The Musings Of An Opinionated Sod [Help Me Grow!]

I’ve Seen The Light: Rock ‘n’ Roll, (Red) and Arrogance In Advertising.

Hello … well you’ll be happy I’m out of my depressive lull, and I’m now back and ready for some fighting action.

In the next few weeks, I am hopeful to be able to explain just what I mean by that statement – but there’s exciting things happening in my/our background and one of them is the brilliant news we’ve just been awarded [without a pitch] the absolutely wonderful DISCOVERY Channel throughout Asia Pacific.  

Not only do they have one of the greatest ‘products’ on Earth, they are some of the nicest people I’ve ever met … however the best bit [for me at least] is that the idea we’re developing with/for them, is one of the most exciting I’ve ever been involved with – and given I’m an old fart whose worked on some rather famous campaigns … that’s saying something.

Anyway, enough of all that, I want to comment on a couple of things starting with how (Red) have missed the point. Again.

So a couple of nights ago, I went to see one of the most creative bands in the World right now, Muse.

They were absolutely astounding – their level of musicianship is quite extraordinary and their songs, arrangements and use of musical dynamics make them a band whose inventiveness is right up there with Pink Floyd and Queen.

 

 

Whenever I go to a gig, I love the moment just before the band hits the stage, because the crowd are whistling, cheering and screaming in feverish anticipation and it creates what I can only describe as human electricity.

And for the bands about to perform, this energy surge must be absolutely addictive, because whilst I never got to play to the size of audiences that Muse/Floyd/Queen did/do … I did experience the feeling of  15,000 people going mad [in a good way of course, ha!] for something I’d just performed for them – and it’s a feeling beyond all levels of normal comprehension.  [Yeah … yeah … so they were really cheering D’arby, le Bon or Kershaw – but I can pretend my guitar playing made all the difference to their experience can’t I!!!]

Annnnnnnyway ….

… when I got to the gig, I was quite surprised to see that (Red) MOTOROLA had a corporate hospitality tent there.

(Red) talk about how they want to help end poverty … they talk about how they want to help the poor prosper … but here they are, proudly supporting facilities for the privileged few. 

Now if (Red) said their mantra was ‘Robin Hood: Steal From The Wealthy [&/or Label Obsessed] To Help Provide For The Poor’ … then I’d understand it [and I actually think it would be more powerful and interesting] but they don’t and the whole concept just smacks of being nothing more than a marketing stunt which, admittedly helps some of the poor poor [which is a good thing] but probably benefits Bono and his aspirational brand owning friends, to an even greater degree. [which is a bad thing]

To be fair, the corporate tent was more a Motorola thing than a (Red) one … but if the organisation and it’s supporters are serious about it … then they should ensure the brand is not used in areas that just aren’t appropriate to the cause.  Sure, Motorola can sponsor the event … but being so blatant in their corporate hospitality? Nah … don’t think so.

One of the other things I found really interesting at the gig was how people watched the show.

Many centuries ago … when I was a much younger man … the gigs I went to had a very enforced policy of ‘NO PHOTOGRAPHS’.  Infact, if you ever wanted a memento of the gig, you’d have to either buy an official programme or send off for the snaps of one of the ‘official photographers’.

However nowadays we all tend to have mobile phones with cameras in them … so apart from the fact it means the amount of work for ‘official concert photographers’ is now probably next-to-nothing, it also means many people go to concerts and watch them via the small screen of their mobile phone. Mad! [And yes, given I’ve attached loads of photos of the gig on this post, I do appreciate I am showing myself to be one of these ‘weirdo’s’]

Finally … when I was walking home from the gig … I came across this ad for ‘BROTHER Colour Printers’ …

What the … ???????

Can someone … anyone … tell me what the fuck the people behind this were thinking.

Lets look at the copy of the ad again …

WE KNOW WHAT YOU NEED:

Like twins who understand eachother completely, we know you best. Especially your need to complete various tasks quickly and efficiently. Brother is the brand you can depend on.

First, WHY do they know us best.

Secondly, if they think all we actually care about in life is completing tasks quickly and efficiently, then they need their heads kicking.

Thirdly, with this level of arrogance, I would say Brother are the brand you can rely on … but for patronising, condescending, mindless, misguided, self-important, dillusionary stupidity!

This is a perfect example of what is going wrong in corporate land … a complete lack of understanding of your place/role in people’s lives and minds … and as far as I am concerned, the people who briefed it, wrote it, approved it and booked it, should all be shot, cut up into little pieces and then chucked into the sewer where they belong.Years ago we had a South African printer client who wanted to do some ads about how great they were. When we looked into the mindset of the consumer [business, not home] … we found people only knew the name of their printer if it was continually failing them.With this in mind – and an idea based around our clients reliability – we did a sweet campaign based around the thought of “We Don’t Want You To Ever Know Our Name”.Now I’m not saying this was the best comms idea in the World … but when you look at what the big corporate printer companies are coming out with today, maybe it was better than we gave it credit for.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again … planning is about UNDERSTANDING AND REPRESENTING HUMANITY … it is not about justifying the beliefs of misguided, ego’d or arrogant corporate types… and until [some] ad agencies get a backbone, then we’re going to continue seeing the decline of advertising [both interms of creativity and credibility] … which is very sad, because in the right hands, it can still be one of the most powerful investments for any business.

See … I told you I was feeling better, ha!

20 Comments so far
Leave a comment