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Opinion | Features
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.
The top seven...most patronising pieces of communication
Sometimes brands have big ideas. Sometimes marketers get so caught up with a grandiose idea that instead of finding engaging ways to sell breakfast cereal, they start to believe their own rhetoric. And sometimes it’s just lazy marketing. Here are my top seven inadvertently patronising pieces of communication…
1) Last night thousands of women gathered in Sydney’s Centennial Park to take part in She Runs the Night, an event created by Nike.
TV audience measurement – why big isn’t always beautiful
In this guest post, Chris Walton argues that the media industry needs to take a new approach to TV tradingThere has been a significant amount of coverage recently about how successful The Voice has been. Indeed, audience figures of 2.6m+ people are very impressive these days. Based on reports, this is apparently double the size of audience that Nine was hoping for in the lead up to the programme launching.
Volkswagen Polo campaign targets ‘independent young thinkers’
Volkswagen has launched a campaign to push its newly redesigned Polo model based on the positioning line that the car is “for dedicated followers of no one”.
Created by DDB Sydney and directed by The Glue Society’s Gary Freedman, it is targeting young drivers, positioning them as “independent thinkers”.
Anke Koeckler, Volkswagen Group Australia MD, said: “The new Volkswagen Polo is the major market launch of Volkswagen in Australia for 2010. It has been recently awarded World Car Of The Year 2010 and is a very important part of our volume strategy.”
The campaign launches with a cinema and TVC ad and is being supported by print, DM, outdoor and extensive digital activity including a new microsite, online banners and social media.
Credits:
- National ECD: Matt Eastwood
- Creative Director: Mark Harricks
- Creative Team: Paul Sharp & Mike Burdick
- Business Management: Scott Thomson & Patrice Bougouin
- Strategy: Nick Andrews
- Director: Gary Freedman
- Photography: Andreas Smetana
- Production House: Revolver Film
- Media Agency: Mediacom
May 10th, 2010 at 2:10 pm
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Comments
10 May 10
2:22 pm
I’m in their target demographic and the ad left me sort of confused when I saw it on tv.
Are the silver shoes at the end saying that as fiercely independent as we play with being, we all follow the same trends in the end?
And FOLLOWERS OF NO-ONE seems like such a vast statement for a friendly car to be selling. And people my age have a heavy eye-roll reflex when an ad trying to sell us a product pitches the idea that it’s for followers of no-one.
Weird mixed messaging.
10 May 10
3:30 pm
I’d be their target demo too, and it works for me. In fact, I probably wouldn’t have considered a Polo over a Golf prior to seeing this ad.
10 May 10
3:44 pm
Why Ben?
It leaves me perplexed too.
10 May 10
3:46 pm
@Ben,
I can’t tell whether that comment was tongue-in-cheek… kudos if it was. If not, I’m not sure their aim was to cannibalise sales from a more expensive (and presumably more profitable) product line.
@Goose, I think the idea was that the others were all following someone, but the Polo driver wasn’t.
For what it’s worth, I liked the ad. More importantly, I actually like the car. And yes, I’m in the target demographic too.
10 May 10
3:56 pm
I get it – people that blend into their inner city cliques are individual thinkers because:
a) trying to stand out is less authentic than trying hard not to stand out
b) being a critic at the failing of others is smart because it deflects being criticized
c) associating with less attractive and insecure people makes you look better
The qualities of a young individual thinking person or an arsehole?
10 May 10
3:58 pm
mmmmm….didn’t really tell me a whole lot about the car’s features etc. In fact I didn’t really know it was a car ad until the last few seconds
– I reckon it was a concept thought up so the creatives and special effects people could have some fun !!!
10 May 10
3:58 pm
Anyone considering a Golf or a Polo is far from an independent thinker! I reckon Karl Benz’s horseless carriage was a better ride. And probably had as many features. Who did the guys at VW have to exterminate to get Car of the Year!!
10 May 10
4:00 pm
Sorry but such a mass produced product as cars the message ‘buy this to be different’ doesn’t ever really sit well. You will always be one of several hundred thousand others with a car like this and an ad like this will not convince anyone otherwise.
10 May 10
4:02 pm
^ woops – anonymous was me, Im not actually afraid to let mumbrella readers know my identity.
10 May 10
4:12 pm
Please tell me how the VW Polo is an individual car. Take the badges off the Polo and line it up with 15 other Ford, Honda, Toyota through to Proton mid size hatchbacks. You would be hard pressed to pick it out.
This ad is bollocks. Just an excuse for the FX dept to morph some faces and burn some cash.
The way to sell this car is use the words “World’s best Car 2010 and from less than 20k”. If that didn’t treble sales you could actually start telling people why it is the best car in the world in 2010. And if that didn’t work starting sacking your media buyers because they are as hopeless as bloody creatives using 45 seconds to bloody promote MOVEMBER!!!
The Guys at DDB need their butts kicked for this. I bet they win an award, and the polite germanic people at VW smile nicely and change agencies next year.
10 May 10
4:27 pm
i like it, i thought the whole ‘not for followers’ thing was based around the idea that it is more of a basic looking nice car, not a trend, e.g. the converse chuck taylors of the car world?
10 May 10
5:05 pm
I saw this the other night and even at the punchline was a little confused :/
I second Mug….all the small cars look the same now! I used to love a lot of the small car shapes and now they’ve all morphed in to these bubble like tampon tictac looking things. VW’s are reliable cars for sure so best to promote it as voted best small car for under 20k.
I like that people get creative….was it on brief? I don’t know, would need to see how the client briefed the agency. Either way the agency is hired to advise and plan for their client…..I wouldn’t advise to put an ad like this to market to increase sales, bit of brad perception work yes but not something that = foot traffic for the retailers.
10 May 10
5:23 pm
I agree with Dragon. I had no idea it was a car ad until the last minute but I did want to see it again to figure it out. Still don’t get the silver shoes though.
Btw are men (with or without facial hair) really the Polo’s target demographic?? I thought it was a womans car….
10 May 10
10:33 pm
This is a classic example of the emperor with no clothes. It’s the World’s Best Car for 2010 – but it took the client to tell me that in a press release! Call me old-fashioned but I would’ve thought the agency’s job was to find a cool way to say that not ask the client to fund this wank. Avoiding the bleeding obvious seems advertising’s latest trend – I bet World’s Best Car will be one of the first thing out the VW sales staff mouths when they’re trying to sell Polos.
10 May 10
11:40 pm
it’s one of those ads that I don’t want to click on by the freeze frame, so I cannot give it praise or condemnation.
11 May 10
7:43 am
Das Auto ist gut, das advert is shite vay to inform ze ist gut auto
11 May 10
10:01 am
Well I’m a bit surprised by all the negativity (well, not really, happens to virtually every TVC posted on Mumbrella).
I really like it
11 May 10
10:12 am
Apart from the really good ones…
11 May 10
10:34 am
maybe, if as an industry, we stopped producing so many crap ads then the comments might be a bit more positive.
11 May 10
4:32 pm
Had absolutely no idea what the point of the ad was till i read the comments here.
some guys in a car changing facial hair? a generic ‘cool guy’ who thinks it’s funny? they get out of the car and are all wearing silver shoes?
WTF?!
classic ivory tower copywriting.
12 May 10
10:36 am
3 things.
1. A bad joke is one where you have to explain the punchline. A bad ad is the same.
2. This car is not an individual car so why would you think that a person seeking individuality would want one?
3. Why not just make an ad saying “Best car in the world 2010 VW Polo. Come and see why now and we will give you change from 20k… Then give half a dozen away from the money you saved on the bloody creative and having to buy 45 seconders to get the punchline on screen for 3 seconds…
12 May 10
11:24 pm
R Mugobme you are very silly individual indeed.
If you had any sense you would go and find out why a VW is a better product than other cars in it’s class. Do your research before you voice your foul opinions.
It’s easy to criticize, much harder to offer something better… Send a link through to your work (if you have any) and then we can all have laugh.
12 May 10
11:39 pm
I think all the negativity is fairly pointless…
Not sure if the people that watched the ad and posted their thoughts here on this website actually understand what the ad is saying. Maybe it could have been clearer, but I see a Polo driver as someone who knows what they want. They are an individual in terms of the fact that they don’t follow trends, the three men in the advert copy each other and try to out perform. The guy driving the Polo is just someone who is clear about he what he wants, that’s all… He just doesn’t get flustered and I suppose that’s what the advert is saying…
Only bit I think could have been clearer is the ending of the advert…
12 May 10
11:51 pm
Yeh Tommo, I kinda thought it was something similar to what you just posted.
The way I saw it was the three guys in the ad, no matter how hard they tried to be original, they still ended up with the same style at the end. Whereas as the car driver didn’t get flustered at all… clear for me and I think that’s why I liked it. Just says a Polo driver doesn’t follow the herd.
13 May 10
2:10 am
Advert good idea just badly composed… website is very cool, not seen anything like that before.
13 May 10
9:05 am
Have to agree with Mugobwe. Not an idividulists car. But all individual cars will be very unfashionable in six months. Surely this should be aimed at the followers of fashion then?? I have sneaky feeling that some of the comments above come from family and friends of the creative team!!
Sorry, but this is a bad ad. And it’s appearing on News.com’s Crossword site? Not an obvious placement for the demo? Looks like the media placement isn’t working either!
13 May 10
9:09 am
Ben T, Tommo & Aimy:
I’m glad that you’ve reached that consensus and explained the idea behind the ad (the driver has his own style but the passengers don’t). And I’m also glad how harmoniously you agree with each other.
Now can you explain why you’re all posting from the same IP address?
ta,
Tim – Mumbrella
13 May 10
9:10 am
@ Ben T. Please tell where in the ad it talks about the being 2010 car of the year. Or was I just to busy trying to work out which facial hair product the ad was for?? Ben if you think that is a “FOUL OPINION” Harden up buddy and admit it you (or a relative/friend/colleague) made a bad ad.
13 May 10
9:19 am
I’m starting to think there’s a viable business model around launching an agency that consults with other agencies on how to successfully astroturf Mumbrella. I’d probably start by sending Tim a press release, then commenting on it positively under multiple aliases – from different IP addresses!
13 May 10
9:21 am
Pretty funny reading.
Wish I hadnt worn silver shoes to work today though.
13 May 10
9:25 am
Okay So I get it now. Ben T and Tommo you were obviously the Beards in the Back. Aimy were the driving 5 o’clock shadow individual driver or the front seat beard??
In Rhodes I mean Zimgobme we would sell you guys a farm and then come take it off you next week!!
13 May 10
9:26 am
@R. Mugobme Spot on
13 May 10
9:29 am
Let me clarify spot on when you say:
3 things.
1. A bad joke is one where you have to explain the punchline. A bad ad is the same.
2. This car is not an individual car so why would you think that a person seeking individuality would want one?
3. Why not just make an ad saying “Best car in the world 2010 VW Polo.
13 May 10
9:34 am
@ Jojo Thank you. Can I interest in nice small holding in Small african republic. Can you get you quite a bit for two and half Polo’s!!
13 May 10
10:30 am
Thanks for the offer Mugobme but I’ll have to pass. I’m fresh out of Polos today – I traded them in for something more individual
13 May 10
4:09 pm
I guess this debate suggests the execution of the creative idea fell short?
I have to say the first few times I saw it on TV I was watching so much facial hair flying around I hadn’t noticed the driver was not involved.
In effect, the driver is tainted by his mates folly anyway.
Perhaps a better idea would have been to show ‘types’ driving cars other than Polos and demonstrating that Polo drivers are their own people?
13 May 10
4:45 pm
I get it now. The driver isn’t participating. The others follow the herd. He goes his own way.
13 May 10
5:15 pm
Agree with most re the content and the positioning especially as these cars are EVERYWHERE. “Followers of no one”..righto vee dub, way to try and be urban and non conformist…so German!
However the microsite is quite cool and if I were in the market for a new car it’s at least making an effort to pull me in
13 May 10
7:17 pm
As I said earlier ” Worlds Car of The Year for 2010″ will be the first thing a salesman says to a prospective customer. It’s also the last thing any Toyota, Mazda, Kia, Hyundai, Honda, Ford, or Holden salesman wants them to say.
14 May 10
1:28 am
haha… yeh we were using the same computer if that’s what you mean by IP? Student life is great apart from being SKINT !
14 May 10
1:32 am
in fact any of you guys want to look at my book? anyone looking for interns?
14 May 10
9:23 am
Is your book one of those “Girl With The Dragon Tattoo” ones? Because I’ve already seen those.
14 May 10
10:17 am
Nice insight.
Beautiful digital work.
Bewildering TV execution.
Blame the client as much as the agency.
UK hit a different and likely more resonant mark here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4MsOqOfSj8I
15 May 10
2:16 am
I was completely baffled by the point of the Polo ad when I first saw it — a bunch of bland-looking Beatles-wannabees, with magical facial hair, arrive at nightclub with matching silver shoes?!?
it was fairly memorable, I’ll grant that — but I couldn’t see it making me consider a different brand or model of car — I’d like my next car to be far more individualised with a custom factory paint finish and custom interior.
clearly the Polo is a pretty ordinary looking car, like many many others, but with Volkswagen’s (allegedly better) reliability.
why did they not push the ‘best car in the world’ line more heavily — perhaps because it risks undercutting sales of their more appealing, more successful, more profitable Golf (ie. why didn’t the Golf win that award this year).
15 May 10
3:52 am
Probably one of the most insightful and brave ads I have seen in a longtime, tapping into a key insight and current western cultural trend; fear of not being unique. Smart, brave and witty. Great work.
16 May 10
8:43 pm
I reeeeeeally didn’t like this ad. Even did a search to find out who made it just so i could say they are terrible.
And yes i am in the target demo.
31 May 10
8:37 am
I am from the UK where VW’s are extremely popular cars. Just a heads up. A Golf is a mans car and a Polo is a woman’s car. I am not sure if I should echo this secret in sunny Australia, however that is the case back in the UK. (Whether it is meant to be like that or not…)
So, are they saying that the men in the advert are women?
I am confused at this advert…?
31 May 10
8:39 am
p.s. the guys in the advert do not own cars. They are creative types who live in Paddington, Surry Hills or Newtown and either walk or get the bus to work. Oh, if they did buy a car it would be an old school Valiant, or an old school VW Kharman Ghia… They certainly would not want to be associated with the sport of Polo, or Golf at that!!
31 May 10
5:51 pm
Whoa, thats a wacked out ad… i had no idea what it was trying to tell me until i looked on here…
Awesome beards…
(note to self – why am i looking up the meaning of ads on the internet… i gotta get a new hobby…)
1 Jun 10
1:01 pm
A follower of no one walks…… or drives a gogo mobile. When was the last time you saw one of those?
Maybe they’re implying that if you put ANOTHER BLOODY GOLF on the road you are a sheep. Here is a hairdressers alternative.
1 Jun 10
1:16 pm
All the guys don’t end up looking the same. You end up with four different facial styles.
So – the execution of the idea doesn’t stand up.
1 Jun 10
11:04 pm
I am a 75 year old grandmother, I play golf, I drive a mean tee shot with the over 65′s and also ‘drive’ a Polo…
2 Jun 10
2:05 pm
I am not in the target demographic and took the simple message that the Polo has enough interior space to accomodate four grown men.
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