Big ads are good ads
Thinkerbell’s lead thinker Dom Counahan makes the case for swapping ‘UX’, ‘CX’ and ‘EX’ for ‘creativity’, ‘ideas’ and ‘fame’.
The best spot to learn agency gossip is within metres of wherever the free chips are dispensed. Like a Zambian waterhole, these places offer the beaten down and overworked an opportunity to congregate, basking momentarily in the inimitable nature of a life in advertising.
“We get hummus on Fridays too!” someone will declare to the newest recruit.
But as we painstakingly list the career movements of ex clients and the launch into brand clogged accounts of a fortnight in Positano, chances are you’ll also here some of these words squeezed in between the crunch of Costco salt and vinegar.
“A revived discussion on signalling theory” points to research published 27 years ago and cited a grand total of 4 times since…
Signalling theory is the new programmatic .
Cadbury Gorilla & Sony Balls are more than 10 years old. If this is what is inspiring the team at Thinkerbell, I look forward to their work on Blockbuster Video and Kodak.
Meanwhile there is a generation of new and emerging brands doing very well out of digital. If I were a PwC client I’d be more interested in understanding those.
Yeah, right on. More than ten years old is a great reason.
I think that applies to all creativity.
It just shows you how shit da Vinci, Monet, Gaugin, Michelangelo, Picasso, Mondrian, Dali and all those other old farts were.
P.S. Bernbach knew shit about advertising when he did the VW ads. Wouldn’t sell a thing.
What’s a good analogy for advertising?
A gorilla on the drums.
Cheeky. But possibly onto something (completely out of time, inappropriate and loud, demanding attention but making everyone grumpy…)
I think there is a place for big ads, no doubt.
However, I strongly believe there is no point in having a ‘big ad’ if the rest of the brand experience is sub-par.
It’s not ‘CX’ versus ‘creativity’, it’s both.
Weird to use such old examples, but it’s important to remember the reasoning behind those big ads. They aren’t just ‘splash money on content’.
Sony Balls – Colour was very important in the move to LCD/Plasma, how can people identify the difference between products or which of the many brands is best? Boldness and brightness of colour is a great signifier of what a good screen is likely to be.
Cadbury Gorilla – Joy is massively important to chocolate, and the gorilla brilliantly gets across the joy that people feel when they think about chocolate. It’s not just content, it’s the brand in a nutshell. The follow up ads forgot to get this across, and hence didn’t do as well.
Old Spice – Based upon realising that women make most of the purchases.
These are all based on ‘consumer understanding’. As is pretty much every good ad ever made. You can’t have creativity without it.
@Rob how right you are. At the root of every advertisement that has stood the test of time is a good strategy that has provided the opportunity for great creative.
Some of the forgettable big ads have been an execution in search of an idea, or a CD enriching a resume.
Exactly.
If planning and consumer insight is good enough for John Webster, it’s good enough for any creative.
Translates as “can we have a couple million to make a big TV ad please? Then we can have a cafe like Clems”. Lead thinking indeed.
I love this article. Love it. It’s unpopular and not the right thing to say. But it’s right. It a world of tech companies scamming its right.
Best in class is John Lewis, the English retailer. Closer to home is Aldi.
Into that good night.
Rage. Rage against the dying of the light.
I’m starting to suspect the Ehrenberg-Bass Institute is just a cabal of Boomers conspiring to hold back progress so they can see out retirement without updating their skill set.
A great big ad, is better than spending money on useless online content that no one gives a s@#$ about.
People actually seek out these great ads to watch on youtube.
So they become great social and online content for these brands.
And as we know, digital and social content works if it’s done well – but right now, it’s not done well.
Unless you can match watchability of cats playing pianos and fail videos, then you’re just wasting your time.
And the current state of marketing departments strangling work with pillars, strategy and ‘ha but not haha’ caution to all work won’t let this be improved.
Bring back the big ad.