Direct response banners can be fun

I thought this was a well targeted and well executed campaign to bring to life Barclays' sponsorship of the Premiership.


Too many clients believe that direct response banners don't need an idea, and that ideas and response are mutually exclusive. I even had a client once say that because we proposed an idea in a banner it was no longer a direct response ad, but instead brand response. Sorry, but if it has your logo in the ad, it is brand response. Their is no such thing as direct response without brand.



Here, Dare have skilfully employed a strong sponsorship property and offer with a clever promotional mechanic and nice bit of technology to boot in order to dynamically generate the code. Best of all its nice and simple.

Inauguration fun

It wouldn't be right not to put something on here about the inauguration. So here goes.

First off a really fascinating photo, taken from a space satellite that allows you to try and make sense of the scale of the crowd/event,


Secondly, I love a contextual ad and a topical one is the next best thing - this is great work from Veet.

How do Goo queue for yours?

Walking to work this morning I saw this interactive ad shell on Tottenham Court road Bus Shelter - with a nice touch screen interactive game for Cadbury Creme Egg. Nice little time killer, and seems to fit with their glass and a half full productions philosophy of spontaneous moments of joy.





Although it cheered me up, it also made me think Advertising for Easter sure starts early these days.

You Tube Interactive Game

I just saw this on Digg - you can play Street Fighter II on You tube with a series of linked video's that respond to interactive buttons in the video.



This is very cool, a bit clunky but once you press the key - it loads up another video (there are 100 videos on the sequence) and it then shows your attack. If you fail to press a button in a certain time then the opponent video plays.

Really nice application of interactive video technology, and lots of hard work - over 500k+ views in less than 4 days tells me its worked.

I know how to fold a T-shirt in less than 2 secs - so how come I never do?

What the hell am I going on about now? Well its probably a bad example but I've been struggling with the question of changing consumer behavior and how mass awareness can and cannot affect it.

I, like about well over 10,000,000+ other people have seen the following video online several times:



There are over a 100 different versions of it and people have made tutorials etc BUT despite its relative success in terms of views NO ONE I KNOW FOLDS THEIR T-SHIRTS THIS WAY? Why not, its more efficient, has a certain fun factor to it and looks pretty cool.

Here is where I struggle with the Awareness:Change of Behavior dynamic. I watched the video and I said that is good, it's a better way of doing it than i already do and despite that I still fold T-shirts badly in a conventional haphazard manner if I bother to fold them at all. So creating awareness is possible but changing an ingrained behavior is so much harder even when its right, or has a benefit to me. Maybe we need to concentrate more in the ultimate benefit and not just on the process to effect change?

Anyway, I'm interested in changing behavior through interaction online. If I work out how to do this more often I think it will be a good thing.

BBC 6 Music Street Art TV Commercial - Strangely Familiar

I have seen this TV ad for BBC 6 music a couple of times now - it is very good and works really well with the soundtrack - RKCR did a nice job on it and I like it.




But it does remind me of a Brazilian Street Art video I saw about 4 months back, who use this time lapse technique and make crazy/cool animated videos all done in a single day. Maybe RKCR used these guys to do the ad - the style is very similar. They are called Blu.


MUTO a wall-painted animation by BLU from blu on Vimeo.

T-Mobile Flash Mob Ad

It seems flash mobbing is back - this time T-Mobile has shot an ad on Liverpool St Station yesterday and it will be online tonight at 9.10 on Channel 4 in the Big Brother show - and it's a recession busting 60 sec extravaganza.



There is also a site counting down to the time the ad will be simultaneously broadcast on TV and on a T Mobile branded You Tube Channel



It looks like the idea is based on 'life is good for sharing', T-Mobile is the conduit to sharing your life with others etc.

There are a number of videos showing the making of and public reactions to the dance - let's see how it goes down.

Whopper Sacrifie - Sacrificed

Sad news that the BK Whopper sacrifice campaign has been pulled - apparently over 300k friends were sacrificed for a Whopper in only a few days. However, Facebook have claimed that the mechanic which emailed sacrificed friends letting them know they had been 'sacrificed' for a Whopper breached privacy laws?



Said Facebook spokesman David Swain: "After constructive conversations with Burger King and the developer of the application, they have decided to conclude their campaign rather than continue with the restrictions we placed on their application."

And from Burger King's perspective: "Ultimately, based on philosophical differences, we decided to conclude the campaign and chose to 'sacrifice' the application," said company spokeswoman Katie Boylan, surely with a straight face.

It's a shame when legislation that is set to protect us, begins to get in the way of people having a bit of fun - not to mention a great campaign. At least BK kept their sense of humor on this one.

Oh well - it definitely created a lot of buzz

The Complete History of Marketing in 3 mins!

All in a 3 min beautifully executed video - brilliant for pitches


A short history of marketing from Michael Reissinger on Vimeo.

Expect to see this at several conferences this year.

A Square Meal at Spike

A little bit like a 'Synthetic Fry up' or a 'Tasting Menu' but made solely of crisps and other nasty stuff that comes out of plastic bags. What you get when you let 20 Techies loose in Sainsbury's.

When your browser's, web address bar becomes creative

For years copywriters and earnest clients have spent many a long hour finding an available url that peaks the interest of the client or is relevant to the brand. Well now Sixt the German hire car company have taken browser address bars and urls to a new level of creativity - courtesy of the splendid Adverlab blog.

Here the Sixt guysa have created a new format of advertising on a 3rd party site, that has cars racing across the address bar using ascii characters, then a brand message - clever boys

Top 101 Most Influential people who NEVER lived

I was going to write a boring post about the new laws on email privacy in the UK and the fact that China will be increasing its censorship of the internet. It certainly has a certain degree of irony that we are spying on our citizens almost as much as the Chinese are restricting theirs!

Anyway I looked up Big brother (the Orwellian not Endemolian) and followed an intriguing link to something much more fun - this book.



It's just for fun but Big Brother is in there, but its just as much fun to see how many marketing/ product and advertising characters are too.

1. The Marlboro Man
2. Big Brother
3. King Arthur
4. Santa Claus (St. Nick)
5. Hamlet
6. Dr. Frankenstein's Monster
7. Siegfried
8. Sherlock Holmes
9. Romeo and Juliet
10. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
11. Uncle Tom
12. Robin Hood
13. Jim Crow
14. Oedipus
15. Lady Chatterly
16. Ebenezer Scrooge
17. Don Quixote
18. Mickey Mouse
19. The American Cowboy
20. Prince Charming
21. Smokey Bear
22. Robinson Crusoe
23. Apollo and Dionysus
24. Odysseus
25. Nora Helmer
26. Cinderella
27. Shylock
28. Rosie the Riveter
29. Midas
30. Hester Prynne
31. The Little Engine That Could
32. Archie Bunker
33. Dracula
34. Alice in Wonderland
35. Citizen Kane
36. Faust
37. Figaro
38. Godzilla
39. Mary Richards
40. Don Juan
41. Bambi
42. William Tell
43. Barbie
44. Buffy the Vampire Slayer
45. Venus and Cupid
46. Prometheus
47. Pandora
48. G. I. Joe
49. Tarzan
50. Captain Kirk and Mr. Spock

51. James Bond

52. Hansel and Gretel

53. Captain Ahab

54. Rick Blaine

55. Ugly Duckling

56. Loch Ness Monster (Nessie)

57. Atticus Finch

58. Valentine (St)

59. Helen (of Troy)

60. Batman

61. Uncle Sam

62. Nancy Drew

63. J. R. Ewing

64. Superman

65. Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn

66. HAL 9000 (2001: A Space Odyssey)

67. Kermit the Frog

68. Sam Spade

69. Pied Piper

70. Peter Pan

71. Hiawatha

72. Othello

73. The Little Tramp

74. King Kong

75. Norman Bates

76. Hercules (Heracles)

77. Dick Tracy

78. Joe Camel

79. Cat in the Hat

80. Icarus

81. Mammy

82. Sindbad

83. Amos 'n' Andy

84. Buck Rogers (incl. Flash Gordon)

85. Luke Skywalker

86. Perry Mason

87. Dr. Strangelove

88. Pygmalion

89. Madame Butterfly

90. Hans Beckert

91. Dorothy Gale (Wizard of Oz)

92. Wandering Jew

93. Jay Gatsby

94. Buck (Jack London - Call of the Wild)

95. Willy Loman

96. Betty Boop

97. Ivanhoe

98. Elmer Gantry

99. Lilith

100. John Doe

101. Paul Bunyan

BK Whopper Sacrifice

WOW! those guys at Burger King are in the news everyday for cranking out cool digital work at the moment.



In order to get a free Whopper you have to sacrifice (give up) 10 of your so called friends in face book (not much of a dilemma here). Another great example of a brand doing something fun and good for once using social network sites in the right way. There have only been a few - I thought the O2 promotion last year at the dome was brilliant too.

So many people get it wrong but BK have been doing great work for years so its hardly surprising they have nailed this one - the pr opportunity is likely to be massive, and measurable - I can already feel the 'We saw 10,000,000 friends traded for a million burgers that's how much you love the whoppers' ad coming. Apparently there are people forming groups on face book to offer themselves as sacrificial stooges. You know you are on to something when it takes a life of its own.

A Morning 'Cuppa' that really is music to your ears

Just saw this on Ted.com looks great fun. I love a morning cup of Tea like every self respecting Brit but this is on another level.

Perhaps Tetley, PG Tips or the rest of them will bring out a new variant?

Burger King - Response To Whopper Virgins

Nice Humanitarian response to the Whopper Virgin ads.

Brilliant Virgin Atlantic Ad

I just saw the new Virgin Atlantic TVC and its great, celebrating 25 years of Virgin Atlantic. It reminds me a bit of the Hovis ad our friends at MCBD did in terms of the historic flash back, but it is very cool and very nostalgic. Loving the soundtrack.

You only need four chords for a hit record

I listened to the radio a lot over Christmas and on Radio one on Sunday whilst driving in the car they featured this Australian Band demonstrating just how many songs which have been hits have used the same 4 chords.


I guess advertising isn't so different - my friend Aaron Martin at Syzygy reminded me of the fact everyone in advertising knows there are only 7 true ideas anyway:

1 the superlative
2 the comparative
3 celebrity endorsement
4 philosophy, the product story
5 the demonstration
6 the pastiche
7 sponsored gag, art piece

He did a pretty good job of making this point at a debate we were both in last year - here is his winning presentation.

Nintendo takes over the world

Well not quite but the Wii seems to have won the battle for the hearts and minds of the populous living room. Now they are making a bid for the 'on the move market' with the introduction of vending machines in Airports selling Nintendo DS!



Got to take your hats off to them that is an inspired move - especially if you have a 6 hour delay and no business lounge to take refuge in - a £100 to dull the pain of an airport gate seems a small price to pay.

Ambulance Chasing or Good Business Sense

In time honored fashion I took a visit to Homebase in the period between Christmas/ NY and the return to work, looking at Kitchen and bathroom suite's. This caught my eye, I thought it was a pretty logical and relatively good way of picking up customers - I presume they may have some sort of rescue package incentive to provide Homebase Kitchen's at a reduced price to the poor buggers who have been left stranded without a Kitchen or Bathroom. Always good to see a retailer thinkinng on their feet.

Frank Cocaine Basement

An interesting addition to the talk to Frank site - Frank The Cocaine Basement. An interactive experience demonstrating the dangers of Cocaine use. Some interesting use of video, games, experience etc.

Tracking Santa - Google Nasa Mash Up

I heard about this on the radio and thought it was quite a nice festive development using GPS and Google Maps. The Norad Santa Tracker - Allowing people to track Father Christmas around the globe on the 24th Dec.

Some more future gazing

I found a few interesting videos on the BBC Technology pages showcasing developments in retail, living, dining etc for the near future. Most of them seem to be developed by German's, oh well maybe its the technology equivalent of the towel on the deck chair.

Here are the links to 4 short videos (sadly the BBC hasn't quite grasped the concept of allowing people to embed their videos yet but perhaps that is in another video called the BBc of the Future - let's hope so).

• Inside the house of the future(04.54)
• Germany's 'robot' restaurant(01.49)
• Supermarket of the future(02.56)
• Germans create 'future hotel' (03.51)

What Tech Developments We Want To See 2009

A great post here on fast company about 6 major tech developments we want to see in 2009

1. Free National WiFi
2. Powerful Mobile Internet Devices
3. Linux On Everything
4. Connected Cars
5. 4G Wireless
6. Windows' Redemption

I wonder how many will come true.