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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.
Website to readers: Get a life
The Daily Sydney lifestyle website took an interesting approach to consumer feedback today after a racy American Apparel ad led to a couple of readers complaining on Twitter that it had made the site unsuitable for viewing at work.
Although Daily Sydney appears to have pulled down the offending ad after the complaints, it also tweeted back, telling two commenters readers to “get a life”.
(Update: The ad is now back. The site has also sent the following new tweet: “Dear Sydney, please support us against @mumbrella by commenting on this article”)
(Update to the update: As you’ll see from the comment stream below, American Apparel says this is not an ad that it paid for or asked to have on the site.)
November 23rd, 2009 at 3:14 pm
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Comments
23 Nov 09
3:36 pm
I can still see the ad, so I don’t think it’s been pulled.
I guess that’s a risk of organisations moving into social netowork areas, when the person ‘speaking’ on behalf of the organisation speaks their mind a bit too much.
But then again, they say you’ve got to be natural and relatively informal in the social networking sites
23 Nov 09
3:39 pm
Yes the ad has reappeared for me too. (So I suppose a NSFW warning applies if you follow the link).
Cheers,
Tim – Mumbrella
23 Nov 09
3:48 pm
As the other person on that tweet – even though I don’t condone the response of Daily Sydney, I really think it’s a mole hill being made into a mountain. Like Ratatoskr said, it’s a relatively informal domain, but on the other hand being overly defensive is probably not the best method with customer relations.
@artr was fairly aggressive to Daily Sydney in his initial comments (see bit.ly/5FALK4 and http://bit.ly/8z1Ipx), stating that the ad could lead to sexual harassment suits and it’s availability to minors – which is fairly unlikely seeing the target market *is* those over the age of 18.
I really think that is this more the responsibility of the advertiser, American Apparel, to ensure that ads are of a standard to be displayed on websites that aren’t of an explicit nature. As Daily Sydney is a new site, I think they’re not really in a position to be rejecting content for advertising revenue, so it may have been hard for them to say no to post things like this.
23 Nov 09
4:00 pm
I follow Daily Sydney and saw their posts, clicked on the other tweeters to see what all the fuss was about. I honestly couldn’t care less about the ad or their issues with the ad but I was taken back by the way that Daily Sydney dealt with the situation. Poor response indeed. They have the right to defend their content sure – but do it in a more adult way than “…get a life… (and)…we love u, u are wonderful and thanks for fighting for us x”
23 Nov 09
4:01 pm
Mumbo,
As the editor of Daily Sydney, I would like to say that Daily Sydney does not pretend to be for everybody..
We are a daily guide to Sydney’s subculture.
It is our belief that @atr was bringing bad and mainstream attention to our site. You should all go and see his douche bag style tweets..
We apologies to anyone who is offended – we think American Apparel is a great brand and we particularly like the naughty banners with girls in them..
Daily Sydney is the daily guide to Sydney’s subculture and is not for douche bags.
Thank you
@dailysydney
23 Nov 09
4:20 pm
As I mentioned in my blog post (http://blog.artrlee.com/2009/1.....r-ads.html)
My initial comment at dailysydney came across strong, but the point still stands that the images used were of a nature that should not be displayed in public without warning.
Specifically I didn’t say harassment “suits” but rather issues. I currently work with HR and IT so this jumped out at me.
We see nudity used in magazines many times. Although the blog’s audience seems to be focussed at young adults, it is very unsuspecting to see a nude image displayed in banner advertising.
23 Nov 09
4:25 pm
nude American Apparel ads have been around since the dawn of time, I have no problem with them
get adblock if they really bother you
23 Nov 09
4:26 pm
As a regular reader of Daily Sydney I think its hilarious! The complainants do need to get a life. If an independent culture website can’t carry risque advertising and have a bit of attitude then life would be very dull indeed.
23 Nov 09
4:28 pm
Arthur, you need to get out from behind the computer a bit more buddy. Hit pitt st mall on a hot day and you’ll see more nudity than in an Am Appy ad.
Point well made that Daily Sydney is not targeted at those under 18, and if you’re over 18 and offended by the ads, then you should probably pop back over to ninemsn.
23 Nov 09
4:28 pm
Ha! I almost wish I was still living in Sydney so that Daily Sydney was relevant to me. Why shouldn’t they tell people to get a life? They have the right to talk to and respond to their customers and their critics anyway they want. It’s so refreshing after all these years of strangling political correctness that people are starting to speak (type) their minds again.
For the record, I think that the exaggerated reaction to the ad is douchebagish, particularly in re: viewing at work. Like, shouldn’t you be WORKING and not looking up websites?
23 Nov 09
4:28 pm
Being a person on that tweet, @jymmysim, I would like to clear the fact that I identified that Daily Sydney may not have control over the content that their sponsors provide them with. As such, “it may not be @dailysydney’s doing, but @AmericanApparel’s”.
I am both a fan of Daily Sydney (& American Apparel), and through the stream of tweets, have defended Daily Sydney’s brand, over this issue.
23 Nov 09
4:29 pm
Um.. ya think American Apparels ads are NSFW? Google Image their lead model Sasha Grey and see what her full time job is
23 Nov 09
4:33 pm
Daily Sydney rocks my socks and rules my world. With out it, i would just be another single girl, sitting at home eating ice-cream and crying about how my life is so unfulfilled and wishing i had a sweet ass subculture website to make it worth while. Which, thank god, i do!
23 Nov 09
4:36 pm
Some companies don’t understand the power of social networking. If you don’t understand the medium you shouldn’t be using it imo – or you should hire someone who does get it.
When I posted a review of Lord of the Fries earlier this year the company responded in a similar way to Daily Sydney, tweeting my web address and telling their fans to go tell me I’m wrong: What unfolded was pretty fascinating – a lot of their fans were disgusted that they would try to bully me about my review. I wrote about it here: http://www.lisadempster.com.au/?p=891
Lord of the Fries told me later that they were going to hire a social media expert to handle their twitter and facebook accounts in the future.
23 Nov 09
4:38 pm
What’s with all the ‘douche bag’ comments? Is American Apparell supplying the insults as well as the soft porn?
This is definitely working as a free publicity campaign for Daily Sydney.
Can’t say they’ve impressed me very much, and I’m a strong follower of “subculture” mags and sites. But I prefer ones written by adults.
23 Nov 09
4:47 pm
I am fortunate enough to work in a workplace where we are not heavily restricted with our internet access and can browse sites like http://www.dailysydney.com in our lunch break to find out what to do tonight.
To clarify, I was not “offended” by the advertisement but rather felt it was an issue to have the images displayed on my screen at work in an open plan office.
23 Nov 09
5:02 pm
I think that using your brand to be negative in the social media domain almost always ends up in the brand looking unprofessional.
Social media interaction is a complex beast – in dialogue with your peeps it’s often not about whether you’re wrong or you’re right, but about the overall message you’re sending – in this case, the message reads as you Daily Sydney being kind of childish.
23 Nov 09
5:03 pm
“Daily Sydney is the daily guide to Sydney’s subculture and is not for douche bags.”
Really? Reading Mark’s response only made me think that people who claim to write about ‘subculture’ are synonymous with that oh-so-subcultural insult of ‘douchebag’.
23 Nov 09
5:17 pm
Hey Mark,
I’m all anti-douche bags, and I was all ready to defend the site, but unless bare boobs, or even bear boobs, is something that normally appears on the site, I think readers have the right to be angry.
You’re talking about people, supposedly from Sydney’s subculture (otherwise why would he be reading it?) who as far as I can tell are far more annoyed about how you handled it rather than the content itself.
If this was mAnBRELLA* and specialised in everything under the male porn umbrella, and I was a regular visitor, I’d expect some wang. It’s not though and if Tim put some on the front site, I’d probably be a little annoyed as I regularly log in from work.
Sure you have the right to show whatever you want, and @Artr’s initial comments were a little aggressive, I just don’t see the point in escalating it.
*Copyrighted for when Focal Attractions next expands…
23 Nov 09
5:33 pm
As one of the people responsible for American Apparel’s web advertising, I think I can shed a little light on this situation. American Apparel ads, although occasionally controversial, have many admirers. On a pretty regular basis, fans of the company and the ads will post them on their site either our of support or to solicit other companies to purchase the ad space.
Since we don’t currently have a web ad deal with the Daily Sydney, I imagine that is the case here. As you can see the, the ads are not the proper size and don’t have any tracking codes – they’re posted just like normal images.
We try to be very specific with our advertisements and take a lot of pride in shooting and designing them almost individually for the sites they appear on. The Unzip ad was actually shot and done for an site in the US about a year ago and hasn’t run since. The Made in USA ad is running on a series of fashion blogs internationally since the model is wearing one of our newest pieces, the lace catsuit. In other words, although we appreciate the enthusiasm exhibited by the Daily Sydney, it is not ad space we purchased or arranged.
If anyone needs to speak with me about it, definitely shoot me an email – ryanh@americanapparel.net
Ryan Holiday
23 Nov 09
5:34 pm
I’m rather curious to know why American Apparel deemed bare beasts as appropriate for their ads but clearly inappropriate for their own website.. I am surprised (and of course mildly disappointed) to find no nipplesque images at the client’s site when I click on the “offending” banner.. double standards??
23 Nov 09
5:35 pm
ah.. explanation passed me in the ether
23 Nov 09
5:37 pm
Oh, and for the record, I like the ads – just don’t know how this became a discussion over whether people like the site (skippy badge for you) or who can say subculture the most times…
23 Nov 09
5:52 pm
“The Sydney subculture”? I thought the whole concept of subcultures was that there were many of them, not one “official” subculture proclaimed by what is basically a media outlet promoting entertainment options to the yoof.
23 Nov 09
6:01 pm
Mark from Daily Sydney: fair enough to disagree with the criticism, but why not just say that, rather than insult them? Or take the chance to explore why one of your (previously loyal) readers has a problem with it?
You’ve basically taken the attitude that anyone who dares to critique anything you’ve done doesn’t “get it” and isn’t “subculture”, as if subculture must be some homogenous crowd of yes-men and yes-women to what you say.
All this over an image with boobies, when “NSFW” is a pretty standard thing on the net nowadays. Sure, you don’t want to mainstream but sometimes “subculture” people work for The Man remember, and might surf your site during their lunch break?
23 Nov 09
6:06 pm
Said website extols the virtues of over-priced, fat-free frozen yoghurt in Bondi. A ‘subcultural’ website? My ass it is.
23 Nov 09
6:13 pm
Brad, dude, you’re out of line. You need something cool to eat while hanging on the Town Hall steps…
23 Nov 09
6:16 pm
This is just kind of sad – attacking someone who just had an opinion and in a way who was trying to help Daily Sydney. To respond in such an immature manner to not only individuals, but to Mumbrella, really shows their lack of knowledge in the online sphere.
I’ve never checked out their website, and don’t plan on doing so now. Obviously they’ll do anything for website hits, which is just kind of sad.
23 Nov 09
6:19 pm
Oh, and about the actual ‘advert’: there are plenty more tasteful, safe for work AA ads out there they could have stolen for the cashed-up bogan audience they crave.
AA ads are funny, smart, subversive, sexy and really differentiate the brand from all others. Kudos.
23 Nov 09
6:53 pm
It’s a pair of fucking knockers on an “edgy” website.
Jesus wept.
23 Nov 09
7:03 pm
It’s a free world people
23 Nov 09
7:37 pm
I am scarred for life as a result of seeing that image. Just yesterday I saw many larger uncovered breasts in the street, and they belong to men. I am also very confused.
23 Nov 09
11:06 pm
dudes, its just a blog …
24 Nov 09
1:03 pm
I only went to the site to see the boobies. Sadly, no boobies are currently on show.
In the meantime, check out their regular ad styles…
http://images.google.com.au/im.....CBQQsAQwAA
In the immortal words of our boy Tom, “It’s not unusual to be loved by anyone…..”
25 Nov 09
4:33 pm
Sammy D…sweet ass or subculture website?
26 Nov 09
2:44 pm
I’m more amused by the fact AA didn’t actually pay for this ad spot and Daily Sydney decided to put it up themselves.
16 Dec 09
6:58 am
I’m with @simple. Are we looking too deeply here?
Although, I am a little confused why you put up someone’s ad if they’re not paying for it