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Opinion
The score in the retail war: David 2, Goliath nil
Last night, online electrical retailer Kogan got the sort of advertising that (quite literally) money can’t buy.
The Gruen Transfer spent more than seven minutes discussing the merits of a PR strategy involving taking on the retail behemoth Harvey Norman. Read more »
The Gen X media has misinterpreted Stephanie Rice’s Gen Y ‘faggots’ tweet
In this guest post, Mat Baxter comes to the defense of Stephanie Rice over her much criticised “faggots” tweet.We should all be ashamed. I certainly was as a gay guy this week as Stephanie Rice, a perfectly decent and respectable Australian, was subjected to a totally indefensible attack from a small minority of gay people who desperately need to get a grip on generational reality. Read more »
Google – powered by Bob Dylan
Google is currently rolling out the latest iteration of its search, with instant results as the user types.
While this might be a rather minor improvement in the scheme of things (2-5 seconds per search apparently) the video to promote it is rather good too. Read more »
Video out of the box – literally
Last time I had something good to say about a Fairfax Digital ad execution, I appeared to be in a minority of one.
But here goes with another.
I rather like this execution with the Fairfax video player integrating what’s going on inside the ad with the rest of the page. Read more »
The History Of New
Here’s a really nice piece of advertising work for Vodafone out of New Zealand. Read more »
How to win awards (and why ad agencies are backslapping knob jockeys)
PR agencies need to get better at making awards videos if they want to beat creative agencies in the public relations category of the Cannes Lions – and adland is the home of awards-obsessed, “backslapping knob-jockeys”, the Mumbrella Question Time panel heard. Read more »
Video: How to win new business
Mumbrella Question Time saw the panel asked the secrets of winning new business. Read more »
Let’s stop the anonymous vitriol
In this guest posting, Peter Bray, boss of The Brand Shop, takes issue with negative comments from anonymous posters on Mumbrella and elsewhere.
There are very few ads that I vehemently dislike. There are also very few ads that I really love. But most ads I see on Mumbrella and other blogs I can usually take something from, whether it is information about the brand, a bit of inspiration or a “watch out”. I’m open to learning as much as I can from others, and encourage those around me to do the same.
My basic assumption, however, is that because an ad has been produced by a professional agency, and had the approval from the client, then the end result must be doing something right. Therefore, without knowing the practical rationale behind the ad, for me to have a strong opinion about whether it is great advertising would be kind of arrogant. There is a reason that awards shows ask for information about why an ad was created: they are rarely judged on end product alone.
So as someone who enjoys watching the work that our industry creates, I am stunned at the level of vitriol stemming from some people’s comments in both this blog and others. Read more »
Read his lips
This is several weeks old, but worth a look. It’s certainly an original way to deal with media criticism.It features Air NZ boss Rob Fyfe responding to weekly current affairs magazine The Listener using the medium of sign language. Read more »
Let’s not be too positive just yet – the nail is still there
It’s more than a year since News Ltd’s marketing boss Joe Talcott used the memorable analogy of a dog whimpering on a nail to describe the structural change the industry needs to go through. Read more »
The AdNews numbers that mislead the market
It’s always a tad tawdry when competitors attack each other, but I hope you’ll bear with me…
Whether cynically or through incompetence, AdNews has been misleading its advertisers by providing them with data that seems to suggest they have six times their true online audience.
Allow me to present the evidence. Read more »
Technology will help us own the agenda – all day, every day
In this opening speech to the Future Forum of the Newspaper Publishers Association, News Ltd CEO John Hartigan argued that news organisations have the opportunity to become more rather than less relevant.
Today I want to talk about a tipping point that heralds the most exciting era for journalism. The most exciting era ever.
This tipping point is already upon us. It has arrived at lightning speed, with the explosion in demand for mobile devices.
I am not consigning newspapers to the scrapheap. Not by a long shot.
But this tipping point is going to change journalism forever. In my opinion, very much for the better. Read more »
The real time shit sandwich detector
In this guest post, Clive Burcham of The Conscience Organisation, relishes the instant feedback of social media.
I’ve been making brand driven content since 1996 and often I’ve been so close to the work that I couldn’t tell the difference between if we were chomping on a shit sandwich or savouring the crème de la creme. From an audience perspective, we wouldn’t know the difference for weeks or months. What excites me most now is that we know within 24 hours if we’ve developed shit or cream. Read more »
SMH shows how to make a home page takeover work
When you’re a commercial organisation, balancing the needs of consumers with the need to make money through ads is tricky.
Among the organisations that sometimes goes the wrong way in my view is Fairfax, with its autostart video ads, for instance.
But today, a bit of unreserved praise Read more »
Inside the Foxtel factory
Having been at the launch of Foxtel’s new season the other night, nine points occur… Read more »
New Idea gets revamp supported by new brand campaign
Pacific Magazines’ New Idea is unveiling a new-look magazine on Monday and will be supported by a major brand campaign.
The changes to the women’s magazine will include a new masthead, new layouts, fonts and colour palette, more food pages, and an increased focus on health, family and the home.
The It’s New Idea Time TV ad, created by Sister, will launch on Sunday on the Seven Network. It pays homage to the 1950s Betty Hutton original, “It’s oh so quiet”, popularised by Bjork in the 1990s.
The publisher says it will aim to reflect the positivity and energy of the new look magazine.
The campaign also includes print, digital and significant point-of-sale support, including counter-packs, posters and display units.
Kim Wilson, editor-in-chief, New Idea, said: “The new look extends the elements our readers love, but delivers them in a tighter, fresher and more satisfying package. Our determined focus is to deliver story satisfaction and a positive reader experience – and this is neatly portrayed in the up-beat, feminine and fresh style of the new brand campaign.”
Credits
- Client: Pacific Magazines, New Idea
- Agency: Sister
- Director: Kieza Barnett
- Creative Team: Jo Swan and Tiara Lowndes
- Producer: Martin Brown
Update – This is the similar Bjork video that is being discussed in the comment stream:
January 8th, 2010 at 10:32 am
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Comments
8 Jan 10
1:01 pm
I just threw up a little bit in my mouth.
8 Jan 10
1:17 pm
Is anyone else reminded of the ‘Bye Bye Birdie’ Patio ad from Mad Men?
8 Jan 10
1:26 pm
Lem – I had the exact same thought but you beat me to it. Must be the curse of the yellow dress.
8 Jan 10
1:34 pm
@Rae – and the terrible lip syncing…
8 Jan 10
1:42 pm
What is this ad supposed to be telling me? New Idea isn’t called ‘No Idea’ for nothing. Perhaps a series of ads focusing on redeeming their profile might have been money better spent than a song and dance about…what exactly?
8 Jan 10
1:58 pm
Well, at least it kept nowhere near enough extras in work
8 Jan 10
2:38 pm
What a great piece of work, so ‘feel good’.
Congratulations!
A much better piece of communication than Woman’s Days’ 2009 Dame Edna tragedy.
8 Jan 10
3:40 pm
I think it is fun and light-hearted. I am sure it will resonate with the target audience – am I right in thinking that is aim rather then pleasing the Mumbrella readers?
8 Jan 10
3:46 pm
I think its a breath of fresh air from all the boring, “straight down the line” ads on TV at the moment. It makes you smile and watch it a few times, I dare say you’ll be signing along!
8 Jan 10
4:05 pm
Fits with the product. Trash.
8 Jan 10
4:12 pm
@janice – are you wearing blindfolds and earplugs?
What sort of world do we live in when an agency can take a classic pop video and rip it off wholesale, frame by frame? This a blatant carbon copy theft from Bjork’s version – not a homage, pastiche or tribute, but a lazy rip off. The Sister agency should be taken outside and flogged.
View the original: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F5ndoBdm0yY
8 Jan 10
4:23 pm
Great to see a positive upbeat campaign!
Haven’t we all had enough of those “slice of life” downbeat ads?
Well done New Idea – entertain me and make me feel good!
Luv it!
Tim at Mumbrella adds: The above comment comes from the same IP address as “Janice”
8 Jan 10
8:22 pm
Can’t believe what a bunch of whingers you lot are. 1.01 in particular. Okay, it’s not groundbreaking stuff, but it’s better than 99.9% of the so called trash that the industry has the gall to call advertising. And as far as being a frame for frame rip off, there are thousands of ads that have sailed this close to the wind and won Cannes or D&AD Gold – the ‘Isn’t milk brilliant’ campaign paid homage (exact frame for frame rip of The Fast Show, with a milk logo on the end, and ended up with a Gold Pencil, or there’s creature comforts & the British Gas ads, I could go on, but I’ve got better things to do with my time than bitching on a blog. I think what we have here is a magazine ad that’s watchable, and that’s a first for at least a year.
9 Jan 10
10:47 am
trash
9 Jan 10
11:37 pm
they say it’s a new masthead.. looks just like the existing one just italicised. The “new” masthead also looks a lot like the one they had many years ago (1970s or 80s perhaps)
10 Jan 10
3:09 pm
Much better than the old Joanna Griggs ads, and perfect for the target market who aren’t, as some of the confused bloggers on this site would have you believe, the Cannes Jury. This is a real ad for real Aussie women. Well done, Sister. Just quietly, I’d love to see some of the ‘genius’ work from the anonymous doubting Thomas’s on this blog. It’s so easy to throw stones when you’re anonymous, isn’t it.
10 Jan 10
8:01 pm
Did the masters of this creation run this past Kerry Stokes?
Not sure he would have approved his money being spent in such a manner…
10 Jan 10
9:34 pm
mr/mrs blog 17, I don’t think Kerry Stokes will give a toss as long as the ad sells a shitload of mags… and it’s the kind of ad that will have women in the target market singing the song/jingle as they go about their day, which will translate into sales when they nip into the news agent for a break at lunchtime. So I’d say Kerry will be more than happy.
10 Jan 10
11:07 pm
i know this is made for middle australia but it’s still an obvious rip off of the bjork music video.
creative agency should be embarrassed. lame.
11 Jan 10
9:16 am
If you’re going to rip-off Bjork fine, just say so; but to have the gall to put your own names down as creatives is embarrassing.
11 Jan 10
9:28 am
Agree that it’s a feel good ad but ultimately the aim will be to sell more mags (and not just one stand alone issue). Would help if the rest of their campaign came together better – walked past a newsagency today and saw one of their new display units thrown in a corner disassembled with bits around on the floor.
11 Jan 10
9:39 am
Just got one thing to say to the whingers in this thread:
“If you complain once more
You’lll meet an army of me”
11 Jan 10
9:51 am
What is the issue here? Agree with Dave J (comment 13): the inspiration for so many ads is drawn from music videos! Bjork drew inspiration for her song from Betty Hutton, for goodness’ sake!
Did Target cop this kind of abuse when it launched ‘Target Colour – Every colour you can dream of’? Perhaps the artist/song was less well-known than Bjork’s work, but I’d imagine ideas stemmed from Oren Lavie’s music video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2_HXUhShhmY. No comment there?
Ideas these days are rarely original. Ideas are catalysts for other ideas. Yet even when the original thinking is acknowledged (New Idea have acknowledged Bjork/Betty Hutton), we still slam them?
Apologies to the Einsteins who have commented from negative perspectives above. They obviously live their lives tossing light bulbs at other people and produce everything they do unguided, and inspired by nothing but their own thinking. Bet your stuff is dull as grey.
11 Jan 10
10:00 am
I’d love to know if they had to pay Bjork / Betty Hutton for the rights.
11 Jan 10
10:01 am
How can it be a ‘rip off’ when Bjork and Betty Hutton are credited?
It would have been a foolish move for New Idea to think they could get away with ’swiping’ Bjork’s idea and have it go unnoticed, don’t you think?
Rip off – not at all.
11 Jan 10
10:03 am
Wow, that’s all I can really muster in response to the messages on here! Makes for entertaining reading though I must say.
Looks like the ad was made for the target audience….not for a cavalcade of awards. God forbid ads should actually be produced with that in mind! It might actually do it’s job for the client! What a novel idea.
11 Jan 10
10:43 am
It’s a bit 50s housewife isn’t it? Was this shot at Fox Studios in Sydney?
11 Jan 10
1:51 pm
Well I liked it. It’s a happy fun track and seems to have its tongue firmly in its cheek. Good to see a bit of show biz with the sell…
11 Jan 10
2:32 pm
Clearly Spike Jonze (director of the bjork clip and now ‘Where the Wild Things Are’) is the it boy right now – hangin out for the NW takeoff of the Beasty Boys’ ‘Sabotage’ clip!
11 Jan 10
2:35 pm
Although it’s disappointing that the lead in the NI ad isn’t pregnant (as bjork was in the clip!)
11 Jan 10
11:46 pm
Andrew (Comment 15) Clearly you have not picked up a copy for a closer look, If you had of, and you very well should of if your going to run your mouth off like that, you would of realized the Masthead is completely different, perhaps not to a amateur like yourself but the font weight, shadow and letter height not to mention angle have all changed… its the small subtle things that make a difference and i for one think its for the better!
12 Jan 10
12:05 am
yeh good on ya Bonj. You should read my comment again I actually said “looks like” which means it bears a resemblance. It does not mean they are identical. And, please, it was an observation based on what was published on this website, it is hardly “running my mouth off”. Goodness me.
12 Jan 10
8:45 am
“Our determined focus is to deliver story satisfaction and a positive reader experience”
How about delivering some stories that are actually true?
12 Jan 10
5:03 pm
The irony of a client called “New Idea” rehashing an old idea is not lost on me..
14 Jan 10
6:41 pm
Good on ya Sophie cupcakes! I may be your Mother but I think you (and the others i guess) have done a great job! Luv ya! x x
18 Jan 10
9:34 pm
MMMMMMMM – at the very best this campaign will go by totally un-noticed!
18 Jan 10
11:53 pm
It really does do a disservice to Bjork’s fantastical original.
22 Jan 10
11:41 am
It made my ears bleed.
23 Jan 10
3:37 pm
Bloody fantastic…. (read on)
The agency & production team must me rolling about laughing, consider this:
1) Pacific Magazines & New Idea, pay a “creative” agency to do what? Be completely un-creative and re-hash a music video (and in the process also destroy a fantastic music video directed by renound creative director/genius Spike Jonze – more recently know for directing “Where the Wild Things are”).
2) Bring in a subtle irony, in the “New Idea” magazine is being publicized by a campaign that uses an “Old idea” (i.e. a music video).
If only more clients were this gullible!
25 Jan 10
8:35 pm
what is she saying?? i cant understand a word she says
26 Jan 10
9:53 am
What have they actually done again? It looks exactly the same?!
26 Jan 10
9:02 pm
such a shockingly bad ad.
can’t believe something in an agency board meeting thought it was a good idea to rip off the bjork clip.
unoriginal. tasteless and devoid of creativity. I guess it is on brand for New Idea!
27 Jan 10
10:06 am
This ad is absolute dogs balls.
27 Jan 10
6:09 pm
It’s all so trite.
Shhhhh(it)
Shhhhh(it)…
27 Jan 10
9:13 pm
It’s Björk, not Bjork.
28 Jan 10
12:51 am
YES!!!!! What does she say, especially the word she seems to keep repeating ( seriously can someone tell me??? it’s driving me nuts..sounds like “zimmoo “)….this ad makes me cringe every time I see it, and I only see it because I love having the Open on as often as I can …and I think I actually fall within their demographic……..scary stuff!!
28 Jan 10
12:03 pm
I’m still not sure what era this ad’s supposed to be set in.
The colour grade and cheap props make me believe they’ve tried for some 1960’s feel- but why on earth- if you’re trying to launch the brand with a FRESH NEW logo- you’d go back 50 years for the “look”.
28 Jan 10
9:24 pm
Great add! I think this is a well staged, energetic add which shows the right skill from all departments to impress most people. Looking forward to the next idea.
31 Jan 10
8:53 pm
I agree with Jan (No. 46), what is that word that is constantly repeated, it’s sounds like ‘Zymil’ or ‘Cybill.’ You can’t miss this add if your watching the tennis. Can someone help out here.
1 Feb 10
12:16 pm
TRASH TRASH TRASH.
If you like this in ANY shape, way or form – you contribute nothing to humanity and would rather wallow in repitition and fill your glands with marketing bullsh*t.
2 Feb 10
9:20 am
she is saying “zing boom”, taken from the original lyrics by Betty Hutton
2 Feb 10
10:23 am
Taken from the original lyrics.
Stolen from the original lyrics.
Tomatoes- Tomatoes..