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Boss of the agency behind the jacket video: don’t be naive – you can still be playful

adam-ferrierThe boss of the agency behind the girl-and-a-jacket fake video claims that the campaign has been a huge success which the client is delighted with, while some of its critics are being “naive”.

This morning fashion brand Witchery finally came clean about being behind the hoax, in which an actress appeared in a video claiming she was looking for a man who had left his new jacket in a cafe.

Adam Ferrier, managing partner of Sydney-based Naked Communications, today told Mumbrella: “It was a classic tease-and-release strategy. We are extremely pleased with the results and so is the client. They are excited. People are going into Witchery stores and asking about it. When you have an established brand that is launching something new, you need to create something that has talkability. The media spend has been zero.”

Referring to criticism that consumers would feel that the brand had misled them, he said there was a place for fantasy and drama within communications. He said: “I totally agree with the social media commentators that brands need to be authentic these days, but that does not mean they cannot be playful. If it gets to the point where you have to be 100% truthful the whole time, it becomes a very sterile outcome. People will be afraid to try different things.”

Asked about whether a further stage of the campaign had been planned, he said: “I’m not going to say any more about it.”

He said that much of the criticism of the strategy came because the agency involved was Naked. He said: “Naked is one of the few brands that operates in the communications sector. Like all good brands we are polarising. That creates comment, reaction and results. Too many agencies who consults on brands have not created brands for themselves.”

And he also put up a posting on his own blog today, in which he said: “I think people with a history in social media who want careers in marketing and communications should get educated in the broader aspects of human behaviour and marketing. Please. Some of the comments people are making in this space are at best naive.”

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