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Opinion | Features
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Maurice, we don't think this is minor
In this guest column, Bec Brideson weighs in on the fight between Maurice Levy and Sir Martin Sorrell on the issue of sexism in adland.
The past few years have seen surprising facts come to light about some once-revered people. There was Rolf Harris guilty of abusing his celebrity, there’s 'America’s Dad' Bill Cosby getting found out for serial crimes against women, and of course George Pell, condemned for his silence and failure to act in the interest of the vulnerable.
The bottom line is that times are changing, and tolerance for unacceptable behaviour is low. Privilege and power no longer shield old-boy networks from scrutiny or consequences. -
Programmatic targeting... for dummies
In this test Timothy Whitfield pits six demand-side platforms against each other to find out how good programmatic offerings really are in Australia.
Following my previous article on hyper local geo-targeting I felt that it would be equally interesting to use scientific principle to forensically dissect another group of adtech companies that are often clumped together.
Not knowing where to start I figured that I might as well start at the beginning of adtech: Demand Side Platforms (DSP). -
Addicted to social media? Try an e-fasting plan
In this cross-posting from The Conversation Ritesh Chugh of CQUniversity Australia explains why scheduling time away from social media will make us not only more productive but more balanced.
Social media is a double-edged sword, providing both benefits and drawbacks.
In order to stay connected, many of us are becoming captivated by these pervasive tools. A social media report by Sensis in 2015 reported that nearly half of all Australians access one or more social networking sites every day. -
Damn Instagram, back at it again with the algorithm
In this guest post Tym Yee discusses the content dilemma created by Instagram's adaption of an algorithmic feed and why simply 'creating better content' isn't enough.
I’m glad we made it through the week. For a second there I didn’t think humanity could do it. I mean, Instagram was changing to an algorithmic feed, which is, like, totally the end of the world, right? -
Is selling out no longer a concept for Gen Z?
In this guest column Kara Richards discusses the line between authenticity and selling out for influencers who endorse multiple brands.
Our traditional celebrities are often branded as 'sell-outs' when they align themselves with too many brands, but vloggers can peddle as many brands as they like without affecting their image in the slightest.
They are the new brand ambassadors and their personal brands are mint. Even before they finish high school… -
24 Hours With.... JWT creative director, Jarrod Lowe
24 Hours With… spotlights the working day of some of the most interesting people in Mumbrella’s world. Today we speak with Jarrod Lowe, creative director, JWT, Melbourne.
It’s the morning.
It’s 6ish. The first thing I think about as I open my once baby blues, now offish greys, is how on earth we’re going to breed a new type of cow. Totally work related. I mean, I understand the circle of life but I wonder how we’ll do it on budget. I immediately Google cow gestation. Then skip breakfast. -
Why can’t it be April Fool's Day every day?
In this guest post Simon Veksner says April Fool's Day is like the Super Bowl; it's the one day each year when brands make the ads they should be making all the time.
I’m not talking about the pranking part. I’m talking about the high levels of entertainment and relevance that marketers will be aiming for (and often achieving) today.
Let’s start with the entertainment factor. There’s an analogy with the Super Bowl here: it’s the one day a year when brands make the kind of TV ads they ought to be making all the time – big, emotive, entertaining. -
Diversity needs time - just not the time you expect
The call to advertising agency’s creative departments to become more diverse needs to start with recognition of where that diversity comes from, says guest columnist Karen Ferry.
In the past 12 months, there’s been a lot of talk about how advertising creative departments don’t have enough diversity, especially in regards to women.
There’s been talk about quotas. Talk of training to tackle unconscious bias. Telling women to ‘lean in’, CDs to ‘be uncomfortable’. We’ve seen clickbait lists of what’s holding women back and even more lists of what women can do to solve this. -
Politics and statistics: Will we get a new era of digital leadership with our new digital rankings?
The new Nielsen Digital Ratings give a new window on Australia's online audiences. Nic Christensen looks at what they mean, what will come next and why the IAB won't follow through on talks of a regional merger.
In the five plus years since Nielsen launched its hybrid digital ratings, measuring the online desktop audience, mobile usage has exploded, leaving many publishers grumbling their total audience wasn't being counted.
It's been a slow and rocky path to get here, with a fair bit of argey bargey along the way - and it appears there will be yet more industry politicking to come as far as industry body the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) is concerned. -
Marketers need to stay marketers, not technologists
In this guest column , Ant Gowthorp urges marketers to keep their focus - despite the tech demands placed on them.
In the battle between humans and technology, there have been some casualties. We’ve seen privacy eroded, solitude eliminated and information set free amidst a rising tide of progress.
While proving a force for good in our lives, technology has also elevated our expectations around effectiveness and productivity. By making everything much quicker and easier, it’s made us feel like we have to ‘do it all’. -
KFC launches stories about self acceptance as it changes the way consumers see the brand
Just a few wee ks ago KFC launched its first ever branding campaign starring a duck. The world's second largest fast food chain has looked back in time to find the future of its marketing. Chief marketing officer Nikki Lawson reveals the journey the brand has taken to connect with a new generation of consumers.
In January, TV viewers were treated to a new style of KFC ad. Not a piece of fried chicken was in sight - indeed the ad starred a superannuated duck riding a skateboard - but the ad reflected a new freedom for the brand that has been granted globally but is being tested locally. -
Brands, beware: Instagram is going algorithmic
In this guest column George Pappas says Instagram's decision to change its feed from chronological to 'optimised' via a new algorithm, challenges brands to refine their message and improve the quality of their content.
Instagram last week announced a major update – their feeds are moving from a real-time chronological order of content, to an algorithmically optimised collection of content that you’d prefer to see.
According to the announcement on average we miss 70% of our feeds and as Instagram grows, so will the number of users we follow making the need for algorithmic optimisation more pertinent. -
Bedfellows no more? It's Foxtel versus Telstra in battle for online subscribers
In this cross-posting from The Conversation Marc C-Scott of Victoria University argues recent moves by Tesltra and Foxtel make them competitors in the video streaming space.
Foxtel has previously been coy about confirming speculation it is planning to launch a service that will compete with Telstra TV and Apple TV.
But new chief executive Peter Tonagh has now told reporters that it would ‘maximise’ all its distribution platforms, leading to speculation it would launch against part-owner Telstra’s own device. -
Is it time to disrupt the murky media-agency business model?
In this guest post Nico Neumann argues it is time for marketers to have a long hard look under the bonnet of their media agency's trading desk.
The discussion around transparency, hidden income, and walled gardens reached a new milestone this month when TubeMogul released their ‘manifesto of independence’.
One of the key issues raised by TubeMogul is the conflict of interest when a company is making money from being both seller and buyer for the same transaction. It’s crucial to bring this practice to the attention of advertisers and TubeMogul should be commended for their efforts in doing so. -
Why programmatic platforms will never be equal across media in the foreseeable future
In this guest column, Lee Stephens argues that while programmatic platforms are the future, comparing data on reach and impact is still some way off.
With half of all digital media planned programmatically in Australia, it is easy to ignore major developments in ‘other’ media.
MCN has managed to build awareness of its entry into programmatic TV with AOL. Indeed, in late 2015 MCN, boss Anthony Fitzgerald announced a better than forecast uptake by media agencies. And it is selling programmatic advertising across Foxtel and Ten.
While working from a small base, MCN has clearly taken the lead over the TV networks and is entering unchartered territory for TV trading in Australia and overseas.
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Lynx ‘clean your balls’ ad banned
The advertising watchdog has banned an ad for Unilever deodorant Lynx for demeaning older men – but was cleared of degrading both sexes, racism and bad language.
The part of the ad deemed unacceptable came at end, when an old man produced two deflated medicine balls and asks, ‘Can you help me with these saggy old balls? Nobody’s played with them for years.’
The ad received around 150 complaints from the public, not far off the total for the most complained about ad last year, which received 222.
One of the complaints to the Ad Standards Bureau read: “It is smutty and filled with crude innuendo of a sexual nature. It is not clever advertising but rather immature banter akin to schoolyard talk. It has nothing to do with the advertising of the product and is totally unnecessary and demeaning to men. If the topic was woman’s breasts there would be outrage. Not funny not clever just feral.”
Another reads: “The ad represents a huge gender double standard. If the product on sale was aimed at women for cleaning their intimate areas and the ad had men making suggestive comments and was packed full of the same overtones it simply would not be allowed in the first place. It would be impossible to imagine an ad featuring men washing objects that are portrayed as representing the vagina. So that said why should it be allowed in reverse?”
The ASB ruled that – with the exception of the depiction of the older man – the portrayals of the people in the ad were not offensive.
Comments
16 Jul 12
1:35 pm
“The ASB ruled that – with the exception of the depiction of the older man – the portrayals of the people in the ad were not offensive.”
Hahaha brilliant. This will piss Melinda Tankard Reist and Collective Shout off enormously that it was the portrayal of the old man that got this banned and nothing else….!
16 Jul 12
1:35 pm
somebody remind me which one was the most offensive ad last year?
16 Jul 12
1:54 pm
So let me get this right…
The only complaint from the litany of vexatious complaints that was upheld, was the the old bloke was villified?
That was the bit my father in law actually blew his wine out of his nose laughing at!
I smell Commercial Shout in the majority of these complaints, but the sole complaint that was upheld was the one not under their pearl-clutching banner of “objectifying women, etc.” – that is hilarious. Naturally their website spins a different story. Even their Facebook page shows considerable apathy about the subject from their supporters. Sad, sad, self-justification.
When will Collective Shout learn that pearl-clutching wowserism is not really credible and that there really are issues they could focus their efforts on that will make a difference.
16 Jul 12
2:04 pm
Hi haha-nielson,
The most complained about ad from last year was Rip & Roll for Queensland Association for Health Communities.
Here is the list of others:
http://mumbrella.com.au/signif.....-ads-69418
Cheers,
Robin – Mumbrella
16 Jul 12
2:39 pm
Smutty? Crude? Schoolyard banter? Sure. That may be uncreative but isn’t against the rules — and probably plays to the target market.
As for reversing the genders on innuendo, does no one remember the playful “Beaver” ad in 2008, the 185 complaints against which were dismissed?
16 Jul 12
2:43 pm
Glad to see LYNX has re-edited the ad to take out the OLD man and continued to run it!
Keep up the good work
16 Jul 12
2:57 pm
I don’t know if this is in response to the ASB ruling, but Lynx have posted this response video to their YouTube: http://youtu.be/v5f_IqII-Ts
I kinda wish they’d run this video first, rather than the US reheat.
16 Jul 12
2:57 pm
Giant storm in a ball cup.
16 Jul 12
3:08 pm
Also, the Lynx ad you’ve embedded is the newly-expurgated version.
Anyone wanting to be offended can watch the original version here: http://youtu.be/hFvQqTBFe48
16 Jul 12
3:58 pm
Lulz to the Lynx response vid.
16 Jul 12
4:26 pm
I thought so too, AdGrunt – that’s why I posted it in the comments.
I thought it was an original video designed to capitalise on the Australian controversy, but no, it turns out that it’s another Aussie redo of the Axe campaign.
The US version of the press conference: http://youtu.be/DQbVqeXG9aI
16 Jul 12
4:56 pm
http://youtu.be/v5f_IqII-Ts
the Lynx press conference – this is soooo funny!!!
16 Jul 12
5:02 pm
Glad to see an edited version of this ad is back. Talk about a mountain out of a mole-hill.
16 Jul 12
5:13 pm
I’d love to get my balls cleaned by that chick. I’m disgraced that that is banned….
16 Jul 12
5:18 pm
Love the Lynx press conference. Cheers for linking Adam.
16 Jul 12
5:19 pm
I don’t get it; we are a strange mob; the public broadcaster can give us http://www.abc.net.au/tv/progr.....hjulia.htm At Home With Julia and it can be nominated for a couple of AWGIE’s – we can have the Kotex Beaver selling tampons, but and old man with saggy balls is demeaning. I just don’t get it.
16 Jul 12
5:36 pm
“If the product on sale was aimed at women for cleaning their intimate areas and the ad had men making suggestive comments and was packed full of the same overtones it simply would not be allowed in the first place. It would be impossible to imagine an ad featuring men washing objects that are portrayed as representing the vagina…”
So this person was complaining about an ad that hasn’t actually been made???
16 Jul 12
6:35 pm
The whole lynx ad is a copy of a 2010 ad campaign for Axe in the USA. See the original American version here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mPwhMoQBg_8
16 Jul 12
6:37 pm
why can’t an old guy have smooth balls? that’s ageist!
16 Jul 12
9:23 pm
Stoner Ad of the week!
17 Jul 12
1:43 am
An ad targeted directly at the teenage boys who make up approx 99% of the market who purchases Lynx.
17 Jul 12
8:47 am
This should’ve been banned Sophie Monk can’t act to save her life, and the AXE version was so much better.
17 Jul 12
10:53 am
Agree – excellent response from Lynx with the Press Conference.
17 Jul 12
1:41 pm
I don’t think there’s any reason to ban it except for the fact that Sophie Monk must have been out of her mind desperate to play this part. This is more embarrassing than offensive
17 Jul 12
1:49 pm
Question: How many people actually liked the advert vs the mere 150 that complained …
This is one of the most clever adverts we’ve seen in recent times … the fact that we’re talking about it now simply boosts the product awareness even more. Well done ‘offended minority groups’, since the beginning of time, you still haven’t realised that you are the missing link in creating something out of nothing …
P.S. If you’re offended … just grab that remote that resides in your hand and change the channel … apologies … was that a bit too obvious???
17 Jul 12
2:30 pm
@ Adrian
Not obvious, just outrageous. If the answer to offensive programming were to simply block it out of your life by changing channels, there would be no required standards in the first place.
As for the ad? It was, in my opinion, deliberately scripted and crudely directed, using a cast who were either allowed to overplay or didn’t know that they were overplaying, which brings the responsibility back to the director.
To claim “double entendre” (more correctly ‘double entente’ ) is in this case an amateur’s shield. The double entendre, used responsibly, should result in a word or phrase being used to explicitly avoid the risqué. In the case of this ad, the use was clearly, in my opinion, a collection, far too long, of deliberate sexual gags.
17 Jul 12
2:54 pm
Richard, you seem to be mistaken about Double Entendre / Double Entente.
Moreover, a quick viewing of “Are You Being Served”; any Bond film, any Carry On film, Paul Hogan show, etc. will demonstrate exactly how innuendo plays a rich and colourful part of culture.
Litmus test – would a 5 year old child get the gag?
17 Jul 12
3:06 pm
it doesn’t offend me as a woman, as I said I just feel sorry for Sophie making the choice of being in it. Each to their own I guess
17 Jul 12
3:26 pm
@ AdGrunt
Thanks for your opinion. I am not at all mistaken about any part of double entendre (entente) and I agree that the examples you have quoted will all, at times, demonstrate the part played by it in popular culture.
Your Litmus test? Most 5 year old children would get “fart jokes” but that doesn’t make them tasteful humour. The responsible use of double entendre (more properly double entente) would be expected to go above the heads of the average 5 year old.
Interesting that after a viewing of what is listed as the “original US version” I find that the ad, comes very much closer, in my opinion, to the spirit of double entendre or double entente. The direction is more towards a demonstration of ball cleaning, where much of the dialogue avoids the obvious.
The actor playing the old man, actually presents as a frail old man with old balls, and he make no reference to “saggy balls” or the fact that nobody has played with them for years. The power of “innuendo” is in what it doesn’t say, rather than what it says.
17 Jul 12
7:54 pm
Are you sure, RIchard?
Perhaps if you’re speaking to a French person of a “certain age”, but the Anglicisation is double entendre and the modern french phrase is double sens, or so my maid tells me.
You have affirmed my litmus test for a double entendre, that it would go above a 5 year old’s head. Thank you.
As for the performances and production values, I share your view.
18 Jul 12
9:33 am
@AdGrunt
Yes, I feel we are more in accord than not. I doubt that the words “double entendre” would mean anything to a modern French speaker who was unaware of the English usage. Double agreement or double hearing or double intent are all closely related but like so many Anglo/French shared expressions they are in a shadow.
None quite so appalling as “Elephant and Castle” or “Rotten Row”.
18 Jul 12
1:00 pm
Wow, gentlemen. All a bit high brow for moi. But back to the ad in question…my favourite scene involves the character played by Ms Monk kissing the map of Tassie on the trophy for winning the “Tasmanian International”.
19 Jul 12
1:08 pm
I thought the add was execellent
6 Aug 12
2:50 pm
Am i the only person who thought the advert was awful anyway? The joke, in it’s entirety was the word balls and the action of cleaning them. Not sure how they managed to draw that out over a 2 minute period. The only reason i was offended is that someone in a position of power at lynx and/or the advertising agency said yes to launching this sorry excuse for an ad.