Lament for the Radio Ad Jungle

I have always made the point that nobody ever sends radio ads to their friends. But this morning I broke the rule.... although it was a Philips ad from 1982, the most recent brilliant radio commercial - see BBC article in the headline link if you want to hear it.

A Fable of Failure

I read a brilliant book this summer; Adapt - Why success always starts with failure by Tim Harford. In the book Mr. Harford argues that most successful ideas had to struggle through years of rejection, humiliation & condemnation until they adapted & finally succeeded.

This reminded me of my long painful journey to get Russians to send postcards. It's been 6 years of heartache. The original idea was from Sweden. The idea was to have beautiful free postcards available in the trendiest bars & restaurants. To stop clients from turning the cards into marketing briefs there was a simple rule - the logo has to go on the back. This is actually better for the client as their brand will appear next to a personal message from the sender to the recipient. The idea was so brilliant that it soon spread to London, Barcelona & other cities.

But when it came to Moscow it was immediately ruined by marketing people who insisted that their logo go on the front - turning a lovely postcard into an ugly ad.

6 years ago I was sitting in a bar, as I sometimes do, waiting for a late client - as I always do, when I realised there was an easy way to improve this medium. Add a stamp. As Russia is a rather large country & stamps are cheap this was the media opportunity of a lifetime. I checked in the office and it turned out that stamps for postcards were less than 4 rubles - around 20c at the time.

We launched the idea in Cafe Mania (see film in the headline link) and then I waited for the creative agencies to bring me their wonderful ideas.... and waited.... and waited. Nothing happened.

For the last 6 years I've been trying to sell this idea to clients & creatives with no success. But then a friend pointed out that we should use the internet to 'crowd source' the project. So I established a group on Facebook and waited for the marvellous images to appear.... and waited...and waited.

We have 10 places available. So far by bribing & threatening people I've managed to gather seven decent images. I still have 3 places free. It was easier getting penguins in the zoo in Poland than putting postcards (with stamps) in bars in Russia.

Today the cost of a stamp for a postcard in Russia, to travel from Central Europe to near Alaska & Japan, has risen dramatically to 10 rubles, or 30c.

Long Way Round

Click on the headline to see Ewan McGregor singing U2's 'Running to Stand Still' while circling the globe on a motorbike. If you haven't seen 'Long Way Round' contact me on pgarethbrown@gmail.com & I'll sell you a copy for only 750 rubles.

Miracle on the Bosphorus

Posted a lot of old adverts here & quite a few music & movie clips but I've rarely posted Sports videos. That is quite an omission as Sport is crucial in media. Something Murdoch always understood; you can't timeshift Sports.

The headline link leads to the highlights of the greatest night of my life. When Liverpool won their 5th European cup after being 0-3 down at half-time. This fifth victory allowed Anfield to keep the trophy forever.

For me the event was particularly miraculous as several bizarre coincidences led to the moment of triumph. The great English novelist David Lodge noted that coincidences happen all the time in life but are not allowed in fiction. He also observed that fiction is all about sex & less about children; life is the other way around.

In 2004 I had been visiting my great friend & favourite client in Paris where he was terminally ill. I had treated myself to first class on the Eurostar train for the journey. As the train pulled out of Gare du Nord for my return trip the bag of the lady opposite fell down, nearly hitting me. She said "sorry" to which I replied "don't worry... I'm not American.. I won't sue you." She laughed and said in a clear New York accent "yeah, we're really bad now aren't we." First coincidence.

Thus began our brief encounter. I moved to sit next to her as we were getting along so famously. Being first class we had lunch together on the train & then shared a taxi once we arrived in London. It transpired that she was the literary agent of Dennis Lehane, the writer of Mystic River, Gone Baby Gone & Shutter Island.

A year or so later my new American literary friend asked me if I could do her a favour & meet Dennis while he was doing a book tour in Poland. This was like asking me if I could 'do her a favour' & meet Van Morrison, Kenny Dalglish or Sir Sean Connery. We agreed that I would join Dennis for a few jars at the Kempinski hotel in Warsaw on the 2nd April 2005. I took my Ukrainian-American friend Ed Assarabowski along with me in case it turned out that Mr. Lehane was the introverted lonely writer type. I needn't have worried as Dennis was Boston Irish & was blessed with the gift of the gab.

Mr. Lehane wasn't in his room when we arrived at the hotel so we thought we would wander down the street to the main church where the vigil was being held for the dying Polish Pope, Karol Jozef Wojtyla. Within minutes of our arrival the Pope died. Second coincidence.

We returned to the hotel, located Mr. Lehane & spent a marvellous evening discussing the wonderful Pope, working with Clint Eastwood and the Beantown based TV show 'Cheers.'

Three weeks later Liverpool were in the final of the European Cup, a minor miracle in itself. As every football fan knows we were losing 0-3 at half time to Berlusconi's AC Milan. But during the break it was our supporters who were singing the loudest.

Perhaps thanks to the extraordinary rendition of "You'll Never Walk Alone" our team was inspired to score 3 goals in 6 minutes. This forced extra time. In the dying seconds Andriy Shevchenko went clear, one on one, with Jerzy Dudek our Polish keeper. Dudek blocked the first shot but was faced with a second at point-blank range. Somehow he raised a hand & the ball went flying upwards to safety.

In the penalty shoot-out it came down to Shevchenko vs. Dudek for the third time in 10 minutes. Dudek saved again & Liverpool were Champions. Dudek later credited the Pope, who was also a goalkeeper, with the miracle of the double save. Coincidence number three.

I found out later that my friend Stephane had lost his long battle with cancer at around the time of the match. Coincidence number four.

I am not a religious person but 4 major coincidences does suggest a miracle. Or perhaps David Lodge is on the wiser side of statistics.

Campaign Madness

First they slowed down Motorhead.... now they've Froggy-fied Madness (see headline link) Ladies & Gentlemen.... a campaign is born. Let us pray that they can persuade Bob Dylan to cover Making your Mind Up by Bucks Fizz.

The Big Easy

I haven't mentioned Jill Blenkinsopp for a while & I feel that is remiss of me. As keen readers will know Miss B was the main target for my imaginative wind-ups. But if she wasn't available I would sharpen my skills with media owners.

Admittedly this was a poor substitute as media owners are selling to buyers & will therefore put up with a lot of grief whilst trying to hawk their wares.

My boss James Whitmore would take them to McDonald's on Camden high street if they wanted "lunch". I wouldn't go that far but I would find inappropriate locations depending on the rep involved. Our representative for the Radio Times was a classic chintzy "twin set & pearls" type so I took her to a Rastafarian cafe in Notting Hill.

My favourite ruse though was when a client sent me a bottle of Jack Daniels for Christmas. This was a 1.5 litre optic normally used in bars. When I met with media reps I would offer them the option of "tea, coffee.... or JD." They were always shocked by this choice & politely declined.

I would then say, "you don't mind if I have one do you" as I took the giant flask from my desk.

Quantum of Solace

Possiby the worst Bond film & certainly the worst title. But this song (link in headline) "Solace of You" by Living Colour is probably the greatest song that wasn't a major hit. Is it because they is too colourful...? Or is the word "Solace" a curse...?

Let My Love Open The Door

A quick music break between posts. Click on the headline.

Copywriting is nothing without great Art Direction

There was an Art Director at Y&R called Graeme Norways who would travel up from Cornwall every week to think up brilliant posters. These included the Pirelli "Carl Lewis in high heels" at the bottom of the page & the Hush Puppies dogs series.

By bizarre co-incidence the inspiration for the Hush Puppies work was the Russian-American photographer Elliott Erwitt; the man who overheard Krushchev say to Nixon, "go fuck my grandmother."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/2003/dec/27/photography

Soviet Advertising in the headline link

How the Cold War was won ;) The West had better consumer goods. Or as Nikita Sergeyevich Krushchev allegedly said to Nixon in 1959 on seeing a 'typical' American kitchen; "Go fuck my grandmother!" See wikipedia "Kitchen Debate" for more details

Pink Ponies