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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.
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?