What makes a ‘great’ ad?
In this outtake of the Weekend Mumbo, Mumbrella's editor Olivia Kruimel questions what exactly makes an ad, or an advertising agency, 'great'.
The question is almost as old as the art of marketing itself (and yes I said art not science).
First we must get to the question of what is great? What is the measurement of great? Is it winning awards, is it sales increasing 100 fold, is it internal staff pride in the brand, is public praise, a pat on the back from the CEO?
So many variables.
Then we get to ad agencies, and the same questions come up again: what makes a great agency? Is it purely the quality of the output, the revenue, the staff morale or how many trophies they have on display at reception?
Earlier in the week, chief strategy officer at Ogilvy Australia, Ryan O’Connell, pointed out via his LinkedIn that by his count, “there are at least six agencies that could claim to be the Australian Ad Agency of the Year”.
Ryan O’Connell, chief strategy officer, Ogilvy Australia
They are:
- AdNews – BMF Australia
- Australian Effie Awards – The Monkeys
- AWARD – DDB Group Australia
- B&T – Howatson+Company
- Campaign Brief – Thinkerbell
- Campaign Asia – Ogilvy Australia
- Mumbrella – Thinkerbell
This week we also had what are considered the most famous creative awards for many in the world, The Academy Awards or Oscars.
Once again, many will see the Oscar winners and wonder – ‘Why did they choose that film, that actor, that script?’ I know I have.
As someone in the cinema industry said to me of the highly awarded ‘Everything Everywhere All At Once’: “It’s not for everyone”.
So, an unlikely front runner – and yet – it swept the awards.
Interestingly, the film did not launch at the usual Cannes or Venice Film Festivals. No, it launched at South by Southwest (SXSW). Where ad industry, film, gaming, social media and tech participants come together each year to share what’s happening in their worlds, what’s new – what’s hot, what’s the “next big thing”.
Source: SXSW
We were fortunate to have several industry participants on the ground at SXSW this year share their insights with us. One of the things I found quite intriguing was the op ed from Keep Left copywriter Ruby Gill, who mused that while all the ad and marketing industry participants are only interested in listening to each other – who is buying the products they are marketing?
Which brings me to the next observation from this week’s coverage. The launch of the newest Telstra ad from CMO Brent Smart and its agency The Monkeys (which is listed above for winning Effective Agency of the Year at the 2022 Australian Effie Awards).
Smart said on the Mumbrellacast following the release of the ad: “The number one job for marketers is to find distinctiveness.
“When I look at big brands in this country, a lot of them look and feel the same; and I’m always trying to find a distinctive way of speaking, distinctive way of going to market, so that we can stand apart from other big brands in the market.”
He added that he wanted Telstra to be the “leading brand in Australian culture” not just the leading telco.
CEO of The Monkeys, Mark Green, added that it was their job as the agency advising Telstra and Smart to find the “best insight, and the best truth, to connect the brand with the audience.”
“Trying to find new and interesting ways to keep it top of mind and present in Australian culture,” he added.
So, on one hand the ad industry is all about listening to consumers, and on the other it’s about listening to itself. That’s interesting – given the industry is regularly reprimanded for its lack of diversity.
Which brings me to another story that broke during the week – news that Thinkerbell (again in the six above this time for both Mumbrella and Campaign Brief) had won the creative account locally for Menulog after working on an ad with it last year that went on to win Nine’s State of Originality.
What I found really poignant about this appointment was that Thinkerbell was engaged to do the ad off-the-back of another ad by all accounts, failing.
Menulog’s Katy Perry ad launched during the first State of Origin and was slammed by viewers: ‘Angry footy fans want Katy Perry kicked off their TV screen during State of Origin’ wrote News.com.au, recently named Australia’s most read news website.
Menulog went in with a huge spend, a global superstar, a tried-and-tested ad format, it had previously used Snoop Dogg in its ads, and it failed. But what then transpired was genius – or you might say “great”.
Instead of burying their heads in the sand and pressing on with what would have been a wasted campaign – they listened, they reacted, they moved and quickly.
And the result was an ad starring Wendell Sailor that went on to win them $1 million in ad inventory across the Nine Entertainment ecosystem – and now, Thinkerbell has won a new account. A win/win for everyone.
But this is the thing about marketing which is what I alluded to at the start… It is an art. What one person loves, another doesn’t. What one person finds funny, another finds annoying. The secret is knowing when to listen and when to trust your gut. And that is what makes a great agency. They know when to push back against a client, or push ahead with the client. They won’t always align – but as we have seen – when it does – it reaps rewards for everyone.
Olivia Kruimel is editor at Mumbrella.
