Today I'll be blogging about a film, appropriately named, Bad Writing. Vernon Lot will be taking us through his journey to ask questions about writing - the good, the bad, and everything in between. You can learn more about the film here.
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Sunday, March 27, 2011
Copy Cats Aplenty
It's time to call out a few copycats for their work in ad campaigns circulating around the globe. The fact is, great ads do exist - and they are quickly copied by agencies that are, for one reason or another, too busy to create original work of their own. This concept concerns and confuses me.
Everyone recognize this classic?
You can easily see how the Mac vs PC ads evolved from this series.
But now that the Mac ads have become so popular, other companies are attempting to use the same exact format against Apple:
This just makes T-mobile look extremely unoriginal (and worthy of being bought out by AT&T)
Advertising is the art of creating a pliable framework for your company's unique selling point to thrive. Where's the excitement, thought, or integrity in rearranging aspects of existing campaigns to fit your needs? I believe that individuals in the advertising industry shouldn't thrive on the originality of their peers or simply revamp existing campaigns. I acknowledge the merit that exists in browsing current trends, but I think that outright copying an existing ad's theme is just cheep and sad.
Recently, I noticed another series of ads reminiscent of the unequivocally popular Old Spice campaign, as seen here:
Direct TV has created a sadder and slower version of the randomly funny Old Spice commercial with their new ads:
Although I think that the comparison of Direct TV to Old Spice does not create as clear of a connection, I think it's important to show that Direct TV hasn't come up with anything significantly moving or relevant to this particular product. They are trying to use current trends in humor to promote a product today, in a style similar to the Old Spice campaign that was recently made so popular.
Old Spice and Apple have campaigns that will be talked about years from now because they're the ones that are truly original. I believe that the remaining ads are what cause people to mock advertising as an art and as a career - so, with any luck, I will be striving to dispel these stereotypes in my own work.
Everyone recognize this classic?
You can easily see how the Mac vs PC ads evolved from this series.
But now that the Mac ads have become so popular, other companies are attempting to use the same exact format against Apple:
This just makes T-mobile look extremely unoriginal (and worthy of being bought out by AT&T)
Advertising is the art of creating a pliable framework for your company's unique selling point to thrive. Where's the excitement, thought, or integrity in rearranging aspects of existing campaigns to fit your needs? I believe that individuals in the advertising industry shouldn't thrive on the originality of their peers or simply revamp existing campaigns. I acknowledge the merit that exists in browsing current trends, but I think that outright copying an existing ad's theme is just cheep and sad.
Recently, I noticed another series of ads reminiscent of the unequivocally popular Old Spice campaign, as seen here:
Direct TV has created a sadder and slower version of the randomly funny Old Spice commercial with their new ads:
Although I think that the comparison of Direct TV to Old Spice does not create as clear of a connection, I think it's important to show that Direct TV hasn't come up with anything significantly moving or relevant to this particular product. They are trying to use current trends in humor to promote a product today, in a style similar to the Old Spice campaign that was recently made so popular.
Old Spice and Apple have campaigns that will be talked about years from now because they're the ones that are truly original. I believe that the remaining ads are what cause people to mock advertising as an art and as a career - so, with any luck, I will be striving to dispel these stereotypes in my own work.
Saturday, March 19, 2011
Trying hard to hardly try
Artists Oli + Alex, who have experienced prior internet meme-dom, have recently worked on some more traditional viral exploits. Their work with Brylcreem reminds us that hair care product ads for men don't need to feature the shirtless brawn or flashy flip-kicks that we've become so used to as Americans:
Of course, ironically, this ad took an incomprehensible amount of effort to shoot.
The production team first created some buzz about Brylcreem in their casting exploits, seeking out talent for both music and trick production. The commercial itself has risen in viral stardom (by a few thousand views on Vimeo and a few hundred thousand on Youtube) in the last few weeks, rounded out nicely by a behind-the-scenes documentary about the journey of the lead stuntman through his training and filming:
Of course, ironically, this ad took an incomprehensible amount of effort to shoot.
The production team first created some buzz about Brylcreem in their casting exploits, seeking out talent for both music and trick production. The commercial itself has risen in viral stardom (by a few thousand views on Vimeo and a few hundred thousand on Youtube) in the last few weeks, rounded out nicely by a behind-the-scenes documentary about the journey of the lead stuntman through his training and filming:
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Happy Horrors
Having just finished a campaign about antacids, I thought I would be repulsed by seeing another campaign for pharmaceuticals - but this visually stunning work by Saatchi and Saatchi Cape Town is definitely an exception.
This print campaign for Mebucaine sore throat relief tablets is really quite beautiful. It reminds me of how individuals in the advertising industry spoke about the colorful Apple iPod ads when they were first released, or the origins of advertising itself. Advertising really can be more than just a good headline here and there. At times, it's a work of art.
These pieces really appeal to a modern sense of design, using distressed images, quirky situations, and intricate typography. I think it appeals to all demographics because of the nature of current design trends, but also harkens to a day when sideshows like this were more prevalent.
Lastly, I think it's important to note that there is still some great Copywriting happening here. "Escape the Mouth of Horrors" brilliantly sums up the campaign and the mission of the product.
This print campaign for Mebucaine sore throat relief tablets is really quite beautiful. It reminds me of how individuals in the advertising industry spoke about the colorful Apple iPod ads when they were first released, or the origins of advertising itself. Advertising really can be more than just a good headline here and there. At times, it's a work of art.
These pieces really appeal to a modern sense of design, using distressed images, quirky situations, and intricate typography. I think it appeals to all demographics because of the nature of current design trends, but also harkens to a day when sideshows like this were more prevalent.
Lastly, I think it's important to note that there is still some great Copywriting happening here. "Escape the Mouth of Horrors" brilliantly sums up the campaign and the mission of the product.
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Foreign Pop Culture Equals Viral Gold
Here's an interesting campaign that takes pop culture influence from Singapore and translates it into an American viral video goldmine. The basic idea is that each visitor to the site gets the opportunity to guess what the dog will choose from the new BK snacking quick pick menu.
Countless TV shows have popularized those quirky game shows from Asia involving contestants going through crazy stunts in wacky outfits. This new series from BK Singapore uses that same game show style to promote the various menu options available at Burger King all day long:
Scoreboard at the end depicting results? Check!
Now it's time to post the series of resulting videos on YouTube and wait for Americans to get a whiff of something they're bound to pass on to their friends and family. I think that this concept will come in handy the next time I need to come up with a crazy viral video idea. What's great is that it takes very generic influence from the aforementioned game shows while containing 100% original content, rather than just pulling visual and conceptual elements from existing advertising campaigns. Bravo BK Singapore.
Countless TV shows have popularized those quirky game shows from Asia involving contestants going through crazy stunts in wacky outfits. This new series from BK Singapore uses that same game show style to promote the various menu options available at Burger King all day long:
Fun, peppy music? Check
Cute dog in a silly costume? Check
Scoreboard at the end depicting results? Check!
Now it's time to post the series of resulting videos on YouTube and wait for Americans to get a whiff of something they're bound to pass on to their friends and family. I think that this concept will come in handy the next time I need to come up with a crazy viral video idea. What's great is that it takes very generic influence from the aforementioned game shows while containing 100% original content, rather than just pulling visual and conceptual elements from existing advertising campaigns. Bravo BK Singapore.
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