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Opinion
No - advertising has not beaten culture jamming at its own game
In this guest post, an activist argues why advertising has not subverted culture jamming - and why Australia would be a better place without ‘visual pollution’At a photography exhibition now on the Sydney Museum last week, a question was put to a panel of experts. Would our cities be better without any advertising. The answer was a resounding “yes”.
This didn’t really come as much of a surprise. After all, the panel were culture jammers – activists who subvert mainstream media, altering the message of an ad to tell a story of their own.
Think popular, not premium: Why the Henry & Aaron 'It's a snap' video went viral
In this guest posting, YouTube’s Karen Stocks says why she thinks CIT’s gory-funny ‘It’s a snap’ ad was a hit.One of this week’s viral hits on YouTube is a science fiction-themed ad for the Central Institute of Technology in Perth. The skit-style video commercial features CIT grads-turned-YouTube stars Henry & Aaron, who magically jump from one CIT department to the next with a snap of Aaron’s fingers. The comedy takes a distinctly darker turn when Aaron’s teleporting skills start going horribly wrong – with gruesome results.
The video holds a couple of lessons for marketers.
Mumbrella360 - call for curated sessions
I must confess that I didn’t enjoy Mumbrella360 last year.
Having staked our credibility and indeed (although I didn’t like to think about it at the time) the company, on Mumbrella360 being a success, the main thing I actually experienced over the two days was a growing sense of relief that it wasn’t shit.
The Woolworths virtual store is not the future of retail. But it is a good PR stunt
So last night I dropped by my local neighbourhood Virtual Woolworths.It’s located at Sydney Town Hall station – conveniently enough, almost directly underneath my local neighborhood Real Woolworths.
As you’ll see from the wobbly iPhone video I shot, it was a relatively lonely experience. But it was Sunday night.
How not to use Twitter: lessons from Qantas and Westpac
The likes of Qantas have a long way to go before getting to grips with social media, argues Axel Bruns.For major brands, the road to social media infamy is paved with what seemed like good ideas at the time.
Just this week, Qantas succeeded in having Twitter suspend the well-known spoof account, @QantasPR, claiming users would mistake it for the real thing.
Is Big W the beginning of the bounceback for Saatchis?
Google may prove me wrong, but in the entire time Mumbrella has existed, and very possibly for my entire editorship of B&T before that, I can’t remember ever writing the headline “Saatchi & Saatchi wins…”
So today’s appointment by Big W is a big deal.
Traditional agencies are driving away their digital superstars with their old ways
In this guest post, Daniel Monheit argues that Australia’s creative agencies will never be able to hang on to digital talentIn 2010 Steve Jobs was invited by James Murdoch to speak at the annual News Corp management retreat. Jobs issued a blunt, critical assessment of what newspapers were trying to do in technology: “You’re going to find it hard to get things right, because you’re in New York and anyone who’s any good at tech works in Silicon Valley”.
And that’s when it hit me. The reason why Australia’s best traditional agencies, working with the most prolific clients and the biggest budgets cant manage to put out anything remotely passable as decent digital work.
Anyone who’s any good at digital works at an agency that actually believes in it.
What does Fairfax's Media's data dump actually mean? And what's going on at ACP Magazines?
Although I rather like stats, there are a few days a year where they become a little overwhelming.
Radio ratings releases offer eight such days annually. Over the space of a couple of hours, the data drops for the five main metro markets. Generally the phone starts ringing within 10 minutes, from station bosses aiming to give their interpretation of those numbers. It becomes a game of keeping them on the line long enough to sift through the data to try to discover the real story you need to ask them about. Within minutes a blizzard of press releases follow too.
In truth, the press releases mostly get ignored in the race to write the story. Then they’re mostly ignored because the story is already written.
And twice a year, a similar exercise surrounds the release of the monthly magazine sales figures,
When the powerful buy into the media, can the media still scrutinise the powerful?
Economist Richard Denniss of Australian National University argues in a post that first appeared on The Conversation that the public needs to decide if it cares who owns the media.The mining industry is used to having its voice heard in Australian public debates, so it should come as no surprise that mining billionaires such as Gina Rinehart and Clive Palmer would consider buying up a bigger slice of the Australian media.
While the estimated $20m spent by the mining industry on television advertisements opposing the introduction of a mining tax was the most visible example of the industry’s determination to influence the public it is, in fact, just the tip of the iceberg.
The keyboard warrior of Twitter
In this guest post, NBN staffer Scott Rhodie writes an unofficial, personal view on his experience with a hostile Twitter critic.Last night I had a strange incident. While on Twitter I noticed someone saying that Australia’s NBN is already outdated. I wrote a small note back explaining they were incorrect.
And their response? The lovely gentleman (whose Twitter profile says: ‘Father of 5 kids, Loving Grandfather of 10 Grandchildren,and 2 Great Granddaughters. love to give heaps to Pollies and Poofters’) said to me: “Go and lick Gillards C*** out U commie Prick”
What's in a name?
In this guest post, Moensie Rossier wonders about the power of names for brands and marketers.
Brands have been having a bit of fun with names lately, not to mention a fair bit of success. Interbrand just named a headhunting firm Cloak & Dagger. And ‘Share a Coke’ showed how much power there is in a name.
The Coke campaign effectively short-circuited the usual mechanics of communication. It undoubtedly stroked people’s egos. But, I believe, its success stems from the fact that it directly and automatically affected people’s behaviour, rather than doing so indirectly by shaping attitudes.
Best ads from Super Bowl 2012
The Super Bowl is all done and a team from North America won. But as well as some sort of sporting event, it’s the world’s biggest advertising showcase. See the best of them right here… and please tell us what you think.
How to debunk media myths
In this post, UWS’s Ullrich Ecker, John Cook and Stephen Lewandowsky argue that cognitive science can help PRs form strategies in managing media misreporting.
A growing cohort of commentators has bemoaned the descent of contemporary political “debate” into a largely fact-free zone.
How about simply focusing on what consumers want?
In this guest post, Peter Mountford argues that brands should think more about what is really going on for consumers
Who here is hoping their favourite brand of toilet paper is going to be organizing a flash mob on their way home from work today?
What the Optus web copyright victory means
In this analysis first published on The Conversation, RMIT’s Marita Shelly examines the implications of Telstra’s defeat over the online rights to the AFL broadcast deal
This week’s Federal Court ruling that Optus customers are able to view sporting matches minutes after they are streamed live without breaching copyright is a landmark decision that alters our understanding of copyright law, and has significant implications for the AFL’s broadcasting rights deal.
McDonald’s reveals Playland – its biggest ad yet
McDonald’s will later today air its new ad “Playland” , which it describes as the company’s “biggest brand TV commercial in Australia to date”.
As Mumbrella reported at the time, the ad was filmed outside Sydney’s Customs House back in March.
It features Sydney office workers discovering the largest McDonald’s Playland ever constructed while on their daily commute to work.
Most of those featured in the are actors although some members of the public appear in the reaction shots.
The three-storey high structure included a giant Hamburglar swing, Ronald McDonald bench, slides and Fillet-O-Fish bouncers.
The 60 second TVC will air for the first time today, with a 30 second version to be released next month.
At the Outdoor Awards last night, Playland won a Gold award for Most Innovative Outdoor and a Silver award in the FMCG category.
The ad will be one of the last from DDB overseen by outgoing ECD Matt Eastwood before he heads to New York.
CREDITS:
- Agency: DDB Sydney:
- Executive Creative Director: Matt Eastwood
- Creative Director: Adam Rose
- Creative Team: Adam Rose, Matt Knapp & John Downing
- Business Management: Sarah Trickey and Georgina Gooley
- Strategic Planner: Russ Mitchinson
- Production House: Revolver
- Director: Steve Rogers
September 10th, 2010 at 10:54 am
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Comments
10 Sep 10
11:46 am
A great idea.
But how could it take 6 months to cut this together?
10 Sep 10
11:53 am
Great idea, great installation, average tvc.
10 Sep 10
12:05 pm
really nice idea – taps into a sense of playing around, most adults miss. Will drive good brand reappraisal
10 Sep 10
12:22 pm
Great ad. Well done.
10 Sep 10
12:35 pm
Good idea. Poor production value, lacks story arc (it was be the same as a 15) and please…. biggest ad yet? errrr…. James Dean walking down Broadway for a Big Mac was smaller?! notttt. Sorry David Deneen.
10 Sep 10
1:20 pm
great idea – great timing – who doesn’t want to reinvent their inner child in spring
10 Sep 10
1:20 pm
Ummm, what’s its point?
I’m not going to go to Maccas to play on their play equipment after work or during my lunch break, mainly because I wouldn’t fit. Who are they trying to appeal to? Only Mums and Dads?
10 Sep 10
1:23 pm
Nice work Matt and co. brings a smile and a laugh. Great feel good stuff.
10 Sep 10
1:26 pm
I can’t honestly say I’m craving a Big Mac after watching this, but it definitely brought on a smile.
It’s nice to think that the corporate workforce could take some time out to truly enjoy themselves in such a way.
10 Sep 10
1:43 pm
This is the James Dean ad anonymous 5 mentions: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5cuNvPNmPSg , by the late, great Paul Jones.
Cheers,
Tim – Mumbrella
10 Sep 10
2:00 pm
Did anyone pee in the sandbox
?
10 Sep 10
2:08 pm
Cute but i know people who tried to explore the playground and it was strictly off limits to the public. The people in the ad must be actors. Grumpy McDonalds DDB production staff.
10 Sep 10
2:15 pm
i’m lovin’ it
10 Sep 10
2:54 pm
If they’re actors, why couldn’t they have used a more endearing main character?
I think they should take this on a roadshow – one month in every state – or leave it somewhere as a tourist attraction near a McDonalds. That would be worth a road trip for me!
This would have cost a bit – leverage it!
Agree with Hank.
10 Sep 10
4:02 pm
really nothing special. let the people talk it up guys, you don’t need to do that yourself. Its far from the biggest brand ad Maccas have done for a while but thankfully its better than anything else that has come form DDB. How long do you think it will take before anyone realises that the song that has been used was the theme song for sizzler for several years. oh… whooops!
10 Sep 10
5:10 pm
Pur-lease. Obviously faked up… hopelessly unconvincing mock-reality world populated by actors.
10 Sep 10
6:01 pm
Noticeable absence of an oversized syringe… Probably a good call methinks.
11 Sep 10
9:39 am
This ad is brilliant. I ate McDonalds alot as a child and teen, but stopped completely around age 21.
In 16 years, nothing has made me want to step into a McDonalds, but this ad, *almost* made me get on the tram and visit one yesterday. It very cleverly captures Gen X, who may have ‘banned’ eating McDonalds in the 90′s and carried it on into their 30′s-40′s.
11 Sep 10
9:47 am
I saw the installation on my way in to work. It’s a shame that chose to employ actors. I think it would be more authentic if they left it there for a week and filmed the reactions of real working class people, then spread the ad virally.
11 Sep 10
10:29 am
DD-BOOM
11 Sep 10
11:14 am
Oh come on. This is the biggest cheese-ball piece of crap I’ve seen.
11 Sep 10
11:15 am
Kind of reminds me of a rolled gold disaster.
Does nothing for the brand. Inner child was much better.
11 Sep 10
11:18 am
Please pay your invoice, it’s been 6 months.
11 Sep 10
2:39 pm
This is nice guys, why the hate?
12 Sep 10
4:14 pm
Pity the colour looks so flat but it’s a feel good spot.
12 Sep 10
6:27 pm
average. remember inner child that was a fantastic. this ad is poorly shot and uneventful
13 Sep 10
9:12 am
The acting is painful to watch.
And a playground is or was in most food chains a few years ago so its hardly something that is unique to McDonald’s. Only thing remotely Mc.D about it was the Hamburgalar shot at the start of the 30second TVC and the oversized Ronald.
13 Sep 10
9:52 am
Meh!
13 Sep 10
1:02 pm
Shame it wasn’t real – but can you imagine the crowd control and OH&S issues if it were real? Not to mention that the people on it wouldn’t be anywhere nearly as useful for the image they wanted.
Totally agree with @Penny (#18 above).
13 Sep 10
2:39 pm
A hard act to swallow…
13 Sep 10
4:24 pm
Really? This is a terrible piece of faux brand experience marketing, shot and turned into a terrible TV ad. I dislike it all – the actors posing as real people gleefully messing up their corporate attire, the lack of original strategic insight (ooooo….we all want to be young again! Genius!), the rubbish childrens choir. Ergh. I’d love to see how many people actually took their shoes off and got involved, unprompted.
13 Sep 10
4:28 pm
oh wait, it would seem they didn’t even allow this. So it’s completely faked brand experience. nice.
13 Sep 10
4:30 pm
Aren’t you a grumpy boring sod Dan?! I know it’s Monday but hopefully you let your hair down a bit on the weekend. Why wouldn’t you get in there and play?
I would have loved to get in there to play but they wouldn’t let punters in.
14 Sep 10
6:42 am
Big yawn
16 Sep 10
2:58 pm
Should have been called McDonald’s PlayBland
19 Sep 10
9:28 pm
I thought it was great. Love the tune!
20 Sep 10
6:49 pm
Where did it go after they finished filming? I wanna play!
27 Sep 10
10:03 am
My favourite part was the brightly lit City Extra sign at 0:15 – I don’t think there’d be a McDonalds ad anywhere in the world mentioning a competing hamburger restaurant!
28 Sep 10
8:29 pm
what an absolutely fabulous fun fantastic amazing ad! can they bring one to Geelong or Melbourne? I’ll be first onto it! Why don’t they just have real playgrounds like that for adults?