About

Marketing is becoming ever more prevalent with brands now attempting to influence us in all walks of life with the newest, most penetrating and ideally “original” methods possible. Sometimes this barrage can escalate itself into a bit of sensory overload, we need a little brain digestion session. This blog serves as just that, a chance to separate the wheat from the chaff and highlight was has really been grabbing my attention.

“What about you?” I hear you ask… well there’s the the usual stats and  hobbies; 2 legs, 8 fingers, rugby, music, spending more money than I have and, of course, world peace. I play the drums and most of the time the sticks are in my hands I’m aspiring to be this guy – Fabrizo Moretti – the drummer for the New York indie band The Strokes! With a Brazilian Mum, Italian Dad and a repertoire of instruments mastered longer than my arm, this guy is one cool cat.

…However with an undefined number of years of practice ahead of me and the distinct lack of any leather jackets in my wardrobe, more often than not you’ll find me making myself looking rather “simple” and being an all round sucker for subliminal messaging. But hey, that’s cool too yeah?!

 

Gumshield face test.

Bloomin Nora! Can’t argue with their closing statement.

Nike: Just Do It — Possibilities

Nike make awesome ads, fact! Big names, plenty of funding, catchy song riffs (supplied here by The Kills) and a powerful brand slogan genuinely give off a real call to action and can tempt even the most seasoned of couch potatoes off the sofa*.

*May require additional Dutch courage to ride a rhino.

End Marmite Neglect

Personally I love it!

Questlove

Currently sitting at the top of my cool list is Questlove. Known primarily as the drummer for The Roots, Questlove is now the in-house band for Late Night with Jimmy Fallon and in his spare time he produces records for the likes of Jay-Z and Al Green…need i explain myself anymore?

Philpis LED tourchlights

Clever little add showing the power of the new LED torches from Philips. Their product here is light so where better to capture that than during the day. Any body know the equivalent number of candles you need to match the sun? Nah, me neither!

Hyundais Pipe Job

As we speak Hyundai are sat in a dark room curling their toes over in cringe drenched regret as their recent advert for their new hydrogen fueled car has virally exploded for the wrong reasons. It has all the makings of a staff training scenario entitled “How to create a PR disaster really really quickly”. A man is depicted attempting to kill himself by inhaling his car fumes but with the only thing coming out the exhaust being 100% water vapour he is soon seen at the end of the advert opening the garage door to allow the steam out.

It is undeniable that this ad has been received with a very negative response, however, by our own human nature gazillions of intrigued individuals have watched the advert and are discussing it’s peculiar approach, It was even listed as “ad of the day” on the drum marketing website for a short time!

Whatever your opinions on this advert it is questionable that had they not have caused such a huge negative response, would they have managed to evoke a fraction of the talk-ability and exposure this viral ad has given them? Is this a case of “any press is good press”?

Next time I’m on the market for a environmentally friendly car you can guarantee that the Hyundai will be the first car I think of, so in that respect can this advert be seen as a success?

Shoes Keep It Clean, Sneakers Get Dirty

Converse have long been seen as the rock stars staple choice for footwear, an image Converse have embraced over the years with many of their recent campaigns giving a big jab in the ribs to the “clean shoe” and encouraging us to adopt this rough and ready icon that can be found at the bottom of many a mosh pit.

The “Get Dirty” movement is bring together the bands that are stripping music back to its roots, and the people that are happy to throw themselves in head first and emerge on the other side with a few grazes, ringing in the ears and an absolute certainty they would do it all again if they could.

To encapsulate this ethos Converse have a series of free gigs crashing around Europe which is due to land in London’s “The 100 Club” on the 17th April for 3 nights with headline acts including The Cribs, Ghostface Killah, and Gallows which are sure to stir up the “dirty” shoed crowd into a frenzy.

To be in for a chance to get your hands on some free tickets just register with converse…that’s marketing 101 folks.

Don’t think. Th…

“Don’t think. Thinking is the enemy of creativity. It’s self-conscious, and anything self-conscious is lousy. You can’t try to do things. You simply must do things.”

Ray Bradbury

Southern Comfort – Whatever’s comfortable

Weiden + Kennedy broke from tradition and the usual approach you would expect for a spirit drinks campaign. Unlike many, where visually blessed models sip on perfectly constructed cocktails in some cooler than life, action packed party, here, we are greeted with an impressively sized gut strutting down the beach like a don. Only a set of skimpy trunks and dress shoes are exhibited to leave little to the imagination – a perfect personification of the tag line “whatever’s comfortable”.

Oxo – The Magic Cube

I don’t know about you but I love the taste of well seasoned ballet shoes mixed up with some skipping rope handles, buttons and plenty of crushed wool… Well, maybe after the magic Oxo cube has transformed the contents of “that random top draw” we all have into a taste sensation!

Oxo’s latest collaboration with animator PES is the first piece of work released by JWT since they won the account last year. it’s comparable to the Lurpak campaign in a sense that both have managed to find an alternative and creative approach to advertising a food product. There are so many generic and monotonous “badverts” out there which appear to have had little or no creative thought thrown at it that it’s always refreshing to see an advert that can break from the all to common mould.