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Opinion
No - advertising has not beaten culture jamming at its own game
In this guest post, an activist argues why advertising has not subverted culture jamming - and why Australia would be a better place without ‘visual pollution’At a photography exhibition now on the Sydney Museum last week, a question was put to a panel of experts. Would our cities be better without any advertising. The answer was a resounding “yes”.
This didn’t really come as much of a surprise. After all, the panel were culture jammers – activists who subvert mainstream media, altering the message of an ad to tell a story of their own.
Think popular, not premium: Why the Henry & Aaron 'It's a snap' video went viral
In this guest posting, YouTube’s Karen Stocks says why she thinks CIT’s gory-funny ‘It’s a snap’ ad was a hit.One of this week’s viral hits on YouTube is a science fiction-themed ad for the Central Institute of Technology in Perth. The skit-style video commercial features CIT grads-turned-YouTube stars Henry & Aaron, who magically jump from one CIT department to the next with a snap of Aaron’s fingers. The comedy takes a distinctly darker turn when Aaron’s teleporting skills start going horribly wrong – with gruesome results.
The video holds a couple of lessons for marketers.
Mumbrella360 - call for curated sessions
I must confess that I didn’t enjoy Mumbrella360 last year.
Having staked our credibility and indeed (although I didn’t like to think about it at the time) the company, on Mumbrella360 being a success, the main thing I actually experienced over the two days was a growing sense of relief that it wasn’t shit.
The Woolworths virtual store is not the future of retail. But it is a good PR stunt
So last night I dropped by my local neighbourhood Virtual Woolworths.It’s located at Sydney Town Hall station – conveniently enough, almost directly underneath my local neighborhood Real Woolworths.
As you’ll see from the wobbly iPhone video I shot, it was a relatively lonely experience. But it was Sunday night.
How not to use Twitter: lessons from Qantas and Westpac
The likes of Qantas have a long way to go before getting to grips with social media, argues Axel Bruns.For major brands, the road to social media infamy is paved with what seemed like good ideas at the time.
Just this week, Qantas succeeded in having Twitter suspend the well-known spoof account, @QantasPR, claiming users would mistake it for the real thing.
Is Big W the beginning of the bounceback for Saatchis?
Google may prove me wrong, but in the entire time Mumbrella has existed, and very possibly for my entire editorship of B&T before that, I can’t remember ever writing the headline “Saatchi & Saatchi wins…”
So today’s appointment by Big W is a big deal.
Traditional agencies are driving away their digital superstars with their old ways
In this guest post, Daniel Monheit argues that Australia’s creative agencies will never be able to hang on to digital talentIn 2010 Steve Jobs was invited by James Murdoch to speak at the annual News Corp management retreat. Jobs issued a blunt, critical assessment of what newspapers were trying to do in technology: “You’re going to find it hard to get things right, because you’re in New York and anyone who’s any good at tech works in Silicon Valley”.
And that’s when it hit me. The reason why Australia’s best traditional agencies, working with the most prolific clients and the biggest budgets cant manage to put out anything remotely passable as decent digital work.
Anyone who’s any good at digital works at an agency that actually believes in it.
What does Fairfax's Media's data dump actually mean? And what's going on at ACP Magazines?
Although I rather like stats, there are a few days a year where they become a little overwhelming.
Radio ratings releases offer eight such days annually. Over the space of a couple of hours, the data drops for the five main metro markets. Generally the phone starts ringing within 10 minutes, from station bosses aiming to give their interpretation of those numbers. It becomes a game of keeping them on the line long enough to sift through the data to try to discover the real story you need to ask them about. Within minutes a blizzard of press releases follow too.
In truth, the press releases mostly get ignored in the race to write the story. Then they’re mostly ignored because the story is already written.
And twice a year, a similar exercise surrounds the release of the monthly magazine sales figures,
When the powerful buy into the media, can the media still scrutinise the powerful?
Economist Richard Denniss of Australian National University argues in a post that first appeared on The Conversation that the public needs to decide if it cares who owns the media.The mining industry is used to having its voice heard in Australian public debates, so it should come as no surprise that mining billionaires such as Gina Rinehart and Clive Palmer would consider buying up a bigger slice of the Australian media.
While the estimated $20m spent by the mining industry on television advertisements opposing the introduction of a mining tax was the most visible example of the industry’s determination to influence the public it is, in fact, just the tip of the iceberg.
The keyboard warrior of Twitter
In this guest post, NBN staffer Scott Rhodie writes an unofficial, personal view on his experience with a hostile Twitter critic.Last night I had a strange incident. While on Twitter I noticed someone saying that Australia’s NBN is already outdated. I wrote a small note back explaining they were incorrect.
And their response? The lovely gentleman (whose Twitter profile says: ‘Father of 5 kids, Loving Grandfather of 10 Grandchildren,and 2 Great Granddaughters. love to give heaps to Pollies and Poofters’) said to me: “Go and lick Gillards C*** out U commie Prick”
What's in a name?
In this guest post, Moensie Rossier wonders about the power of names for brands and marketers.
Brands have been having a bit of fun with names lately, not to mention a fair bit of success. Interbrand just named a headhunting firm Cloak & Dagger. And ‘Share a Coke’ showed how much power there is in a name.
The Coke campaign effectively short-circuited the usual mechanics of communication. It undoubtedly stroked people’s egos. But, I believe, its success stems from the fact that it directly and automatically affected people’s behaviour, rather than doing so indirectly by shaping attitudes.
Best ads from Super Bowl 2012
The Super Bowl is all done and a team from North America won. But as well as some sort of sporting event, it’s the world’s biggest advertising showcase. See the best of them right here… and please tell us what you think.
How to debunk media myths
In this post, UWS’s Ullrich Ecker, John Cook and Stephen Lewandowsky argue that cognitive science can help PRs form strategies in managing media misreporting.
A growing cohort of commentators has bemoaned the descent of contemporary political “debate” into a largely fact-free zone.
How about simply focusing on what consumers want?
In this guest post, Peter Mountford argues that brands should think more about what is really going on for consumers
Who here is hoping their favourite brand of toilet paper is going to be organizing a flash mob on their way home from work today?
What the Optus web copyright victory means
In this analysis first published on The Conversation, RMIT’s Marita Shelly examines the implications of Telstra’s defeat over the online rights to the AFL broadcast deal
This week’s Federal Court ruling that Optus customers are able to view sporting matches minutes after they are streamed live without breaching copyright is a landmark decision that alters our understanding of copyright law, and has significant implications for the AFL’s broadcasting rights deal.
Tourism Victoria launches $14m ‘Play Melbourne’ campaign to lure younger visitors
Tourism Victoria launches the tenth phase of its long-running jigsaw campaign today, introducing the line ‘Play Melbourne’ as the city targets 20-30 year-old domestic travelers.
Created by Publicis Mojo Melbourne, the campaign positions Melbourne as a “vibrant, creative and edgy city of experiences”, the Victorian minister for tourism and major events Louise Asher said at the launch event in Sydney this morning.
New South Wales is Victoria’s biggest tourism market – 1.1m Sydneysiders visit Melbourne annually, spending $4.7bn.
“Every tourism product needs to be refreshed,” said Asher. “Melbourne has done well to attract older visitors, now we’re marketing to the younger generation. The ad is about spontaneity. If you roll the dice, wherever you go there’ll be something fabulous to experience in Melbourne.”
The campaign includes a year-long competition where the winners will get a trip to Melbourne for two via the website playmelbourne.com.au.
The ads cost $1.5m to produce; initial media spend is $3.9m. The campaign, which will run nationwide and in New Zealand from next year, is budgeted to cost $14m over 2-3 years, according to Asher.
Tourism Victoria’s advertising business is currently under review, with the department looking for a lead agency for major campaigns and a boutique agency for fast turn-around work.
June 19th, 2011 at 12:32 pm
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Comments
19 Jun 11
2:25 pm
I live here and it makes me want to leave.
19 Jun 11
4:17 pm
^^ Then maybe you should…leave. Makes more room for those of us who would LIKE to live there…Melbourne is fantastic, if you don’t love it…
I think the campaign is great, hopefully I win a trip!
19 Jun 11
5:03 pm
I live elsewhere and it sorta makes me want to go there. Who wouldda thunk it, right?
19 Jun 11
6:20 pm
Melbourne has a lot to offer, shopping/arts/restrauants/sports and lots more what a great place to visit and enjoy . Sydney may have the weather, but Melbourne is what “lifes” all about.
19 Jun 11
6:51 pm
Pity the website is such a dud. The ad is great though.
19 Jun 11
10:10 pm
Oh Amber, I love Melbourne like no other, I’m just not quite as thrilled about a montage showing a bunch of hipsters racing around to (gasp) nightclubs and libraries, with the vacuous protagonist lusting after some other hipster’s penis for some unknown reason.
But hey, I ain’t the demographic I guess
20 Jun 11
1:54 am
Play Melbourne is a great piece of work – doesn’t matter if I,m the right demographic or not.. Edgy for sure!
20 Jun 11
9:38 am
The ad would be a lot less fun with a mandatory pre-commitment
20 Jun 11
10:16 am
nice, i like it.
where would you rather them be running to then Finzensen? and whats wrogn with lusting after penis? you wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for some good old fashioned penis lusting!
20 Jun 11
11:59 am
I saw this on TV last night and was glued from beginning to end. I think it captures Melbourne’s spirit perfectly… can’t wait to visit again!
20 Jun 11
12:12 pm
nice spot, must be pitched at the young female market, usual whispy female vocal track, I wonder where it was shot, couldn’t see any melbourne? $1.5m production, go figure…
20 Jun 11
12:19 pm
Nice art direction, though anyone who lives in Melbourne will tell you that you can’t run through the library without being fined and/or jailed and also where are all the cops that patrol the streets chasing everyone out of the city?
20 Jun 11
12:23 pm
Don’t be hating on hipsters! They’re just as valid a market as any – with disposable income to boot!
And at least these hipsters look happy in this ad!
http://unhappyhipsters.com/
Ad’s great! Very cool and I’m the right demo.
Ps. I’m not a hipster.
20 Jun 11
12:28 pm
what a load of wank
20 Jun 11
12:32 pm
Seriously like this TVC – a great representation that is pitched at a younger audience, but has me smiling too. I might be alone here, but I loved the strong visual reference to the concierge. The visitor experience is oft overlooked in the rush to stake out a brand proposition that differentiates. Well done Tourism Victoria you get the big thumbs up from Destination Melbourne.
20 Jun 11
12:35 pm
Victor ‘I wonder where it was shot, couldn’t see any melbourne?’ – Think it is Crossley Lane for the Blonde Venus window scene (next to Pelligrini in the CBD, all those cobalt blue tiles), the domed interior of the State Library of Victoria for the opening scene running along the colonnade and through the Library, and the lovely grey marble staircase with leadlight going ‘down’, there is the exterior of the Olderfleet Rialto Building on Collins Street for the night scene (I think), looks like the rooftop of Curtin House and staircase up to Cookie in Curtin House for the cakes and white dress scene (Swanstown Street). Can’t help with the clubs – think one is at the Banana Alley vaults in Flinders Street or along from Princes Bridge Walk – and I wonder is the projected light laneway (great shot!) in Croft Alley? The campaign makes me want to move back to Melbourne.
20 Jun 11
12:58 pm
Victor – there is plenty of Melbourne in the ad and I could identify most places easily. In fact, so could most of my colleagues. Clearly you don’t know Melbourne. I think it’s a fantastic ad that captures Melbourne’s spirit and continues to show how diverse it really is!
20 Jun 11
1:03 pm
These are re run ads yes??
20 Jun 11
1:26 pm
I’d like a crack at the hipster’s penis, please.
20 Jun 11
1:50 pm
I wonder if the Mojo people are answering my comment, such protective passion for the ad seems a little bizarre!
20 Jun 11
2:01 pm
Is it as interesting for the non-Melburnians who can’t play “pick the location”?
Don’t think so…
20 Jun 11
2:14 pm
Yeah, it was ok. I’m in the demographic it was aimed at, and I’ve had nights like the ad depicted (with the exception of running through the Vic library of course, wanky tack on), but not sure if you dont know Melbourne, how you’d enjoy a night like this, not knowing where to find the cool spots?
If you came from interstate, you might accidently end up on King street looking for a night out, and that will only end in tears, or spare ‘Spearmint Rhino’ dollars…
20 Jun 11
2:57 pm
I find Tourism Victoria’s ads terribly pretentious and grating, but evidently this is their thing now.
20 Jun 11
3:07 pm
Well done it captures the melboune vibe perfectly and is lovely to watch . Building on an already great idea that has helped shape the Melbourne brand in the mind of this sydneysider
20 Jun 11
3:14 pm
I love this ad – shows all the stuff in Melbourne I actually do.
20 Jun 11
4:06 pm
Um I grew up in Melbourne and live in Sydney – love Melbourne but this ad is…erk. and that hipster male model who keeps popping up lives in sydney…whoops
20 Jun 11
11:14 pm
i dunno about this one, the lose yourself campaign done a few years ago by mojo is very similar to this, different theme I know, but still the same running around, that boy girl scenario thing…
unless thats whats meant to be happening? Going with the same theme??
The lose yourself campaign was better than this with a broader audience range.
21 Jun 11
9:41 am
I definitely think there is a connection with the lose yourself campaign – the boy/girl thing, the cotton twine (balls of wool in the lose yourself campaign) – nice to see advertising that builds on the previous campaign IMO.
I think the ad is right on the money for its target audience. It is definitely more targeted than the lose yourself campaign, but hey, it might have more impact this way.
I am a Brisbanite, who is in love with Melbourne – and I recognise (and love) many of the places in the ad. It certainly made me want to book my next trip!
21 Jun 11
7:50 pm
cool
22 Jun 11
3:27 pm
shit load better than that daylsford crap……..but no point driving traffic to a website if it is the useless.
26 Jun 11
6:03 pm
i just wanna know about the music used for the ad…purpose written or from something else….i wanna find it!!
27 Jun 11
9:06 am
Hello Mandy song is called Perfect Plan u can find it on Sarah Jaffe’s Album Suburban Nature
27 Jun 11
10:36 am
Was Crown a sponsor of the commercial? To me it has a Crown feel.
2 Jul 11
11:45 am
Your playmelbourne.com.au website isn’t working
2 Jul 11
5:21 pm
Website up now
3 Jul 11
12:22 am
I know, the website isn’t working! I’m planning to go to Melbourne in October and was hoping to go on for ideas on what to do/where to go. Any suggestions?
6 Jul 11
12:21 am
I am from Brisbane and this ad has been pipped out a fair bit on evening commercial tv, its a total load of garbage, i didnt think things could get worse after the balls of twine but obviously i was completely wrong. Dont get me wrong ive been to melbourne numerous times and its a great place, but i just think this ad is total bs
7 Jul 11
8:12 am
I have played ‘playmelbourne.com’ for three weeks now, and cannot find out who has won each week. Where do you list the winners?????
15 Jul 11
9:32 am
I like the ad – plenty of life and fun, attractive cast – it’s catchy… BUT given that it’s Melbourne Australia, not Melbourne Florida, being promoted wouldn’t it have been better to use an Australian singer – preferably a Melbourne one – for the sound track rather than one from Texas … we aren’t part of the USA (yet)
15 Jul 11
12:46 pm
It’s an online campaign, right? Targeting younger demographic? Is there an online campaign?