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Opinion | Features
Why is advertising so much better in New Zealand than Australia?
Ok, so this isn’t a new observation.
But it really hit home after I watched some TV ads for a kiwi supermarket yesterday that advertising in New Zealand is so much better than much of the crap that is being served up in this country at the moment.
Why is it that Colenso BBDO Auckland can turn something as bland as a supermarket chain into a brand I almost like, while Australian agencies succeed only in either irritating me (Coles) or passing me by unnoticed (Woolies) because the ads are so average?
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.
Spot the difference, with Campaign Palace
Nice to see this breaking campaign from The Campaign Palace (courtesy of B&T)
Remind you of anything? the original has only had 12m views to date, so Dr Mumbo is sure noone will notice the similarities…
It’s a particularly impressive effect if you play both pieces at once.
July 31st, 2009 at 5:10 pm
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Comments
31 Jul 09
5:26 pm
Sure it might be the same concept, but The Campaign Palace / Target ad is a whole lot more interesting – visually at least. The second ad had me wanting to fast forward a few seconds in.
31 Jul 09
7:08 pm
I wouldn’t mind if they’d done it better than the original but this is both stolen and shit.
31 Jul 09
9:59 pm
For that category and for someone like Target Australia, its a step in the right direction. A nice way to say they’ve got great range at great prices.
1 Aug 09
9:02 am
I like it. So what if it’s the same visual technique? Not the first time in the world someone has shot an ad/TV show/movie with a technique used elsewhere.
At least they’re doing something kinda interesting and catches your attention compared with the shit churned out by DJs, Myer, Big W and K-Mart.
And I reckon the average punter (not us advertising wankers) will like it.
1 Aug 09
11:39 am
I would say that it looks like the new Coldplay music video clip too. http://www.coldplay.com/videostrawberry.php
However, I have to agree with most people here, I do not mind it. From a sector that usually does quite boring work, congrats to Campaign Palace for doing something a little more creative!
1 Aug 09
4:19 pm
How proud they must be to do something so ignoble. Its a lovely spot – but imagine if Target ran their entire business like they do with this ad – ie copy everything. They would be in the shit. Its an example of people thinking you can build a brand on a nice image with no authenticity.
I like the ad, but it makes me like Target less.
Julian and a few others here are missing the point – its not if the ad is liked that is important – it’s whether this is good for business. I doubt this is.
1 Aug 09
6:02 pm
I think you’re missing the point (!), having people like your ads goes a long way toward people liking your brand – particularly when you’re in the discount department store segment. And when was the last time you went to a Target? You do realise that the brand is copied from the US, a lot of the clothing lines are copied from (and made by) major labels and they sell cheaper Chinese knock-offs of a variety of homewares.
The thing that has set Target apart from Big W and K-Mart for a number of years now is not what they have in-store (although there is a marked difference to just 5 years ago), it’s their advertising. It’s not breakthrough creative but it’s likeable and all about the shopper. How is that bad for business?
2 Aug 09
6:43 pm
This shits me.
But it would. I’m in the segment, I guess, that would come across the original before seeing the copy. If there was a way to make it clear to me that they had been inspired by the original and perhaps (hopefully) used the person who created the original to make their campaign, I’d probably love it, but seeing it cold like this shits me.
3 Aug 09
3:30 pm
Tried to play both at once Tim, but don’t think our bandwidth can hack it.
I loved the ad – nice work by The Campaign Palace and yes, I feel the execution is better than the ‘original’.
3 Aug 09
3:38 pm
I prefer the original. It has a story to tell. As for Target, I miss the old ads. They were cheap and cheerful – everything a retail brand should be.
3 Aug 09
3:45 pm
Saw the ad last night and loved it…..waited to see which brand it was. Had not seen the original.
Once i saw it was Target, i was surprised and wondered how come they are doing such cool creative….now i know…
But i agree that majority of real world will love it and not have seen original
3 Aug 09
4:07 pm
I do like them both, but the original was made by some friends of mine, so I’m biased towards the second one. Much nicer animation too…
And – they are commercial directors working for hire. It would have been very easy to approach them about making the Target spot…
http://www.onewingfly.com/
3 Aug 09
4:10 pm
The Target as is SO different – she walks left to right in that one. Doesn’t matter – still one of the most watchable ads on the goggle-box.
3 Aug 09
5:36 pm
Well, If we’re going to play this game, perhaps we should all have a look at where “Her Morning Elegance” was originally “inspired” from:
http://vids.myspace.com/index......oID=568002
(4 minute mark)
I don’t think anyone would doubt that Target wasn’t inspired by the beautiful clip, and I don’t think they’ve denied it. But for most things, you’ll always find a list influences.
I think they’ve done great job developing it an making it their own. Much like, dare I say, “Her Morning Elegance” with the original clip by Mitchell Rose….
3 Aug 09
6:44 pm
When it comes to execution of ideas in advertising, just about everything has been done more often than a 10 year old at Neverland.
I agree with Brendon – I like this ad. It makes me smile. I once worked with Doug Watson, and he said: “the more they like you, the more they’re going to buy from you” and he’s dead right. Research companies extort millions from clients trying to hide this simple truth behind focus groups, pie charts & bizarre jargon that real people don’t speak – but it’s not rocket science.
And while I’m quoting others, John Mortimer (creator of Rumpole of The Bailey) once said: “If you can make the Jury smile, you’re home & hosed.”
He’s dead right too.
4 Aug 09
9:22 am
Three nights ago I saw one of the old Target ads with the crappy little logos running around and thought it was about time Target did something new. So well done Target for taking a bold leap.
And the ad is nice. It will work very well for the brand.
However, no kudos for the Palace. It’s OK to be inspired by, and even ‘borrow’, a visual style or technique. It’s not OK to just make the exactly the same thing. Almost frame for frame. We can all imagine the creative team drooling over this video clip and playing to the client and to their director, saying “we want that”, while at the same time thinking to themselves, “Clear the shelf. We getting some awards on this one.”
No. You are not. Awards are given out for original executions. And you can’t even possibly imagine getting away with a blatant rip-off these days. There’s a little thing called the internet that has seen everything that has ever been done.
You could have saved your reputation (and award hopes) if you’d used that so-called creative grey matter you get paid for and thought of a way the brand could “own” this technique. Construct a new scenario for it. Or, at the very least, use the same crew, and maybe the same musician and do a press release about how Target recognises and embraces the talents of artists. Make it part of the strategy.
Come on, guys. We get paid to think. So… think!
4 Aug 09
10:34 am
If anyone is wondering why some posts have been removed, it’s because they were all from the same IP address, anonymous and personally abusive about an individual.
The person who posted them is still welcome to contribute if they want to do so in a less personal way, but your IP address will now take those comments to a pre-moderation queue. If that also affects colleagues from your agency at the same address, then my apologies.
Cheers,
Tim – Mumbrella
4 Aug 09
4:31 pm
Geez…. it must be a slow news week in the ad world. Congrats Target for producing a bit of feel good fun. Fashion fun, nothing more. I suspect that is exactly what its intended purpose was all along…?
4 Aug 09
5:34 pm
This isn’t exactly a new technique. Neither of them is really that original (even though someone deemed the second one ‘creative’ enough to make the Saatchi’s New Directors’ Showcase, but that’s another issue altogether, time to re-hash stop-motion anyone???). And when you consider that 11.99m of the 12m that viewed the second one were just ad wankers like us, i think it’s fair game.
6 Aug 09
1:46 pm
Ad agencies are in the business of debasing culture and thieving memes, so this to me just looks like business as usual.
7 Aug 09
2:38 pm
Most of the ideas we see are derivative.
The key word is derivative rather than plagiarize. It is OK to take inspiration from another creative idea and apply it in a new way. Ref the Olympus Pen camera ad featuring a familiar stop motion technique and idea.
Where brands get the flack is when they copy the idea directly. Ref Freeview.
In todays connected world it is naive to assume that it won’t be spotted. This one is borderline, but as noted, the average viewer won’t be aware and already it seems to have a good reaction.