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

This is a fantastic post Robert and I hope people out there who want to be in planning or want to be better a planner take note.

You grabbed the concept of “planning entertainment” (or “shock and awe” – I love that) before anyone and while Crispins use a lot of the techniques you developed, you guys still lead the way in turning the mental into perfectly logical arguments which clients can and do buy. To me the best example is what you did at the adidas pitch, I mean that’s legendary stuff and I don’t know if anyone else would ever of even thought of it, let alone done it.

One thing I feel I have to point out to anyone reading this is that Robert is one of the most diligent and rigorous planners I’ve ever known or worked with. He is not implying you can now let go of your basic planning fundamentals, he is suggesting that you go further than you’ve been before and then take on the responsibility of helping lead everyone by the hand to a more exciting and powerful territory.

As he is so keen to say, he looks like a thug but the bit he forgets to mention is that he thinks like a giant and presents like an entertainer.

Well done Rob, brilliant post and I know I sound like an Oscar winner. 🙂

yeah yeah but without me turning your drivel into magnificence, youre fucking nothing. remember that 🙂

cock

Rob blew my students away the last time he gave a talk like this in the classroom. He’s going to do an encore.

As much as I hate to say this Andy – but there’s more than a hint of truth in what you say. But then there’s a whole load of truth in what George said too, haha!

You are too kind Mark and I look forward to our next ‘abuse/brainwash/inspire’ the students session, ha! [Don’t worry – Fred and Hari will be with me and they’re much nicer people]

And Age … god bless you.

Great post!
I hope the idea works!

Reading this post, I’m reminded of the Saatchi brothers’ pitch for British Rail, where they turned the entire first floor into a simulated carriage, and kept the client waiting for HOURS, fobbing them off with excuses.

The client, naturally, got pissed off with waiting, was just about to leave, and then one of the brothers walks up, dressed as a conductor, and said ‘that’s what using your trains is like – we think we can help’.

They won the business. 😀

Btw, this is one of the finest blog posts you’ve written Rob. I’d also love to watch you present – hell, if it’s like this all the time, it’d be fantastic.

It’s very nice people like what I have written and it’s very nice to have such nice comments and all that – but the purpose of this is to make things better [for us, clients, adland] not to feel appreciated [I’ve got used to being loathed, ha!]

And Andy, send me an email answering Hari comment and I’ll post it on here – see, you can have a blog where I look after all the passwords and logistics. Perfect for you … 🙂

PS: It wasn’t Saatchi’s who did the British Rail thing, it was an agency called Allen Brady & Marsh – but what you described is bang on.

Crispin’s did something a little similar when pitching for BK by simply making the office filthy with crap lying all over the place [like most agencies] and showed how a mop, bucket and dustbin can immediately turn a place from inhospitable to welcoming.

Not as pragmatic as the BR stunt – but based on addressing a real commercial issue from the consumers perspective.

There you go Mr M, read it in all it’s 3rd-person-perspective-glory …

http://www.influxinsights.com/blog/article/1034/influx-interview–jon-steel–pitching-new-business.html

Much better to have celebrities in the pitch than in the advertising.

When I told Chiat’s I was leaving to join cynic they looked at me like I was a mad woman. I’ve just sent my old boss a link to this post with the heading “this will explain why”. Jemma x

These sort of posts get me far too excited about advertising.

Luckily I can try out all these more unusual ideas on briefs at uni, without fearing for my job if no one gets it 🙂

Hello Dave, so you are a young student are you? Yum 😉

I don’t want to stop your young, vibrant, hot blooded enthusiasm for advertising, but the number of agencies that even think this way is small and the ones who actually practice it, smaller still.

Send me your details with a photo when you graduate and if you look good, maybe we can do business together. Jemmax

Jemma … don’t blow all your creeping by seducing the people on this blog. You know how jealous Billy, Bazza and probably Andy will be!

Using the lessons I have learnt from this post, I should probably send you a picture of David Schwimmer (I’ll admit, my knowledge of modern day heart throbs is probably lacking)

The last sentence in my last post isn’t actually true … I just wanted to start some gossiping, ha

Yes … but the question Ian [our Financial Director] would want to know is how profitable would it be too, haha!

I’m off now for the weekend – hope you all have a great one and speak soon – I have a lovely post for Monday, one that will see me assasinated, ha

Good point Mr M.

Scrap assasination … I’m going to punched.

Byeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

Look at Jemma sucking up to the boss. Bitch! 🙂

Hi Lauren … don’t worry, I went into the meeting and said alcohol advertising in Australia is one of the worst culprits of sexist, gender-battling laddism I’ve ever seen – and while that doesn’t mean I’m going to make this brand all metrosexual friendly, it does mean I’m going to be cutting out the men versus women bollocks – especially as this brand [1] was never really about that except in recent years and [2] was an icon of Aussie values, not beer advertising values.

The reason I’ve focused so much of the research on women and the culture shift in society is that most actions by men are subliminally influenced – or to influence – a womans opinions on them … so if I can understand how females look at men who drink [as well as how the brand/occasion/time/location etc influences that opinion] then I can attack the issue head on and not just put this brand back where it deserves, but do it in a way that suddenly stops it being seen as a bogan brand – which will help guys who drink it, get laid [not literally, obviously] because women won’t think they’re the lowest form of scumlife.

I hope all will become clear when/if you see the work [or I can get them to buy the work] but the brand idea is a corker and I’m so hopeful we can do it because like ‘the big ad’, it’s not a typical alcohol advertising concept.

How are you by the way? All good lovely?

hi rob, so pleased to read this and i’ll be interested to see how/what you do with this (which makes me slightly weird, given that i don’t drink alcomahol) and i’m so glad you’re encouraging them to step away from the shit positioning they’ve had for years! i’m hoping that includes the fact that loads of aussie girls drink beer too, are surprisingly discenrning and similarly uninterested in that old ad concept directed towards the boys.

and speaking of discerning beer drinkers – hi marcus!! welcome back dear.

[to answer your question rob, I’m OK..spinach install starts tomorrow, which is really exciting – i’ll take pics and post about it, i promise. retail is a pile of poo, but hey, forgeddaboudit..]

This is fantastic, btw.