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Opinion | Features
Disclosure in Social Media: How transparent should bloggers be?
In this guest post, blogger and digital creative Laura McWhinnie argues for more disclosure in the bloggersphere.
The bloggersphere has always been a bit like the Wild West. Bloggers could post about products to their heart’s content without having to disclose their relationship with the brand. This meant that consumers had no idea who was behind the marketing messages influencing their purchasing decisions. But in 2009 that all changed
Liars, cheats and thieves
Is our industry full of cheats and liars or do people of honour who stand by their word still exist in business? In an article that first appeared in Encore, Cameron Boon investigates. The recent court case involving Paul Fishlock suing his former employer The Campaign Palace brought into focus more than just the struggle of one man. It highlighted that there are some in adland whose word cannot always be relied upon.
Q&A with Adshel's Rob Atkinson
Online trading is the next big thing says Rob Atkinson in a piece that first appeared in Encore. Who is the most powerful person in Australian media and why?
Harold Mitchell because of his influence and the footprint he has left. He’s built a huge brand in Mitchells, offloaded it into Aegis, Aegis has obviously done extremely well to be then sold on to Dentsu. So if you think about it, he is very much a father figure of the industry.
Making it overseas
Is the best way of being successful in Australia not be here at all? In a feature that first appeared in Encore, Lee Zachariah speaks to Aussies making it big abroad.I always wanted to work in New York,” says Julian Cole. “I thought it was the number one place to work in advertising; a lot of the best campaigns were coming out of there. So I moved over and was lucky enough to have a couple of interviews in the first couple of weeks.”
Cole’s story is indicative of the somewhat contentious idea that the best way to be successful in Australia is to not be in Australia any more.
Got a book in you?
From journos to ad execs and PRs, these days everyone seems to have a book in them. But what does it take to get published and will you actually make any money? In a feature that first appeared in Encore, Brooke Hemphill finds out.Attention wannabe authors. Forget big fat advance cheques and living off royalties. The reality of having a book published today is another story altogether. There are only two reasons you should even consider sitting down at your computer to bash out a manuscript – passion or profile.
Savage counsel
In an article that first appeared in Encore, Chris Savage tackles your career and agency dilemmas in his weekly advice column.Hi Chris,
My clients seem to be demanding more and more from us. At the same time, it seems many of the younger people in our industry simply don’t have the client servicing skills my generation grew up with. How do we instill in our executives some of the good old-fashioned behaviours that would keep a client happy and loyal?
Fake it til' you make it... as an ad agency receptionist
From dressing the part to playing the gatekeeper, Leo Burnett Sydney’s Susie Henry tells us how to make it as the face of adland in a piece that first appeared in Encore.What does a receptionist in an ad agency actually do?
Well, there’s the frantic every-day, all-day stuff of deliveries, courier bookings, doing expenses for directors – always challenging – plus arranging all the travel. But one of my main jobs is counselling the account service people. I also keep up with all sports information to discuss with our sports-loving clients – because who wants to be bored while they’re waiting? And I know how they like their coffee. You need to know everyone – from accounting to HR. I’m also the go-to for all catering and sending flowers.
Whose views skew the news? Media chiefs ready to vote out Labor, while reporters lean left
Most journalists lean left-of-centre, says Folker Hanusch of the University of the Sunshine Coast, in a post first published on The Conversation.Most Australian journalists describe themselves as left-wing, yet amongst those who wield the real power in the country’s newsrooms, the Coalition holds a winning lead.
But while the media’s political leanings will no doubt be debated in the lead-up to September’s federal election, our study has also found other largely unscrutinised biases remain – particularly whose views disproportionately shape the news.
It's time for a new New Wave in the film world
Government funding bodies are lazy and decadent, says industry veteran Michael Thornhill but in a piece that first appeared in Encore, Ed Gibbs begs to differ.I vividly remember the time I first saw Animal Kingdom, David Michod’s breathtaking labour-of-love feature debut. The press screening was half empty, despite the film winning the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance just months earlier, in 2010. Yet its superb performances, stylistic flourishes and overall polish left me speechless. Could this really be a feature debut, an Australian one at that, I wondered, almost out loud? It seemed too good to be true.
Going cold turkey on an agency addiction
Life is sweet for freelance writer Max Kitchen, but in a feature that first appeared in Encore, he admits his struggle against returning to the agency fold.I’ve never taken heroin. But I suspect if I had, the temptation to try it again would not be too dissimilar to the lure of returning to agency life.
Can sport save Ten?
First there was the Grand Prix. Next came the reported $500m bid for cricket rights, then Ten secured the 2014 winter Olympics. So, can sport save the ailing network? In a feature that first appeared in Encore, Nic Christensen investigates.The television sports rights bidding process is a bit like a game of poker.
Check, fold or bet. Those were the options for the Ten Network last week when it had to finalise its bid for the cricket rights.
Andy Lark: good for the marketing of marketing
I can still remember the first story I wrote about Andy Lark, when it emerged that he was to be the new chief marketing officer of CommBank.
It was immediately clear that Australia was about to meet an interesting marketer, one who blogged and tweeted and thanks to his time at Dell in the US was digitally savvy. Even two years ago, that was a big deal. The fact that he also had a stint in public relations gave him an absolutely intriguing background before he even arrived.
Storming the media barricades - advice for young journalists
This week Mumbrella’s Nic Christensen, who began his career four years ago, gave the keynote address to would-be journalists at the Media, Entertainment & Arts Alliance’s Student Day. This is an edited version of his speech.Good afternoon, I can remember distinctly the last time I was in this room.
It was 2009 and I was sitting where you are. I’d come to this event, a friend and myself — from memory we sat up the back — and I can remember at the time wondering if I’d ever get a job as a journalist.
It was only four years ago and then as now getting a job was ultra competitive but I’m not sure there was quite as much media ‘doom and gloom’ as there is now…
Paywalls will help fund campaigning journalism
In this guest post, News Limited’s group editorial director Campbell Reid responds to the views of ninemsn’s Hal Crawford that the company’s push into metered paywalls is about data rather than dollars.Hal Crawford is both right and wrong in his article which argued that our digital subscription plans are all about the data.
Fake it 'til you make it... as a features editor
Cosmo’s Kate Leaver tells us how to bluff it in her job in a feature that first appeared in Encore.What do you do, as a features editor?
Really, play with words and ideas all day. At any one time, we’re working across three issues of the mag – getting one on its way to the printers, pooling all the words together for another, and planning the issue after that. It’s busy but it’s a pretty magnificent process.
Optus goes lighter on animals in new ‘It’s possible’ ad
A digitised woman wearing only a petticoat, wandering through dark city streets searching for her lover, is the centre piece for a new brand campaign for Optus.
The idea behind the ad is that Optus brings people closer through its technology.
Though human beings dominate the ad, the telco has not turned its back on animals. A fish, an octopus, a dog, a kangaroo and a rhino make an appearance in the ad.
The yellow cube in the ad represents the Optus network, which transports the girl from Shanghai to her lover in Canowindra, New South Wales.
The agency behind the campaign was M&C Saatchi, which retained the business after a marathon 10-month review in March.
Gavin Williams, head of segment marketing said: “The message of our new brand campaign is a very simple one – we share in what matters most to you. From connecting you with the people you love, to getting the hottest phone before anyone else, it’s possible with Optus.”
M&C Saatchi ECD Ben Welsh said: “The commercial’s narrative is ‘boy meets girl’ but with a magical digital twist to help push reappraisal of Optus.”
Credits:
- Client: Optus
- Agency: M&C Saatchi
- Executive Creative Director: Ben Welsh
- Creative Director: Andy Flemming
- Creative Director: Shane Gibson
- Head of Strategy: Colin Jowell
- Senior Producer: Loren August
- Managing Partner: Christine Gardner
- Account director: James Rendel
- Production Company: Goodoil Films
- Director: Michael Wong
- Executive Producer: Juliet Bishop
- Post Production: Fuel VFX
- VFX Supervisor: Steve Anderson
- VFX Producer: Erica Ford
- Art Director: Brendan Savage
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Comments
23 Apr 12
10:07 am
They cant get my coverage right and i live 8 kms for Melbourne CBD…..let alone ASIA
23 Apr 12
10:08 am
i can still feel you…. but i cant hear you due to really bad reception!!!!!
23 Apr 12
10:18 am
There’s apparently a lot of blokes in Canowindra picking up talented ladies in Shanghai.
23 Apr 12
10:36 am
I live in North Sydney (not too far from Optus’ old HQ) and always have problems getting properly signal strength
23 Apr 12
10:48 am
Soooo romantic.
23 Apr 12
11:18 am
Feels young and for a Telco refreshingly feminine.
23 Apr 12
11:39 am
That rhino is so unnecessary and a very tenuous link back to the original brand campaign
23 Apr 12
11:52 am
Terrible.
23 Apr 12
12:12 pm
Ruined by the rhino.
23 Apr 12
12:16 pm
That had everything in it, except a point.
23 Apr 12
12:19 pm
Gorgeous ad, and brave for Optus, but agree the Rhino in the end spolis the mood and seems clumsy.
23 Apr 12
12:23 pm
big, big ad. Nice to see as Aussie TV full of crap.
23 Apr 12
12:35 pm
That’s actually quite epic.
23 Apr 12
12:46 pm
Will there be a making of where we get to see the Rhino rigging up the yellow box?
23 Apr 12
1:00 pm
WTF…The Rhino?
23 Apr 12
1:02 pm
Why does every Telstra ad look the same. I can’t tell one from another.
23 Apr 12
1:12 pm
The rhino actually made you away it was optus, if you weren’t paying total attention, ie were a normal viewer. Where was the octopus?
23 Apr 12
1:14 pm
What a pile of old horse sh*t.
Telecommunications giant in “we can help you stay in touch” insight breakthrough.
And the rhino?
WHAT?!?!?!?!?!?
This is very possibly the worst, most self-induylgent pile of crap I have ever seen. A damning proof point in the collapse of australian creativity.
Oh, my dear god….
23 Apr 12
1:21 pm
So it’s an ad for Optus. We’ll that’s a relief. I thought I was hallucinating after too much absynthe…
23 Apr 12
1:35 pm
Lovely film – the post is gorgeous. But it’s got a bit of the Baz Luhrman’s about it. OTT.
23 Apr 12
1:51 pm
the rhino was my favourite bit
23 Apr 12
1:53 pm
The Rhino was a key part of the story. The girl ran off with the boy leaving the rhino as the gilted lover.
Its a Edward-Jacob thing my girlfriend tells me.
23 Apr 12
2:05 pm
This reminds me so much of Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner. The theme, lighting, mood, everything.
23 Apr 12
3:03 pm
Her running action after getting up off the floor makes her look like a bogan racing off to the toilet after passing out drunk.
23 Apr 12
3:26 pm
Looks like an Asian ad, the cheesy romance and lots of flashy graphics. The Rhino pulls it back from that nicely and reminds you its Optus I reckon.
23 Apr 12
4:00 pm
Lush ad. Beautiful. Clever transition from the old to the new creative. Well done M&C Saatchi
23 Apr 12
4:04 pm
a rhino…WTF were they thinking, either stick with the animals or move away from them altogether don’t sit on the fence
23 Apr 12
4:23 pm
@Rhino fan that makes no sense at all – if the ad looks “Asian” and “cheesy” why make it in the first place for the Australian market? Using the rhino to save it is a futile exercise
23 Apr 12
4:36 pm
I get it…but it doesn’t tell me anything unique or special about Optus as a brand. All the telcos have had some version of ‘we connect you’ over the years. Its a very difficult thing for telcos to differentiate themselves beyond pricing in this market. I appreciate the production qualities, and I actually like the use of the rhino to remind people who the ad is for and play into the fantasy and the dream from a story perspective….but it doesn’t do it for me on a brand level.
23 Apr 12
5:39 pm
Was the Octopus really there as way of connection to the prior campaign?? I watched the ad 4 times before I saw it (sad, I know), & clearly just looks like an asian restaurant sign & clearly isn’t in the same style as the animals they’ve previously used (nor is the kanga).
23 Apr 12
6:26 pm
You know, this actually makes sense if you think it’s not a giant bed of snow that she wakes up on but a giant bed of cocaine.
Optus condoning drug use. Yes, it’s possible.
23 Apr 12
7:03 pm
Telcos are like banks … everybody hates them and their aim is to make as much as possible out of you with minimum cost to them.Why they even bother to advertise with this sort of mumbo jumbo remains a mystery. If I want arty farty I’ll go to a Lars von Trier movie and that won’t make any sense either.
23 Apr 12
9:45 pm
a telco who brings people together, genius!
24 Apr 12
5:46 am
Wow, that’s a big range of need state to cover – from the deeply personal to the completely materialistic and superficial. A Telco can convey that in a 30″ TVC? Fck me hard, but I didn’t get any of that from what I viewed.
24 Apr 12
3:16 pm
The problem I have is that the Octopuss does not have the correct amount of legs/tenticals – Optus you should know better than that !!!
24 Apr 12
3:44 pm
Wow that is horrible, beautifully crafted but utterly pointless.
24 Apr 12
6:52 pm
Hey … I get the Asia and rhino link. Due to the demand for rhinoceros horn from Asian markets these magnificent animals are somewhere between endangered and extinct.
Not a marketing link I would want. Pssst … use your Optus phone to acquire some cheap rhino horn and we’ll personally teleport it to Canowindra.
25 Apr 12
7:07 pm
The story does sort of ‘click’ at the end but requires the viewer to watch the whole thing intently…..a big ask! I think it’ll wash over people like the Telstra re-brand. Reminds me of the Melbourne ad from a few years ago – the difference being the relevance of a wayward blonde. Agree the rhino is such a tenuous tie back to animal creative strategy. Such an academic approach to advertising. It’ll be interesting to see how they follow it up – network guarantee perhaps?
26 Apr 12
9:24 am
Can’t see how you retained the client with work like that? Self indulgent, over-crafted crap. As an Optus loyal, you have just managed to put me off the brand by treating me like a moron.
26 Apr 12
11:39 am
What on earth was that?! Way too complicated…..
26 Apr 12
3:02 pm
Gorgeous ad. Shame about the bloody rhino.
29 Apr 12
11:10 am
Funny Kerry Morrison timing her complaint with the launch of the brand ad. It’s ironic that she was fired for bullying and is claiming being bullied. Can’t wait to see the list of cross Telco witnesses that show up in court in support of Optus.
Cwazy
29 Apr 12
1:33 pm
… Kerry makes AJ look like a saint.
29 Apr 12
4:22 pm
It amazes me how people like Kerry Morrison get jobs in the first place. She was marched from her last two gigs and apparently named as the reason for the resignation of dozens of people at Optus.
Good luck Optus in your fight for Justice!!
29 Apr 12
6:33 pm
Is this the point at which Optus finally stops representing its customers as animals? We know they treat their customers like animals, but admitting that through their advertising has been careless to say the least.
One assumes that hotties in negligees are the next species du jour in their campaign.
1 May 12
12:55 pm
Amusing how Optus has gone all brand-like in their campaigns and Telstra is now all retail. Have they swapped CMO’s?
2 May 12
1:22 pm
Loved the token Rhino!
It”s a pity the Rhino wasn’t romantically involved with the bloke at the end.
It would have made it less ordinary and more memorable.
Nx
2 May 12
2:39 pm
@Nigel – do you mean a bit of rhino horn?
2 May 12
4:41 pm
You do know that most of the people watching adverts…arent in “the industry” and they dont spend 10 times as long dissecting an advert as they do, watching it.
From the random TV watchers ive spoken to, they seem to quite like it.
2 May 12
6:37 pm
Random TV watchers also like Hyundai Excel’s, Warnie’s hair plugs, Michael Hill Jewellers, Fourex Gold, the Kardashian’s and flying with Tiger. Optus is a natural fit for them.
9 May 12
5:11 pm
Nope, long distance relationships are never a good idea. Kinda like this ad really..
10 May 12
11:06 am
can someone pullllleease get a new marketing head in optus
this stuff sucks