 Jun 10
5:30 pm
… and in the shadows of the winning post, David makes a lunge at the line to overtake Big Mal for the most inane comment. It’s too close too call … the stewards are going for the photo … it’s a dead heat!
Talkability about an ad is one mere component, as is social media for an advertising campaign. Lift your eyes lads and try to see the whole picture!
30 Jun 10
5:36 pm
I’m intrigued by the consumer insight that led to this execution.
Do people want to talk to their bank? Or would they rather avoid it like the plague? Why are they waiting for the bank to call back in the first place? Most often, to complain about something or get a loan approved? And why can’t the bank take the customer call when THEY call at a time convenient to them? Should I, as a bank customer, feel special because they took the time to call me back? Or does this reinforce to me that the banks are somehow ‘above’ truly competing for my business or offering me genuine service?
I’m just sayin…..
30 Jun 10
5:57 pm
@John Grono…
Pretty sure that despite the fact people are watching more TV for longer it is actually already a dead medium… Listen to David, I’m pretty sure he is a genius.
30 Jun 10
6:17 pm
Good point Joel. Increased usage = death throes that lead to having the shroud completely pulled up over the rotting corpse.
Re your second point, David is probably pretty sure of that as well.
30 Jun 10
7:15 pm
Commbank are having a laugh aren’t they?!
There is a drought in Melbourne, however Commbank dont care about that.
The talk of logo’s? Is this an ad for the bank or the agency?
I am totally confused and from my experience with Commbank it doesnt matter how good your ad’s are my experience and service is what is important, or and what rate you can offer me and for that I have taken my business elsewhere.
H’mmm what will make me want to bank my funds elsewhere? A lady in a garden with a hosepipe?
30 Jun 10
8:18 pm
Hey Dave that’s why Nike and the worlds biggest brands plonk all their money into tv, cause it’s dying. The most watched event in the world is on tv but I rekon next year they’ll be showing the world cup just on facebook and Twitter as updates. Because tv is dying.
30 Jun 10
8:33 pm
Sorry that should be next time, not next year. But same goes with every sporting event on the globe which is televised.
1 Jul 10
12:42 am
I thought it was cute and adorable. A little exaggerated but that’s part of its charm.
Don’t get me wrong. I love ads, I just don’t like them interfering with my shows.
But I agree that TV is definitely dying. I find it more convenient to watch online because there are no ads interfering with the program. The bad part of it is I see less and less advertising
1 Jul 10
10:01 am
I preer these to those supposed ‘comical’ american ad, at least they’re pretty but not sure like the ANZ they do actually deliver….
But they do use facts in the ads to back up claims but like @Planner-er would love to know where the customer insight came for these ads.
1 Jul 10
10:38 am
idiots. they should have done a social media campaign that democratised the idea of using ATMs and allowed users to share images of themselves in branches and gave the bank managers twitter accounts and then spent all the ATL budget on like button ads on facebook. and crowdsourcing, can’t forget the crowdsourcing.
would have sold way more homeloans and credit cards. feel the synergies.
tv isn’t dying it’s dead. that’s why people spend 4 hours a night watching it, because they like to celebrate the fact it’s dead and invest time around mocking its irrelevance whilst watching it but at the same time using social media to truly engage in dialogue and conversations with their favourite surface cleaning brands and toilet paper. and crowdsourcing.
1 Jul 10
10:44 am
*** applause *** well said value guy
1 Jul 10
10:58 am
Please shut this blog down now. People start talking crap! It was about the bloody ads after all!
1 Jul 10
11:38 am
Classic post Value guy
1 Jul 10
12:08 pm
I Heart Value Guy.
If i hear “crate engaging content and deliver social media virility” for a bloody dull-as-dishwater FMCG brand one more time i’ll throw myself off the Harbour bridge.
1 Jul 10
1:26 pm
I needed a dishwasher appliance for my kitchen. I Googled “Dishwashers” and I visited some product comparison sites.
I scanned and noted any trends where various sites rated a certaibn machine as the best and narrowed it down to 1 distinct winner.
I then went out to a few retainlers to see what their best price was and also explored online.
I took a similar approach when I was looking for a savings account and a my homeloan…
A marketing mix is important and if people are watching TV and you can afford to, get in fornt of them
Online / digital is certainly a place where you MUST be and other mediums are beggining to bolt on to this hub and not the other way around…
Again I do not think TV is dead. It is certainly being tested though because it is so expensive to create the advert, let alone buy the space(.)
1 Jul 10
1:28 pm
B*gger
‘certain’ and ‘retailers’…
1 Jul 10
1:40 pm
Good one value guy.
1 Jul 10
1:52 pm
Nice one value guy, if you’re going to be mocking/critical, at least it should be funny
1 Jul 10
4:20 pm
… more and more likely, you’ll be watching the next World cup on your TV via the internet with live feeds, your personal control of camera angles, live interaction with friends and sports betting on the fly all at the same time.
The first to the space will win, Bigpond, Virgin in the UK ar already on the way there now.
That is the sound of inevitability.
1 Jul 10
5:06 pm
I received a call once from the Commonwealth Bank… It was the teller, asking me how my experience was, and if I got the information on the other accounts I was after… all the while she was removing $750 from my account… Aaaah CBA… you little scamps.
1 Jul 10
5:17 pm
Ironic isn’t it. FIFA can’t even get a video replay to see whether the ball has crossed the line, but by the next World Cup there will be some interactivty for some (but certainly not all) TV broadcasts.
And bugger me dead if the Commbank didn’t contact my wife and say we can offer you an extra 1.5% interest on your online saver account until the end of July. First reaction was … what’s the catch? The PDS shows there isn’t a catch … as far as we can see. It’s a nice unexpected loyalty bonus … but like all banks there is still the lingering doubt that same way or other that additional income will be clawed back by some fee somehow. So – they jury is out.
1 Jul 10
5:50 pm
I love the “making of …” clip – it has great production values, tight editing, intriguing cut-aways. I wonder if there will be a “making of the making of …”?
1 Jul 10
5:56 pm
@ @Herald Sun Reader
yeah, that was my point I was being sarcastic.
As long as there is sport, TV will win and I don’t reckon sport is going away anytime soon.
We’ll always need TV ads.
1 Jul 10
5:57 pm
Oh and besides, there won’t be coverage if brands can’t buy a spot. So unless Channel 7 get to host every sporting event on earth and litter every second with shameless product placements then we’ll most likely have to cut to a 30 sec spot.
2 Jul 10
10:32 am
Insert “FAIL” here…..
6 Jul 10
9:26 am
This is quite possibly the worst ad I’ve seen in 10 years. Pathetic creative idea with a proposition which isn’t beleivable to anybody who actually ‘lives’ in Australia. Well done Goodby Silverstein & Partners another piece of badvertising.
Steve.
6 Jul 10
12:03 pm
Is the voiceover the same guy who did the AIDS ads in the 1980s?
Sounds like him. Scary.
“Always use a condom”
7 Jul 10
6:27 pm
Nice ad for the agency. For the bank though, not at all credible and not at all believable. Good to see CBA investing their money wisely!
7 Jul 10
9:37 pm
this will not translate into any form of customer acquisition or market share penetration for this bank
9 Jul 10
7:21 pm
My 7 year old daughter had this to say.. “Daddy why is this ad black and white and why is it stupid?” Laughed so hard I had to sit down..
16 Jul 10
12:30 am
on the cost of an advert…. what ever the ad agency quotes the actual crew costs are probably no more than $100-150k a day. by that we are talking a film crew, grips, gaffers etc. There are so many variables you can never really give a set price although you could just buy a copy of the production book and get quotes from crew directly to keep an eye on your agency and it’s fees.
Although who is the chick in the torn jeans with a radio more importantly what does she do?
The days of the agency gouging the client should be dead and buried by now and the next producer who thinks he can skim another 5% off my rate by telling me he will pay me in 5 days or less will be leaving in an ambulance.
As for the advert? Arty, over the top and totally missing the point, Barabara is more of the real bank attitude we deal with should anything go wrong.
I bank with another bank they are doing ok. Commonwealth… I cut loose from them years ago like Telstra.
I want real customer service. Real people answering the telephone not a computerised phone system but a real human who speaks English as their native language not a learned language. Bit like AAMI.
16 Jul 10
12:21 pm
Your daughter nailed it Ron.
27 Jul 10
2:42 am
These ads remind me of the trailers for a horror movie. Some weird Japanese horror movie.
I’ve seen this movie. I think there is a girl, she’s dead and trapped down a well.
People that watch these ads will receive a telephone call late at night and strange voice over artist will say ‘you will die in seven days’.
The only way not do die is to get someone else to watch them.
It’s what they call ‘viral marketing’.
And it’s the only thing that’s going to get people to watch these things.
If you have watched these ads and if you want to live, send the link to someone you hate. Maybe someone in advertising.
X
Lavinia.