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J. Walter Thompson’s ‘intelligent peg’ branded not so intelligent

JWT won't comment on when Peggy will be released to the public

JWT won’t comment on when Peggy will be released to the public

J. Walter Thompson has gone silent on its Peggy prototype for Omo after the publicity stunt was called out by adman Rob Campbell in his blog.

The agency announced the weather predicting, app driven device which would tell people when to hang out the washing with a release last week.

The peg is a prototype with no date for a public release set while the Omo website simply takes expressions of interest from people.

Campbell, the north and southeast Asia regional head of planning for Weiden + Kennedy, rounded on the stunt in his blog, The Musings of an Opinionated Sod.Opinionated sod

The post, headlined:  Dear adland, we’re about solving problems that help business & society, not problems that help us put out another pointless PR article about another pointless, over engineered product, argues ‘Peggy’ is just an attempt by an agency to look interesting.

“I’m pissed because an agency have launched an ‘intelligent peg’ to help people know the best time to do their washing … based on a bunch of weather indicators,” Campbell wrote.

“This is not a problem that needs solving … or at least not via a fucking peg.”

“This is just another tragic and desperate attempt by an agency – and client, a client who has actually done really good work in the past – to look interesting.

“Well guess what, they don’t. They look desperate.

“Oh I’m sure they can make it sound great in their agency credentials …

“And we developed a peg that empowered people to maximise their day through weather aggregation technology.”

“… but anyone with half a brain will just snort in derision, that is if it ever sees the light of day because I have a sneaky suspicion this is more for award shows than anything the mass market will ever encounter.”

When approached for comment on Campbell’s criticisms and whether the campaign would be entered into award shows and when Peggy would be made publicly available a spokesperson for J. Walter Thompson said: “JWT declines to comment”.

In the release announcing the peg, JWT Sydney group digital creative director Jay Morgan said the device was a display of the agency’s innovation.

“Ideas like this not only garner interest and engagement from our client’s customers but they add new value to their business outside of successful marketing campaign,” Morgan said.

“It’s been a great journey developing the product with our client, who are excited about the future potential of Peggy and the role she plays in the home.”

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