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Opinion
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 »
ABC News 24 – a handy service for niche journalists
It may not have many viewers yet, but ABC News 24 saves specialist journos having to leave their desks, argues Delimiter’s Renai LeMay
When media commentators discuss the future of journalism, they usually agree on at least one thing: It will involve much fewer generalists and more reporters dedicated to exhaustively covering niche fields. Read more »
The seven ages of Carlton Draught’s Made From Beer
Today sees the launch of “Slow Mo”, the latest instalment of Carlton Draught’s irreverent Made From Beer series.
It’s been quite a run – from the highly awarded Big Ad, to the comedy of Flash Beer, to the debacle of the abortive banned Tingle campaign. These are the seven ages of Made From Beer… Read more »
Real consumers don’t have ‘brand conversations’. They use search
In this guest posting, Simon van Wyk argues that much as marketers might wish otherwise, most consumers don’t have emotional connections with brands
I have a background in marketing, but my understanding of branding seems at odds with the 2010 opinions I see from social media commentators, marketing and advertising agencies. Read more »
Hot, censoring atheists: Google’s insight into what punters think about pollies and journos
One of the charms of Google is autocomplete, where it takes a punt on what you’re going to ask, based on what the rest of the world has been wondering previously.
And it certainly gives a few insights into the high quality of political debate about the Labor leaders in the run up to the election.
Take NSW premiere Kristina Keneally… Read more »
The copyright-busting election
This is rapidly turning into the copyright-infringing election. Read more »
Digital Fail: The gaping void in digital training is failing our industry
In this guest post, Amnesia Razorfish’s Iain McDonald warns that the industry has fallen badly behind on digital training.
Before I get accused of trolling with that headline, I’ll state what I think is obvious: The current education system isn’t producing or nurturing enough ‘digitally skilled’ individuals to sustain a growing a digital economy. Read more »
State of Origin dominates ratings while Chaser generates more controversy than viewers
Queensland’s riveting victory over NSW in State of Origin pulled in Nine an average audience of nearly 2.3m on Wednesday night – the highest in the game’s history.
The audience peaked at nearly 2.7m, according to preliminary ratings from OzTam.
In Brisbane, the audience share was an extraordinary 56.4%, while in Sydney it was 40.5%.
Nine’s network share for the night was 35.4%, well ahead of Seven’s 22.2% and Ten’s 21.5.%.
Meanwhile, the second edition of The Chaser’s War on Everything averaged nearly 1.2m for ABC1- more than 300,000 viewers down on the season opening. After being the third biggest show of Wednesday night last week, yesterday it was tenth.
Last night’s edition of The Chaser has already generated controversy over a “Make A Realistic Wish Foundation” sketch which has been accused of mocking dying children.
Wednesday’s top ten shows:
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State of Origin – Nine 2.3m
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Seven News Seven 1.7m
- Masterchef Ten 1.5m
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State of Origin I – Pre-Match Nine 1.4m
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Today Tonight Seven 1.4m
- Nine News Nine 1.3m
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A Current Affair Nine 1.3m
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Two and a Half Men Nine 1.3m
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Home and Away Seven 1.2m
- The Chaser’s War on Everything ABC 1.2m
Nine’s large share last night has pulled it into a narrow ratings lead for the week, of 27.7%, to Seven’s 25.8% and Ten’s 25.5%.
Update: The ABC has pulled the sketch from tonight’s repeat on ABC2.
June 4th, 2009 at 11:08 am
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Comments
4 Jun 09
11:32 am
Not surprised Origin pulled the largest audience. I think there was also a massive value add for Tweeters – #origin and #origincliches – as the side commentary was gold! Another great example of Twitter adding to the amusement factor of live events.
It’s a shame Chaser has lost its intelligence factor behind stunts. Seems the boys have reverted to dirty tactics and just saying what other people are thinking for shock value. There’s a reason other people are just thinking and not saying… think about it.
4 Jun 09
11:35 am
There’s humour in taking the piss out of people that are big enough to defend themselves – and deserve it. The Catholic Church, The Melbourne Club etc
But there’s nothing funny in mocking terminally ill children, who can’t stick up for themselves, and do not deserve it in the slightest.
Absolute fucking disgrace.
4 Jun 09
12:01 pm
I think we have a solution to the survival of league. Just schedule a state of origin every week. They could then forget about the poor ratings and crowds week in, week out.
As for Chaser, a disgrace, but an amusing disgrace. You cringe because there’s something truthful in what they say.
4 Jun 09
12:19 pm
As a professional Corporate Comedian & Hoax Speaker, I know how hard it is to come up with new material, and to ‘go one better’ than you did last time. Quite clearly the Chasers are continuing to push the envelope. And the easiest thing to do when you’re struggling for new material is to go for shock value.
The question the Chasers and the folk who pay them may wish to ask is, ‘How far is too far?’ Is it just ‘anything for a laugh’, regardless of who it offends, or should their be a limit? And I’m talking here about self-imposed limits, not external censorship.
We are all happy to laugh at an arrogant tall poppy being cut down to size, society’s double standards being exposed, or our own shortcomings being shown up, but every comedian needs to answer a basic question before running with a particular comic concept: What’s my aim here – to make people laugh and feel good, or to make them upset and angry?
If your audience is deeply upset by something you do, I don’t think it’s good enough for the comedian to just say, ‘Oh well, that’s YOUR problem; if you can’t see the funny side of it, then there’s something wrong with YOU.’ It seems to be very fashionable these days to ‘blame’ the audience or brand them as narrow minded when they don’t respond favourably to even the most tasteless concept.
While some of the great satirical work done by the Chasers can be seen as a continuation of the path laid down by Lenny Bruce, Mort Sahl & George Carlin, etc, there’s a slight chance that even they would have though twice before running with the dying cancer kids sketch. If I went anyway near that type of ‘humour’ in my corporate comedy performances, I’d never work again.
So, friendly memo to Chasers: It’s not all about you. We LIKE you, but we LOVE our kids. Especially when they’re about to leave us. Forever.
4 Jun 09
12:28 pm
If anybody felt the same way as I did every time Phil Gould said something like ‘that’s an Origin tackle’, you’d be reporting on 2.3m people murdering a has-been rugby league player. Commentary left lots to be desired. As for the Chaser boys, they’ve obviously run out of ideas.
4 Jun 09
12:29 pm
Very poor taste even for the Chaser boys
4 Jun 09
12:33 pm
Not a very original skit anyway…
http://www.theonion.com/conten.....e_a_wish_0
Admit that Chaser version is in poorer taste though
4 Jun 09
12:48 pm
Can anyone please explain why the powers that be at the ABC pulled the Adam Hunt anti-discrimination ad from The Gruen Transfer, but let The Chaser piece go to air last night?
4 Jun 09
1:10 pm
Just seen release from ABC…editing segment ourt of re-run on ABC2 tonight & crisis meetings deciding how else to respond. Something about gates shutting & horses bolted…….
Perhaps a generous donation to the Make a Wish & Starlight Foundations from The Chaser teams’ undoubtedly impressive salary pool….?
Imagine if it had been a Footy Show skit……..
4 Jun 09
1:11 pm
“Dear ABC!…”
4 Jun 09
1:19 pm
Maybe the Chaser should pop down and visit the 7-year old with the terminal disease whose dad was quoted in this SMH article and see how funny it is then:
http://www.smh.com.au/news/ent.....44308.html
4 Jun 09
1:43 pm
That is absolutely disgusting.
If I ever met that guy, I’d politely ask if I can shove that pencil case, up his arse.
There is absolutely no comedic value in this, what so ever.
- Paul.
4 Jun 09
2:52 pm
The State of Origin pulled the most viewers because there was ****ing nothing else on including cable!!!!
4 Jun 09
5:07 pm
When does OzTam start recording the % of people who watched a DVD, Didn’t bother watching anything at all or went to the movies?
4 Jun 09
6:48 pm
That is absolutely disgusting.
I have only seen what was on the news as I do not watch the show..
I can not believe that anybody, any show can get away with this, why can’t they just be sacked?
I agree about what was said about the footie show, they have to be very careful but never would say anything like these idiots..
What about big brother taken off air and that was very mild compared to this rubbish..
Who do they think they are, maybe one day they will go through what Parents of ill Children are going through, but I hope not as I could not wish that on anybody..
SACK THEM, GET RID OF THAT SHOW..
Jewel
4 Jun 09
7:29 pm
Campbell and Mr…you are hereby wed
4 Jun 09
8:33 pm
People may not realize this but Rugby League wins the pay TV ratings hands down nearly every week so this free to air figure and the 50 000 plus crowd in Melbourne in winter on a Wednesday night is an added bonus i would say.
5 Jun 09
1:04 pm
I agree that the Chaser stunt was in the worst taste, but I also think they would be better to explain what they meant by it that just clamming up and letting the media think what they like
What I took from it is that there is a revolting sentimentalism in the media that makes fodder of sick kids for their piss weak current affairs programming, to me it is exploitative of the children, the pain of their parents, and the sentiments of the viewers (who of course have only themselves to blame for watching A Current Affair in the first place). Of course any skit on the subject is going to be rubbing more salt into those wounds, so hard to justify, but is there something in holding the media to account for their actions?
I might be wrong, it might just be the worst possible taste and a genuine attack on Make A Wish, in which case shame on them, but if they were trying to highlight the unhealthy media interest in turning misery into advertising dollars, perhaps they have a point.
5 Jun 09
2:26 pm
Maybe they were just making fun of the people who *actually* think that way?
There may be a ton of outrage over this, but that doesn’t hide the fact that there really are people out there callous enough to think these things.
Unfortunately, those opinions are behind closed doors and might need to be outed in order to deal with them.
5 Jun 09
2:39 pm
Some clarification for OPM. My understanding is that OzTAM meters are designed to capture everything that happens on a TV – watching FTA, wathcing STV, watching DVDs, playing games, video from other sources (laptops etc). The system is meant to measure television viewing though – not to measure who went to cinema! Unfortunately the “non-television” usage of television data is not regularly reported. I’d also take a rough stab that those who didn’t watch were the ones who didn’t turn the TV on, or weren’t in the room if the TV was on, both of which OzTAM account for in the ratings.
5 Jun 09
8:18 pm
i thought the chaser thing was funny. take it as how it was intended. in this time of ecconomic downturn, some of us need a distraction and the chasers offer that. people need to stop thinking everything is out to hurt the world. toughen up