Not advertising

But a lovely, lovely idea.

The Hovis ad

Couldn't let it go by unmentioned as apparently people and the press are talking about this in droves. Creative Review thought the theme was hackneyed and the first ad person who mentioned it to me called it self-indulgent. Neither view is wrong IMHO, but neither view matters either. For its huge production budget and media spend Hovis has hit paydirt - fame. And TV ads are about making your brand not just recognised, but famous.

If you're a practitioner of advertising, 'watch' the ad again - only with your eyes closed - and listen to the soundtrack - genius.

Simple, brilliant, watch it.

Those Minis are so cheeky

Reminds me a little of the Corsa ad a few years ago in making small cars cute again.

Tasteless but fun

In very poor taste and published not quite quickly enough to be uber-topical but nevertheless this will probably fly virally.

Slick BBH site

Funny, just as we are working on our own site, using BBH as an example of how not to do it, they re-do it. Very smooth it is too - check out the 'global navigation.'

Pesky laws...

So, the law now says you have to make it clear that consumers know an advertising activity is indeed an advertising activity. Goodbye to the days of teasers, spoofs and the kind of games played by Gatorade in the previous post.

Notice how Oasis tackle the thorny subject for their latest microsite, where you get to decide the outcome of the current TV campaign:



Look hard and you'll notice the 'proof of advertising':

Gatorade Viral

This caused a lot of fuss in the US, gathering a lot of attention for the brand on TV news etc. when the catch was 'discovered' to be a stunt by Gatorade. Of course this kind if activity is now illegal in the UK, but this is an almost perfect exercise in how viral should work.

Inviting other agencies to educate you and your clients

Clever stuff this. Iris held a series of informal seminars down the pub where they invited luminaries, including those from competitive agencies, to talk about their subject to both staff and clients. Brave? No, wise in the current climate where information should be shared not guarded.

Best for me was Poke's Ian Tait talking on where he think digital experiences are going.

Nice one, Gordon...

Let's have another one. But I get the impression this was a nice idea that was sold to a client just to get it out there, rather than a neat solution to a client's brief. It is campaignable though (he sniffed).