Also a sense of humour helps. See link in the headline for a wonderful ad we did at Y&R.
A bit sexist...but then there is nothing wrong with being sexy. It was immediately banned by the TV stations of course which gave us lots of free PR.
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Motorhead...& Making your mind up
Motorhead was the first concert I ever went to. It was 2 hours of ear-splitting noise. Recently someone in London had the brilliant idea of getting Lemmy to slow down "Ace of Spades" for a beer commercial. See link in the headline.
Years ago we used to amuse ourselves by imagining Frank Sinatra singing swing versions of Motorhead songs ...or even better "Whole Lotta Rosie" by AC/DC. Other greats would be Tom Waits doing the Wombles theme or Morrissey doing "I wanna be like you" from the Jungle book.
But the greatest would be Bob Dylan singing Bucks Fizz. With Dylan's sandpaper & glue voice the words would sound significant & deeply philosophical. "You've gotta speed it up, you've gotta slow it down...cos if you believe that a love can hit the top, you've gotta play around. And then you will find. There comes a time. For making your mind up."
Years ago we used to amuse ourselves by imagining Frank Sinatra singing swing versions of Motorhead songs ...or even better "Whole Lotta Rosie" by AC/DC. Other greats would be Tom Waits doing the Wombles theme or Morrissey doing "I wanna be like you" from the Jungle book.
But the greatest would be Bob Dylan singing Bucks Fizz. With Dylan's sandpaper & glue voice the words would sound significant & deeply philosophical. "You've gotta speed it up, you've gotta slow it down...cos if you believe that a love can hit the top, you've gotta play around. And then you will find. There comes a time. For making your mind up."
Monday, January 17, 2011
Just Say No...
...to Airlines & Tourist boards. They are always a nightmare. The budget may appear large but it is spread across 100+ countries & is therefore tiny in each market. And Tourist boards are usually Government organisations so they have hellish bureaucracy & call a pitch every year.
Other clients to avoid if possible are local clients in Eastern Europe. These tend to be organisations that did not hear the Berlin Wall fall. They make the Byzantine Empire look like a model of efficiency & transparency. Their indecision is final.
I once had a pitch meeting with a Russian mineral water company. I didn't want to win it as we already had Nestle & Danone. I also had a bad experience with a local drink company in Poland.
Admittedly our presentation wasn't perfect. The client service director suggested print, the creative director showed some posters & I had a vision....television. We didn't win the business. The client thought that we didn't show "teamwork." A strange conclusion. I thought we demonstrated a remarkable ability to work across different media.
I was in trouble with the suits. But I offered the humble opinion that if their company was any good it would be bought by Nestle or Danone.
Nestle bought them 6 months later.
Other clients to avoid if possible are local clients in Eastern Europe. These tend to be organisations that did not hear the Berlin Wall fall. They make the Byzantine Empire look like a model of efficiency & transparency. Their indecision is final.
I once had a pitch meeting with a Russian mineral water company. I didn't want to win it as we already had Nestle & Danone. I also had a bad experience with a local drink company in Poland.
Admittedly our presentation wasn't perfect. The client service director suggested print, the creative director showed some posters & I had a vision....television. We didn't win the business. The client thought that we didn't show "teamwork." A strange conclusion. I thought we demonstrated a remarkable ability to work across different media.
I was in trouble with the suits. But I offered the humble opinion that if their company was any good it would be bought by Nestle or Danone.
Nestle bought them 6 months later.
Friday, January 14, 2011
James Bond was a Virgin
Click on the headline for another epic commercial from Y&R. The same agency that brought you the Pirelli ad at the bottom of the page.
Strange how it's taken the creatives 40 years to come up with something decent instead of the usual Cadbury's Milk Tray/Austin Powers type of Bondage. And if you want to see the history of British advertising simply click on the link on the left hand side of the blog - Popular Posts - "The History of Advertising.
Strange how it's taken the creatives 40 years to come up with something decent instead of the usual Cadbury's Milk Tray/Austin Powers type of Bondage. And if you want to see the history of British advertising simply click on the link on the left hand side of the blog - Popular Posts - "The History of Advertising.
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Sunday, January 9, 2011
A Nesty Lunch with the Economist
In the late 90's I met the Moscow correspondent for the Economist. At this time most expats were enjoying their high salaries & the low life of casinos & prostitutes.
We agreed that Russia in the 90's was corrupt, disgusting, decadent & dependent on oil. It was heading for a crash. Not too different from Russia today actually. We got along famously.
He agreed to meet with our clients to tell them what he would be writing about Russia. I invited our 2 major blue chip clients for "Lunch with the Economist." The first client arranged a private room in a restaurant near their office within 2 weeks. They invited their entire board. They also brought along their supervisory board from Switzerland who were in Moscow that week.
The second Blue Chip client took 6 months to arrange a simple meeting between their GM & my friend at the Economist. I wasn't invited.
But I was at the first lunch. My friend told the Nesty client that he believed Russia was a terrible place to invest. He told them that they should put their money in China & India instead. He told them that Putin was a KGB man, didn't understand capitalism or democracy and would suppress free speech.
At the end of the meeting the Nesty client expressed their gratitude for his opinions, even though they disagreed, & offered him a gift of their finest products.
My friend thanked them but said that he couldn't possibly accept. It was against the Economist's rules for journalists to take presents from companies.
"But I'll happily give it to my cleaning lady" he announced.
We agreed that Russia in the 90's was corrupt, disgusting, decadent & dependent on oil. It was heading for a crash. Not too different from Russia today actually. We got along famously.
He agreed to meet with our clients to tell them what he would be writing about Russia. I invited our 2 major blue chip clients for "Lunch with the Economist." The first client arranged a private room in a restaurant near their office within 2 weeks. They invited their entire board. They also brought along their supervisory board from Switzerland who were in Moscow that week.
The second Blue Chip client took 6 months to arrange a simple meeting between their GM & my friend at the Economist. I wasn't invited.
But I was at the first lunch. My friend told the Nesty client that he believed Russia was a terrible place to invest. He told them that they should put their money in China & India instead. He told them that Putin was a KGB man, didn't understand capitalism or democracy and would suppress free speech.
At the end of the meeting the Nesty client expressed their gratitude for his opinions, even though they disagreed, & offered him a gift of their finest products.
My friend thanked them but said that he couldn't possibly accept. It was against the Economist's rules for journalists to take presents from companies.
"But I'll happily give it to my cleaning lady" he announced.
Saturday, January 8, 2011
The Best Education System in the World
As Jill Blenkinsopp used to tell me, "never argue over a fact." Finland & South Korea still head the table.
Click on the headline to find out where your country comes.
Click on the headline to find out where your country comes.
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