Filed under: Comment
Ahhhhhh, health – one of those issues like the environment that people talk passionately about and yet in the main, do very little about. Once upon a time, being healthy meant going out and enjoying an activity. It didn’t matter if it was footie, swimming, squash or netball … it was something we had fun doing that also had the benefit of keeping us in ‘tip-top’ condition.
However in the modern age, whilst those activities are still going on, ‘getting healthy’ has taken on a different direction – now it’s about going to a gym, doing specific workouts, competing with your personal-best times rather than an opposing team. [Yes, many gyms do run ‘group courses’ however in the main, the activities are based on personal endurance rather than what you can achieve as a member of a team] Is there anything wrong with that?
Of course not, however it is having the effect of stigmatising health into an area that is more exclusive rather than inclusive – something that can put people off despite them appreciating how it would benefit their health overall.
What this has all led to is the rise of ‘Convenient Health’ – where every food/beverage company has tailored their products to offer a more ‘healthy option. We now see McDonalds sell salads and Coca-Cola sell water … we see Kentucky Fried Chicken rebrand themselves to KFC and watch as high-sugared MILO becomes an energy food … it’s health, health, health and yet, in many cases, what is deemed as being healthy should be regarded as simply being ‘healthier’.
What’s the distinction?
Well it’s that a McDonald Grilled Chicken Burger may be better for you than a Big Mac but compared to many other food groups, it still is very, very UNhealthy for you. Lets be honest, we all know this and yet these options continue to appeal – why?
1 Macca’s [and the like] are convenience companies. They purposely locate themselves in high traffic and/or poor neighbourhoods to attract the time poor/financially poor.
2 We all like to think we’re soooooo busy and important which allows us to justify getting ‘a quick bite’.
3 We are subliminally trained from a young age to believe ‘healthy = tasteless’
4 We know we should be doing something for our health so by choosing a grilled-but-smothered-in-mayo-burger-and-fries, we ‘kid ourselves’ we’re doing something right for our bodies.
5 We live in a ‘denial free’ society – where if we want something, we should have it and worry about any consequences later on. ie: Credit Card Debt and Obesity
Hey, I’m not preaching, I’m just as bad. If I end up in a Macca’s or the like, I end up ordering something like a super-fat burger and fries with a diet soda.
[This ‘truth’ was utilised by Diet Tango with their advertising campaign “You Need It Because You’re Weak”]
Now some of you might be under the mistaken impression that Asia is healthy. It isn’t.
Sure it is HEALTHIER than much of the West, but the food – while very, very cheap and tasty [bar things like ‘Pig Organ Soup’] actually tends to consist of alot of oil, salt, sugar and fats.
However there is one company in Singapore that is trying to positively influence people’s diets.
They are trying to rid our ‘unhealthy justification’ by creating foods that are tasty, convenient, truly healthy and handmade from scratch.
I particularly like the ‘handmade from scratch’ wording because not only does it tap into the inherent human belief that this means ‘better for you’ it also justifies the price premium inherent in most health products. [Though in many cases, this price increase is unjustifiable like ‘water’ costing more than the equivalent volume of alcohol]
To be fair, they are very serious about this issue because they’ve even banned TRANSFATS which only last weekend were highlighted as having the potential to affect fertility so I wish them all the best with this direction – and whilst there are other companies out there with a similar stance – I still can’t believe brands like Jenny Craig and Weight Watchers haven’t set up a chain offering this sort of thing because the World is crying out for it.
OK, so it’s outrageously expensive to set up and yes, I know they’ve done deals with certain Fast Food Chains to offer food that fits their ‘diet policies’… but come on, they have more cred than Macca’s, KFC, Pizza Hut, Taco Bell and Burger King ever will.
Years ago we got a brief from a health care company to position themselves as the nations ‘health care company’. Whilst we were doing all our explorations, we found this great quote …
“Health is simply the slowest rate which you can die”
… and whilst we turned it into a lovely campaign [You Have More Birthdays With Boots] it would seem that despite living in the most Health-aware times in history, the battle of ‘cheap and convenient’ is winning the battle of real health.
[I know, this is a particularly hypocritical post given the ‘sausage vote’ … sue me!]
Filed under: Comment
vs 
I don’t know how I’ve got involved in this, but if you – like me – think sausages are better than bacon [and if you don’t, bugger off my site] then click here and vote.
Come on, look at the facts … sausages are tasty, come in lots of flavours and can resemble a penis or a turd – bacon can’t match that for flexibility can it!
A bunch of sausages earlier.
Filed under: Comment
I love the fact that people today are all going on about how important design is and then, in the majority of cases, they fall back into the tried and tested – citing some out-of-context research that backs up why they should stick with what they’ve been doing for decades.
I remember when Tango launched in black cans and the industry laughed at them because ‘BLACK’ was a colour synonymous with ‘being bad and rotten’ and as such, would not appeal to people looking for a tasty, refreshing drink. The fact that Tango was all about ‘being bad’ was obviously lost on them because it went on to be a phenomenal success – helping differentiate the brand within the category whilst also embedding the brand personality into the minds of drinkers.
The thing is, we are living in a World of greater and greater parity.
The level of differentiation between products is becoming more and more negligible and whilst I will always advocate innovation – quite often it leads to either [1] expensive mistakes and/or [2] innovations that have no consumer benefit whatsoever.
Now I’ve been having a debate over at Gareth’s site about the importance of ‘consumer benefit innovation’ because there is a growing school of thought that the consumers simply don’t know what they want so you should ignore them and just do what you think is right. The example always spouted is Henry T. Ford’s quote of … “If I asked the consumer what they wanted, they would have told me to build a faster horse”.
Now whilst this is all well and good, this attitude bugs me, because all Henry Ford would have had to do was ask WHY people wanted a faster horse and then he’d of been able to see that people WERE open to a form of transportation that would get them to their destination point faster than conventional means.
It’s all about interpretation … then testing/questioning that interpretation … because only then will you ever get to a point where you feel you really understand [which you can later validate] what people think/want/mean and that will allow you to move forward in ways that may have otherwise been closed off to you.
The reason for this is humans lie.
OK … some lie with personal gain and/or malicious intent … however what I mean is that our brain continually tells us things that simply aren’t true. It’s an organ of ego – colouring our thoughts/memories/actions so that we always present ourselves [to others as well as to ourselves] in the best possible light.
There is a great book on this area called ‘Mind Of It’s Own’ [by Cordelia Fine] which basically explains why anyone who takes people’s comments on face value is severely misguided. The problem is, the interpretation phase of research is often minimised [if done at all] because …
1 Clients hear what they want to hear – and if it’s a favourable comment, they’re not going to really delve deeper to see if this is what was actually meant.
2 Interpretation – if not done thoroughly – can be ‘moulded’ to justify pretty much anything – so in the wrong hands, it’s validity can be brought into question.
3 Many companies are so petrified of ‘missing the window of opportunity’ that they do not allow depth of research to be carried out. As long as they have findings that are positive, they go ahead because [i] they are under incredible pressure to deliver what is expected of them on time and on budget … and [ii] if things do go wrong, they still can show their superiors some research that validates their decision]
Don’t believe me? Well how come we’re in a situation where more business is failing than at any other point in history even though we have more access to research, comms channels, products, consumer desire and cash than at any other point in our history.
Please don’t read this as me being anti-research – I am wholeheartedly behind it – it’s more that I’m against anti-superficial research … where everything is taken on face value and no one picks-up/questions/listens to the subliminal ‘cues’ [be it words, behaviour, social background, possessions etc etc etc] that are being expressing which could lead to really fresh and interesting insight. [which of course then have to be explored and evaluated/validated]
Anyway … getting back to the point of design.
Well, as I said – I feel we are living in a parity World – and whilst companies talk about wanting differentiation, they do almost all they can to ensure they’re just like everyone else – which is why I believe design provides a link between convention and differentiation.
iPOD
Wii
Perrier
Tango
Sure, you can argue they all offer product component differentiation, but in the scheme of things, it’s not as radical as you may think/believe. All of them have utilised design to express the brand ‘essence’ …
iPOD – Purity Of Music
Wii – Purity Of Gaming
Perrier – Natural
Tango – A Bit Naughty
Of course these are great examples – and there’s plenty of others – however one of the core reasons these work is that the design is inherent to the brand, they’ve not done it just for the sake of standing out – which is a illness many brands suffer.
Personally, I’d never want a BREITLING watch, but when you see the case you get when you buy one, you know this is a watch with real purpose, credentials and uniqueness. It’s not a pretend watch – it’s the real deal – which cements the BREITLING brand personality/credentials deep into the minds of the consumer. A brilliant piece of design that also acknowledges the ‘box’ is as important as the product it contains.
Now here is an example of not-so-thought-out design … where the idea is to obviously be talked about, regardless of whether it is positive or negative comment.
This is a new bookshop in Singapore with ‘wonky shelves’.
Now whilst it is all aesthetically interesting, when you enter that section [Creative Arts] everything is at such contrasting angles, your brain feels confused and you actually feel sea-sick – which is hardly conducive to you reading, let alone buying a book. Hmmmmn, I wonder how long it will take till they realise no one is buying books from that department?
Ahhhhhh, LG Mobile … one of the most ‘interesting’ [read: horrible] clients I’ve ever had the displeasure to work with.
Anyway, following on from Apple’s iPHONE, they’ve come up with a similar looking device in a partnership with PRADA.
Now 10 points to them for being so quick in recognising and developing an iPHONE lookalike, however amongst a plethora of issues, two that specifically stand out are …
1 LG and PRADA are about as good a fit as Asda and LV [apparently the phone will have no LG branding at all!]
2 Given LG is obsessed with being seen as an ‘innovator’ … creating a phone that’s so much like one of the most anticipated phones in the World, is probably not the smartest move on their behalf. Sure it’ll show the World they are able to copy things really well [which is how most Asian companies operate] but it won’t do their ‘independent innovation’ credentials much good.
I know I said design can differentiate a company – but it also has the power to undermine them if they’re not careful!
I saw this photo of Kylie – and yes, she is wearing ‘high pants’ because apparently they are the latest trend to hit the street.
Fashion … or should I say ‘high-end fashion’ … is one of those industries where being different is a necessity. It has nothing to do with ‘elegance’ or being aesthetically pleasing’ … it’s all about being dramatically different to what has gone on before, even if you end up looking ridiculous because of it.
Look at Vivienne Westwood – hardly Ms High Street – but she thrives because she gives people [rich, fashion-focused people] the ability to show the World they’re ‘in the know’ – even if they look like fashion victims to all the ‘plebs’ out in the real World.
The Fashion industry has to continually innovate because technology allows their creations to be copied and sold for a fraction of the price within weeks … so for them, design is the only way they can stay infront – even if it does result in many of their choices being executed because it’s different rather than because it enhances a look.
So what is all this about then eh?
Well, as much as we all know differentiation is a vital characteristic for many brands/products continued success [not all, because some categories embrace this strategy to great effect] in many cases, the level of differentiation is nothing more than a token gesture.
For planners, creatives and media specialists to now do their job properly, they cannot ignore this discipline – they have to embrace it and accept it’s role and it’s potential to help fulfill their clients business goals.
I am not saying ‘design’ is the be-all and end-all [some of the above examples show that] but with understanding, appreciation and foresight … it can be as much a provider of brand impression as traditional advertising – and in an ever-growing cynical consumer World, it’s the brands that ‘live’ their beliefs rather than the one’s who simply ‘express it’ that will triumph overall! [putting aside those important issues like distribution etc]
With that, I leave you with this bloody scary poster for the Asian movie, ‘Colic’ … where all the elements of communication are coming together to form one delightfully horrifying [brand] image.
Lets hope the film meets the posters disturbing tone. Though I won’t see it … I’m a scardy-cat, ha!
Filed under: Comment
“There is a huge difference between journalism and advertising: Journalism aspires to truth. Advertising is regulated for truth.
I’ll put the accuracy of the average ad in this country up against the average news story any time.”
US Advertising Proffesor Jef I. Richards
With some sections of the tabloid press showing their moral and ethical compass is somewhat ‘missing’, he seems to have a real point.
I reckon the press and the ad industries should become penpals … learn from eachothers strenghts and weaknesses … because if the press can understand the importance of ‘content accuracy’ and the ad industry [along with their clients] can appreciate the benefits of being interesting and resonant … then maybe we might all live in abit of a nicer World.
Then again … I couldn’t survive without PopBitch so bang goes that theory …
Filed under: Comment
OK, after all the dramas of the Sausage v Bacon debate [which I think we won], I think it’s time to get back to normal. There are many reasons for this decision …
1 Andy will have a heart-attack if he carries on at the rate he is going.
2 Andy will have hitmen looking for him if he keeps the level of aggressiveness he’s been displaying.
3 Andy will live in a bus shelter if he doesn’t start doing some work for his living, breathing and PAYING clients.
4 Andy’s wife will leave him if he eats one more sausage. [it’s his 3rd wife and while he has managed to ‘snag’ some of the World’s most beautiful women, this trend can’t continue given his facial issues]
5 I sort-of hate the fact some sausages caused more debate on my blog than when I opened up my heart and answered 10 very personal questions, ha!
Sooooooo … lets all take a deep breath and move on shall we?
Oh, and before I go, please squint and have a look at the email below. It’s from dear Andy detailing his 5 little known facts in answer to Rob ‘Where Has He Gone?’ Mortimer’s ‘tagging’.
The reason he is doing this via me is that he can’t remember the password to his blog and out IT guy has refused to help him given he’s the reason we get so much spam each day.
Whilst he has missed out the really juicy stuff – he has at least taken it seriously and even shown his softer side’ – which is always there even though he pretends its not.
Alright … alright … you can’t read it can you?
Well this is what he say’s …
_________________________________________________________________
“Hello Rob.
Before I forget, here’s the 5 things about me that Mortimer wanted to know.
Unlike you, I’ve kept them Andy-friendly. Do with them what you will and I’ll see you soon.
AB
1 I once set up lunch with Heather Graham under the pretence of casting her for an ad because I fancied her and was convinced she fancied me. She came to lunch [with her manager], was lovely, but sparks didn’t fly.
2 I have over 40,000 CD’s.
3 I once vomited on a new clients desk at our first formal meeting because I was badly, badly hungover from the night before. We bonded over it and he’s still one of our best clients.
4 I have been engaged 5 times and married 3. The latest wife is the one I had been searching for. I am 39 and in love.
5 I went 9 months without ever once attending my French class. It hasn’t done me any harm.”