Filed under: Comment
OK, so I’m being facetious … but I’m getting a bit sick of all these brands jumping on the ‘social cause’ bandwagon.
Don’t get me wrong, anything that helps those less fortunate is a good thing … but when the intent feels purely for marketing purposes, it makes me feel a little bit queasy.
At least the companies who donate masses of cash to charities so they can write it off against tax don’t run ads saying how compassionate they are … however I’m seeing more and more brands doing campaigns that basically state the same thing:
“XXXXXX* FOR GOOD”.
[* Where ‘X’ is a word linked to their specific category]
However it doesn’t take Stephen Hawking to realise the underlying message is actually:
“BUYING OUR PRODUCT MEANDS WE CAN BOTH PRETEND WE’RE NICE PEOPLE WHEN WE BOTH REALLY KNOW WE JUST WANT TO GUILT TRIP YOU INTO ADDING TO OUR PROFITS AND YOU JUST WANT A FANCY NEW PHONE/OUTFIT/PERFUME ETC ETC”.
Of course Bono’s Project Red was/is probably the poster boy for this sort of approach – and as much as I think there’s some major flaws with the approach – at least Mr Irish realised the opportunity to develop an umbrella scheme to basically attract money from the champagne socialists / label whores out there.
However I’ve come across possibly one of the worst examples of this approach and it’s from my favourite brand extension developers, Mont Blanc.
SINGATURE FOR GOOD!
SIGNATURE FOR BLOODY GOOD!
Are they fucking kidding???
But hang on, there’s more …
Mont Blanc believe the ability to read and write is a fundamental human right and they’re deeply committed to the culture writing.
On one hand that’s pretty obvious given the fuckers make pens … however if they really gave a shit, why the hell would they make their stuff so bloody expensive rather than bring out a ‘BIC’ which could be given to school kids around the World?
Oh I know why, because they don’t really give a fuck … because let’s face it, as much as a million bucks may sound a lot, when one of their pens costs SEVEN HUNDRED AND THRITY THOUSAND DOLLARS, it’s not really that much to give at all.
As I said, I accept that any help is good help, but as I wrote here a while back, it doesn’t take much scratching to realise many of the words and platitudes being spouted by these socially conscience brands are closer to the work of a conman, than a carer.
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just think how much money could be raised if parents sponsored their 13 year old sons right arm? theyd be fucking trillions flowing to charity each year. come on unicef, pull your fucking finger out.
why the fuck would there be a pen that costs almost a million bucks? people think advertising is full of overpaid, underworked pieces of shit but were a pimple on the ass of piss takers which makes me wonder why the fuck i didnt go and make nibs at fucking mont wanking blanc.
Comment by andy@cynic March 26, 2010 @ 6:48 amand why does the ad look like the only thing being signed is the cheque to the paedophile club for the poor little fuckers who have their photos strewn across mr pervert fuckers desk?
signature for sickos, brought to you by those lazy, overcharging and bandwagon exploiting fuckers at mont blanc.
Comment by andy@cynic March 26, 2010 @ 6:56 am$730k?
For a PEN?
Who would need that? (Apart from the ex-Bouchers on cheque signing day)
Comment by Rob Mortimer March 26, 2010 @ 8:26 amLike you mention, all help is good help but signature for good is pretty bad.
Now I know some of their pens cost almost as much as their entire 6 years of donations to unicef, this actually makes me feel worse about the brand and I wasn’t too smitten with them in the first place.
By the way, your “illusion of compassion” post was a great read, you should do a greatest posts list because there’s some real gems on here.
Comment by Pete March 26, 2010 @ 8:29 amOh and your point is spot on.
Comment by Rob Mortimer March 26, 2010 @ 8:35 amI use crayola. Hasn’t done me any harm.
Comment by Billy Whizz March 26, 2010 @ 10:16 amThat’s debatable Billy. VERY debatable.
Comment by Rob March 26, 2010 @ 11:25 amCould I ask where you saw this advertisement?
Despite it being for an important cause, I agree its execution and purpose could have been better articulated and demonstrated.
Comment by Lee Hill March 26, 2010 @ 1:38 pmNot sure – probably some inflight mag – which means probably YOUR inflight mag Lee, ha.
Comment by Rob March 26, 2010 @ 1:57 pmI’m guessing this isn’t the right way to go about getting that fucking 730k pen Mr. Campbell. Top marks for effort though
Comment by Sam Ismail March 26, 2010 @ 3:56 pmI think you need to put some responsibility on the charities as well for vetting brands and while we’re at it branded celebrities.
It takes me about 5 mins in a meeting with a company or a celebrity to figure out whether they are genuine. The 5 mins is the speel about how much they admire your work – the rest of the meeting is the negotiation on the Return On PR for generally a very small donation. That’s when you know to walk away…
I find a few too many charities lose sight of their cause and are equally at fault for being PR hounds.
Comment by Juanita March 26, 2010 @ 4:46 pmDidn’t stop you taking Ricky “publicity hound” Gervais’ cash though did it J?
You can hit me tonight.
Comment by Rob March 26, 2010 @ 5:02 pmI’m banking on Mont Blanc believing all publicity is good publicity Sam.
Comment by Rob March 26, 2010 @ 5:03 pmI could buy a hell of a lot of toilet paper with 730K.
Good morning.
Comment by Marcus March 26, 2010 @ 5:06 pmGiven they’ve branched out from ink to aftershave, you might just find they’ll be launching Mont Blanc loo paper in the next 12 months at the bargain price of just US$10. A sheet.
Guess we can look forward to “shit for good” launching in the not too distant future.
Comment by Rob March 26, 2010 @ 5:12 pmShitting for good is, well, excellent.
Comment by Marcus March 26, 2010 @ 5:27 pmI’m quite disappointed the Indian restaurant society didn’t think of it … though there was an Aussie campaign called “eat curry against racism” or something and I’m not even joking.
Comment by Rob March 26, 2010 @ 5:43 pmflushing for good would, of course, be more effective.
Comment by Marcus March 26, 2010 @ 5:55 pmBrought to you by Toilet Duck.
Comment by Rob March 26, 2010 @ 6:01 pmas an idea, I think it’s ready to go.
Comment by Marcus March 26, 2010 @ 6:18 pmWe are CSR geniuses.
Comment by Rob March 26, 2010 @ 6:31 pmThe quintessential post that captures the self-love that pervades this blog.
Comment by John March 26, 2010 @ 6:45 pmJust realised what Mont could be cockney ryhming slang for…
Comment by Rob Mortimer March 26, 2010 @ 9:10 pmDoddsy you’re all about self-love so judge not baby
Comment by Sam Ismail March 28, 2010 @ 9:24 amWent to the link to see the pen, which led me to the worlds most expensive pencil at $12,000+. The world has gone fucking mad…all you need a box of Black Warriors. And I agree with you completely about the intent.
Comment by adchick March 29, 2010 @ 3:47 am12 grand for a pencil. A PENCIL? I feel completley and utterly depressed …
Comment by Rob March 29, 2010 @ 8:13 am