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Opinion | Features
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With awards the more you get, the more you get
Following recent controversy surrounding entries to the Cannes Lions awards Eaon Pritchard argues until we have a better way to evaluate the merits of agencies than awards all agencies will be highly incentivised to do whatever it takes to win .
Advertising's outcomes are notoriously hard to measure. Which is why in advertising agencies, we love to measure outputs instead. -
Why aren't more media companies offering job sharing to get experience back in the door?
With the media industry churn and talent drain a constant issue Lucy Formosa Morgan asks why more companies aren't open to job sharing.
There’s rarely a shortage of applicants for coordinator positions however when it comes to recruiting experienced middle / senior level people, the talent bank seems to dry up. Agencies can struggle to fill vacancies for months or end up having to recruit from overseas. So if we have plenty of juniors that we’re devoting time and money to training up, where are they going? Why is there such a shortage of good talent out there? -
Marketers are the ones whose reputations are most at risk if they are complicit in scam advertising
With questions being raised over the integrity of some awards entries in recent weeks, former creative director Darren Woolley says scam can be as damaging for marketers as the agencies involved.
Scam awards entries have come to industry attention again, following the most recent Cannes Lions Awards. In the process, several high profile advertisers have been associated with their agencies’ entries. But what are the implications for the advertiser?
It is a standard response that advertisers are not really interested in creative awards. But the fact is that marketers are human and those that have healthy and close working relationships with their agencies actually enjoy seeing them being recognised, especially for work they may have created together. -
Terry Savage defends debated Cannes Lions entries saying 'Super Bowl ads run once'
In a Q&A conducted by email, Terry Savage, chairman of the Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity, defends the integrity of the competition and answers questions around scam ads following an investigation by Mumbrella into a series of ads from Australia entered into the Press category which ran just once in regional media.
What is your definition of scam?
"We require the work to have been approved by the client and to have used paid Media in the execution, if there is a query we get validation via the agency the client and the Media schedule that the work has run and complied within our entry rules. In the case of self promotion and NGO that is not the case." -
Australian Women's Weekly editor on how its latest cover has changed industry attitudes
The cover of the July edition of the Australian Women's Weekly features the image of ultra-marathon bushfire survivor Turia Pitt, a move which surprised many in an industry driven by image. Editor-in-chief Helen McCabe spoke to Miranda Ward about how the cover came about, and its effect not only on the public, but also the beauty and fashion industries as we.
The July cover of the Australian's Women's Weekly has done more to market "what the heart and soul of the magazine is" than anything else the magazine's editor-in-chief Helen McCabe has done in her five years at the helm.
Speaking to Mumbrella about the July edition which featured Turia Pitt, a survivor of the bushfire that swept through an ultra-marathon in Western Australia's Kimberly region in September 2011, McCabe said the cover is "a really strong signal to market that this magazine is committed to Australian women, quality stories, independent journalism, long-form story telling and quality writing. -
If you don't want to enter real work into awards, then fuck off and be an artist
In this guest post, awards jury veteran Matt Batten, a former ECD of Wunderman Australia, argues that the practice of scam advertising - raised by Mumbrella in recent days - hurts the whole industry.
Reading from 10,553 miles away – that's 16,983km in the metric – I'd like to commend you on your dogged determination to find answers to the burning questions surrounding some of Australia's most intriguing Cannes Lions winners this year.
Some say that this is the way of the world (at least our small part in it) and that creativity should be let free upon the award shows regardless of whether or not it was a legitimate response to a brief or a proactive project to help solve a genuine business problem for a real client – or a made-up ad for a brand that had no idea of its existence. -
Does culture really eat strategy for breakfast?
Good startups often point to their culture as a driver of their success, but Eaon Pritchard asks whether that culture can be derived without a clear strategy?
Culture, in an organisational sense, is usually interpreted as the collective behaviours, attitudes and beliefs that — when mixed together — create a particular set of norms within said organisation.
Obviously there can be ‘good’ culture and ‘bad’ culture. -
Five things Wicked Campers needs to do online right now
Wicked Campers has been in the midst of a media controversy over the last few days. Sebastian Vasta takes a look at how the brand could better manage the online and media crisis.
The latest cry to end Wicked Campers’ misogynist toilet humour is certainly not the first time the budget backpacker van company has been in trouble.
But it’s certainly the loudest the online outrage has ever been. -
Cut here: Reshaping the ABC
After the ABC unveiled its first round of cuts after having its funding cut in the last budget Ben Goldsmith of the Queensland University of Technology looks at how it might look in the future, in this cross-posting from The Conversation.
Monday’s announcement that the ABC will make 80 positions redundant is just the latest move in an enforced process of change to the public service broadcaster. It has a long way yet to run.
The announcement finally put the lie to Tony Abbott’s election eve pledge, live on national television, that there would be “no cuts to the ABC or SBS”. In concert with other recent announcements, it seems clear that public broadcasting – and in particular the ABC – is squarely in the government’s sights. -
Lost dog - can you help us find him?
Adland is an industry that likes to give back. Today, we're asking you to help us find this dog.
You can find out more about Windblown Dog's history below: -
The future of Facebook is forensic
Marketers should stop using Facebook as a mass reach tool and start thinking about conversions not conversations argues Jack Smyth. Forget conversations – the future of Facebook is forensic By now you’re probably sick of the same articles recycling the same Facebook statistics. Over 12 million Australian users, spending on average 8.5 hours every week and so on. We all know Facebook offers massive reach. -
Two stats about Netflix that should scare Foxtel and Quickflix
With US streaming site Netflix poised to enter the Australian market next year Andrianes Pinantoan from Pocketbook crunched some numbers to see try and ascertain what the local pay-TV market already looks like now.
Netflix is set to enter the Australian market, but that doesn’t stop a few enterprising Australians from accessing it now. Actually, it’s more than a few. -
Family Feud's return confirms the state of game shows in Australia
In this cross-posting from The Conversation Matthew Wade argues the return of Family Feud shows Australia's TV networks are not interested in testing their audiences intellectually.
Family Feud returns to our television screens tonight as part of Ten’s desperate scramble to remain a viable entity, and is scheduled to compete with Seven and Nine’s main news bulletins at 6pm.
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An open letter to the staff of DDB Sydney and Saatchi & Saatchi Sydney
In this open letter, Mumbrella's Tim Burrowes reaches out to the many excellent staff working at the award-winning agencies DDB and Saatchi & Saatchi.
So last week, you may have noticed we gave some coverage to your Press Lions-winning work on behalf of McDonald’s and Panasonic. Congratulations again.
Some of you even got a namecheck in the credits.
I’m talking to you, -
You want fries with that? Creative careers are still out there, for now
Young people from poorer backgrounds looking to get into careers in creative industries could be amongst the most hard-hit by the government's new 'earn or learn' social security policies argues Ruth Bridgstock, senior lecturer at Queensland University of Technology in a cross-posting from The Conversation.
The old jokes about creative arts and humanities graduates serving at the local fast food outlet are hard to put to rest – they speak to long-held concerns around the value of creative degrees, and to worries that students of creative arts programs aren’t employable when they graduate.
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SBS gets ready to defend Paul Fenech’s Houso’s from ACA ‘stooges’
SBS is bracing itself for media controversy over bogan comedy Houso’s.
The newtwork this afternoon published what appeared to be a preemptive press release saying:
“SBS is aware of media interest relating to a program currently in production for SBS called Houso’s.
“Paul Fenech, the star and producer of SBS’s long-running, provocative and irreverent series Pizza, is producing this new comedy series for SBS.
“Houso’s is not a reality series and everyone participating in the series is an actor.
“Audiences have always understood Paul’s work to be highly exaggerated parody.
“The program, as with Pizza, is not receiving direct funding through any State or Federal Government funding agency and is being funded by SBS through revenue raised by commercial activities.”
Nine’s A Current Affair is promoting an investigation into the show on tonight’s program as “housing commission uncensored… and it’s funded by the government”.
Fenech issued a statement saying: “I’ll be stunned if the stooges at ACA actually think this show is a reality show, It’s hard not to miss some of the actors which appear in the vision on You Tube; Jabba, Angry Anderson, Ian Turpie and myself without thinking something is up. The unofficial clip of Houso’s which ended up on You Tube has had over 22,000 hits and people seem to like what they see. Basically my show is part of the Aussie tradition of doing comedy about true battlers. Housos’s in still in production and SBS have yet to give an on-air date.”
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Comments
17 Feb 11
3:54 pm
I’m interested to see how SBS segregates government funding and commercial revenue… and why it thinks such separation is necessary in Houso’s case.
17 Feb 11
3:55 pm
Good on SBS for doing this show. Looking forward to it.
17 Feb 11
3:56 pm
looks funny, channel Nine might want to get Ben Elton to have a look
17 Feb 11
4:01 pm
Oh I thought this was a documentary.
17 Feb 11
4:05 pm
Tim: I assume SBS separates money by imaginary means, as we all do since money is pretty much imaginary in the first place. And the reason they think it’s necessary is precisely because they anticipate this kind of attack from the likes of ACA.
17 Feb 11
4:09 pm
Another reason to watch SBS. I wondered where Jabba went.
17 Feb 11
4:10 pm
I think ACA is nine’s most consistent comedy show. And they regularly use bogans and ferals as fodder too. Their taste in comedy with Hey Hey, LFPE and Two and a half men does not qualify them to comment on anything comedy.
17 Feb 11
4:24 pm
Look like a bloody ripper mate!
17 Feb 11
4:25 pm
Looks annoying
17 Feb 11
4:26 pm
Housos surely?
What’s with the apostrophe
17 Feb 11
4:27 pm
I must say, I’m most distressed by the apostrophe in Houso’s – what exactly does the Houso own? As for ACA, they’ve no doubt been watching 9 comedies for years and don’t realise that you can make these types of shows out of doors.
17 Feb 11
4:33 pm
Wow what a surprise, another chauvanistic, stereotypical piece of ‘comedy’ from these guys. Cheaper than last night’s $6 pizza and will probably leave you with just as much indigestion. Yuck. Disappointing to see that SBS is wasting their money on this when elsewhere Australian content is always struggling to get funding. Welcome back to the 1970′s, ‘now come on girls get your #its out while we all crack a tinny’. No thanks.
17 Feb 11
4:44 pm
That should go to air instead of ACA boring people they are Houso forever. It’s just Aussies laughing at Aussies and making a statement leave em alone
17 Feb 11
4:54 pm
I’ll be interested to see SBS’s social media approach for this one. Facebook fan page up to 2,156 – might be some interestng characters hanging around on Twitter you might think. Imagine the Twitpics….
As for ACA, well they wouldn’t demonise ordinary battlers, just individual tradies.
http://aca.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=8211508
In a funny way, you hope that some people will take Houso’s more seriously than they do ACA. Sadly that won’t be the case. They seem to think ACA is broadcasting reality!
17 Feb 11
4:58 pm
Interesting!
17 Feb 11
5:00 pm
If it wasn’t for government funding the subject and concept wouldn’t exist!!! Give us tax payers a break, we can’t pay for everything…
17 Feb 11
5:00 pm
NotHappyJan – c’mon, smile pussycat.
17 Feb 11
5:08 pm
Nothing like a good old bit of free publicity from your competition.
17 Feb 11
5:24 pm
So looking forward to having a laugh when it airs, go Pauly and mates!!
in these times of uncertainty and BS political correctness, theres a fair bit of cotton wool wrapping going on.
Judging by the teasers, this show looks to be just the medicine needed to get the weight off the shoulders after a hard day and just Laugh!
good luck guys
17 Feb 11
5:34 pm
Nine should buy this to replace Ben Elton!
17 Feb 11
6:51 pm
so its ok when he was taking the piss out of wogs? if you dont like it dont watch it simple
17 Feb 11
6:54 pm
did Paul Fenech just copy the idea from the Canadian show trailer park boys? I mean, its sounds like the exact same premise. Even the name of the suburb in housos ‘Sunnyvale’ shares the name of the ‘Sunnyvale Trailer park’ . Anyway well when i was a teen I did like Pizza, so I hope Paul can do a good job with this show as well.
17 Feb 11
8:16 pm
cant wait… PUMPED!
17 Feb 11
9:11 pm
I grew up in a housing commission suburb in outer western Sydney so I feel ok to comment . I am sure the largest audience for this show will be these same areas .
Aussies have always been able laugh at them selves , think back to “they’re a weird mob ” , early Paul Hogan sketches , Kylie Mole , ect..ect..ect….
No doubt the like of ACA will take issue with the show as there is little else around to report on apparently …..Maybe they should look at The 7:30 report to understand what reporting is …I think they will just follow the Aussie tradition of laughing at them selves as they mimic “Frontline”.
17 Feb 11
9:14 pm
I love aca. It’s ok to have a go at dole bludgers and pension scammers when you are being hateful and vindictive. The minute someone wants to parody this lifestyle in a manner that bogans and some somewhat unsnobby and open minded people with a high iq and an interest in making life not so serious by breaking the mould of mediocrity that is network produced comedy. Good luck to them. The reason for private funding is because of John ” please don’t make fun of me” Howard. He caused a stink about pizza. This type of show is a clear parody on stereotypes and chauvinism. I don’t think sex all over the city was a parody on anything. It just made being promiscuous glamorous. The promiscuity shown in the shorts for this are anything but. If we can learn to laugh at one another and with one another racism and class demography may become something of the past. A chaser affair knew the agenda.
17 Feb 11
9:23 pm
good see some humour about Australian life in the suburbs its actually probably worst than depicted keep up the good work boys……
17 Feb 11
9:24 pm
Pkd you’ve hit the nail on the head. ACA is definitely 9′s best comedy show although Houso’s looks very promising, the trailer is absolutely hilarious. I reckon this will be Oz’s answer to UK’s Shameless and NZ’s Outrageous Fortune. Can’t wait, good on you SBS!
17 Feb 11
9:35 pm
Looks bloody funny. Hope it’s on soon. NoSenseofHumorJan? Your not Germain Greer incognito ?
17 Feb 11
9:39 pm
@NothappyJan So you must live a closed closet with tooth fairies and Black and White 1950′s movies. I could show you a million FB pages and nearly every person I know around my town Kanwal with some simular personalities. Sure it is highly exaggerated but OMG after watching the trailer I couldnt stop thinking of all my mates.
I guess you must be one of the upper class who just doesnt mingle with blue collar workers?
Good to see Aussie larrikins are still alive.
17 Feb 11
9:40 pm
I do agree with NotHappyJan that Fenech’s shows are pretty bloody terrible. When Pizza first started on SBS I thought it was quite good, before realising I’d given it too much credit and thought it was smarter than it was. Soon realised it was celebrating, not satirising, boorish behaviour.
17 Feb 11
10:00 pm
Yes, very entertaining…….not. Cringeworthy ? Definately. We should hang our collective heads in shame that these people actually exist. The part when Paul Fenech runs down the Police doing RBT- if thats humorous, you need help, and I’m not talking just psychology, but psychiatric treatment, including the drugs.
This shit wasnt funny 30 years ago when Hoges did it with Strop.
17 Feb 11
10:17 pm
Its nasty to kick people while they are down… not all people in department of housing are like this. all this show does is segregates upper class and lower class more
Disgusting, there are good and bad people everywhere…
18 Feb 11
12:29 am
Cant wait.
Looks like ACA are running out of stories. We seen the speed camera crap, the weigh loss stuff, boat people, noise complaints, bigger boobs and bras, home brands vs. Name brand stories over and over again. Forgot the coles vs. Woollies junk too!
Enjoy the show!
18 Feb 11
5:51 am
Brilliant – about time someone had a go at this demographic. Aussies are renowned for inappropriate comedy, and this is a great example. I spent time as a ‘houso’ myself as a kid, which is probably why I find it so funny. Of course it’s exaggerated, but the grain of truth really brings it to life.
18 Feb 11
10:24 am
Fuck yes.
18 Feb 11
11:14 am
To all you conservative haters of Paul Fenechs comedies, he takes a fantastic stab at society, although trashy it is fun with a little black humor chucked in where necessary. If you don’t approve because you still voted family first in the last election and life is a taboo for you please do us a favor and go bury your head in the nearest sandpit. Houso’s looks funny as fuck!
18 Feb 11
11:19 am
Finally SBS makes something worth tuning in for… the smelled death looming… nothing motivates like fear!
18 Feb 11
12:46 pm
Why did they copy the name from Trailer Park Boys? Sunnyvale?!? Are they serious? The number one Canadian comedy (7 seasons, 2 movies) and they just copy the name Sunnyvale?
This is very weak – it will never be the Australian version of TPB – Paul, you have missed the mark terribly with the naming of the Suburb and it’s a real shame as I now cannot watch your show without thinking that a large percentage of the ideas were stolen for a unique and timeless classic.
Shame.
18 Feb 11
1:45 pm
The ACA report on this show was very long and confusing. They appeared to suggest it was shameful stereotyping on one hand, but then went out of their way to prove the show’s accuracy by interviewing Mt Druitt bogans (who all thought the show was hilarious). I think “Westies” would be a better name for it.
18 Feb 11
3:14 pm
So what did all the detractors of this think of Kath and Kim?
Wasn’t that a show that revolved around Bogans? All this is doing is giving the lower end socio economic Bogans their fair share of screen time outside of ACA, TT and the Magistrates court.
We all know good comedy is based on some level of fact in some way. Exagerated maybe.. far from the truth? probably not.
18 Feb 11
3:32 pm
Awesome, I’ll be watching. Best promo 9 has done all year! Rescue Special Ops eat your heart out!
18 Feb 11
7:40 pm
Sounds like my cup of tea! Looking forward to the first episode!
19 Feb 11
11:17 am
Looks like a ripper. Can’t wait!
20 Feb 11
9:49 pm
Classic!
The only people who will disslike this will be the snobby city folks who have their heads jammed fair up their a*%es.
Don’t like it ?…go watch friends & stay the heck out of Sunnyvale brah…LOL
21 Feb 11
2:11 pm
it’s all been said above except for one point
we should embrace every Australian made show on our channels. there aren’t enough of them to keep the industry going. Paul Fenech’s comedy may not be to all tastes but it beats endless reruns of Charlie Sheen and Jennifer Aniston. He has had shows on TV for pretty much the last ten years, all of them employing Aussies across the board.
keeping actors, actresses, cameramen, directors etc in work allows us as an industry to have a greater choice of talent to employ in our commercials and marketing activity.
Hopefully this show finds an audience
disclaimer – my sister in law is an actress and is on this show & trailer.
21 Feb 11
4:44 pm
I think Tradie has it a little wrong… People living in housing that aren’t the lower class housos may not like it either… We don’t want to be tarred with the same brush but we unfortunately will no matter what we do…
21 Feb 11
8:29 pm
just have a laugh people, it’s easy!
22 Feb 11
3:03 pm
Good shit,
Housos are mostly fucking losers and it is good to see the piss taken out of them and let good honest tax paying workers get an idea of the type of shit that is out there that there taxes get wasted on
22 Feb 11
3:22 pm
There are a lot of housing department residents that are tax payers :S and many others cant work due to disabilities… there are also the scummy residents but they aren’t the majority but unfortunately many people stereotype people in housing and think the minority are the majority… This isn’t the case and it is the reason why people are taking offense to it.
1 Mar 11
12:24 am
Not to Bad….. Reminds me off a few suburbs in Perth, bring it on
2 Mar 11
4:27 pm
ACA is so used to attempting to scrape the bottom of the barrell for content, that it has walked straight into this one! ha, ha! The joke is on ACA this time. Ye see, Fenech and Co are not attempting to insult anyone. Rather, they are trying to give the best Country in the world a reason to lighten up and have a laugh!
….or…. of course, you could just continue to be depressed by what ACA portrait, night after bloody night ! How much force feeding can one man/woman cope with ?? ….GO HOUSOS !!!
As SBS and Mr Fenech would understand, there is no such thing as “bad” publicity… In actual fact, the producers of housos would be warranted to be at least mildly excited about ACA’s little advertisment/gift relating to this new cracker of a series. Further, any regular ACA viewer worth his/salts, or, with any amount of open-mindedness and inteelect, will surely embrace the SBS series when it arrives. Let’s face it, whether we are “housos” or not is not the point. What counts, is that we are all Australians and are quite comfortable with taking the piss out of ourselves for a laugh…and…heaven knows we could all do with a good chuckle from time to time. Particularly if the content is something we can all relate to. ACA, stop believing that your audience can be led like sheep every day of the week. The truth will become apparent as soon as Housos hits the air and SBS’s rating fly….Happy viewing AUSTRALIA ! Looking forward to the laughs !!
3 Mar 11
4:22 pm
Nine have zero idea about comedy….ACA is their best attemp at comedy…do they really have nothing better to air!!! Seriously!!!
5 Mar 11
11:03 pm
Enjoyed Pizza and Swift & Shift Couriers, the latter being a program that appealed to different generations. My grandfather loved Swift and Shift – in fact anyone whose been in the workplace, even white collar people, can relate to the show. The ACA is hypocritical to take a swipe at Housos, but hopefully Pauly and SBS benefit from the publicity. One of the commenters is spot on when they say that Pauly’s shows have provided work for Australian actors for 10 years now. Yes the humour can be un PC – but being PC is overrated…Anglos, Indians, Greeks, Chinese, Italians, Kiwi’s, Lebanese, Coconuts, obese people, vain people etc all get a serve in some way. The shows are representative of the “cultural microcosm” that is Sydney.