Most people think of marketing as advertising, a way to sell a product. It is also a very important tool in politics, something residents in both the US and NZ will be familiar with, as both have major elections coming up in November. Politicians try to talk up their policies and experience, and talk down that of their opponents.
Even the current financial turmoil isn’t immune. According to some advertising experts, if the recent ‘bailout’ package had been labelled a rescue instead, Americans would have warmed to it more and it may have passed through the first time, alleviating some of the financial stress that was caused while plan b was being thought through.
They (we) constantly bust their (our) brains over which road is the road less traveled and why. Oftentimes, what makes madmen and women so damn mad is that while the crossroad torments us, there’s no other place we’d rather be.
The reason why is because we know that creation for us, is far more progressive than duplication. We know that while experience is massively important, it rarely tells us what to do. We should only give experience an extremely limited tip of the hat so that it merely informs us as to what to watch out for. To the creativity minded, which is apparent in all functioning facets of TimeZoneOne, merely existing on experience is like driving on tracks down the same road-over and over and over and over again. You’ll get there, you’ll be safe. You’ll be sound. And you’ll be bored.
Which brings me to something not at all boring: Madmen.
Madmen is a true crossroads drama in that its purpose is to entertain, delight, and inform the world of our business through fresh faces, fashion and film. It dares to be different. It dares to sidestep the status quo. It depicts those creative spirits who, with confidence, bravado, cigarettes, booze, and unbridled creativity in a world of unbridled new media (television, at the time) took the roads less traveled and won-big.
This show is a very well done reflection of real Madmen and Madwomen. Madness with real names-George Lois, Jerry Della Famina, Mary Wells, Sir Frank Lowe, and the Cohen Brothers of advertising, Saatchi and his younger brother Saatchi. The maddest of the mad men who set out to break the rules for these crazy, rule breaking bastards was Bill Bernbach.
The attached clip is a bit of work he lead that, like Robert Johnson, changed the way we do things today.
You”ll see the Levy’s Rye Bread work in this clip.
The line he created is “You don’t have to be Jewish to love Levy’s”.
Bernbach was Jewish. He made himself a sandwich of corn beef on two slices of Levy’s and wrote the line, “You don’t have to be Jewish to love Levy’s…because no Jew would ever eat this shit”.
He said the most creative thing we can do is tell the truth about what you’re trying to sell. If you can’t tell the truth, at least tell a half truth.
No matter how good your creative is if there is no emotional connection between product and consumer/client then chances are they aren’t going to buy it.
For an agency finding that connection can be a never ending quest. “Just Do It” is a phrase that has haunted agencies around the world since the 70′s as every client wants what Nike has and doesn’t understand why it isn’t an easy task to replicate that success. On the flipside sometimes it just clicks and generally it is the first idea you have which is the best, then comes the really hard part… trying to sell it in.
Advertising is all about the pitch, whether it been in the boardroom between agency and client or between the consumer and whatever form of advertising they are interacting with. The pitch can make or break a sale and most people in the business agree to make people really stand up and listen you need to tell a great story.
People love real-life stories, so telling your client a story about someone who identifies directly with their product including how their product can/will help them is bound to win points. A client/consumer needs to see the product in action, and the more exciting and emotive (yes, pour on the sugar) you can make it the better.
Obviously this isn’t the only thing which will “Just do it” for the client or the consumer, however it won’t hurt to invest time in making the product you are trying to sell real.
To round this off here is a bit of “pitch” magic from the TV series Mad Men demonstrating how a great story can really bring a product alive, in this case the Kodak slide projector...
Sex has been arm in arm (over leg) with advertising since advertising was advertising and taps into the most basic human emotions and instincts. In fact recent finding by the University of Michigan suggests that “no matter what a person’s status in life, he or she will always attempt to make an exchange of currency for sex” . No wonder agencies are all over it.Over recent years sexual content in advertising has become more frequent and almost commonplace (in some countries more than others) for its ability to capture the attention quickly and hold the viewer’s interest. However sexual content or reference in advertising is a tricky business as often the viewer will recall the humor or explicitness but not necessarily the brand or product.Here’s a few examples, see what you reckon…
The Olympics are almost here and loyal New Zealanders are getting behind our athletes with support and encouragement. Even one of our very own clients, Crocs, has become part of the New Zealand Olympic culture by adorning the feet of our athletes. So on this theme I’d like to share a fresh example of viral e-mail that I received on Friday, brought to you by Olympics NZ and Samsung. The clever concept behind this e-mail is that it appears to be a realistic NZ news site where, by answering a few key questions before sending it to your friends, you can personalize the video (sorry Hamish being on holiday put you closer to the scene of the crime than the rest of the business team). Oh…. and for our American viewers, the word ‘Togs’ is New Zealand slang for swimwear. Check it out using the link below.
