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

I judged a very famous Advertising Effectiveness Award recently and have to say I found the whole thing utterly frustrating and disappointing.

I’ll write about why another day [after the official results come out so I can give specific examples to demonstrate my point without getting into any trouble with the ‘Authorities’] … however it reaffirmed my view that any company who chooses an agency based purely on the number of Effectiveness Awards they have is about as flawed as any company who chooses an agency based purely on the number of Cannes Lions they’ve attained.

This industry cannot keep naval gazing – it needs to do some wholesale changes if it is to move forward and have true commercial value again – and while you’d think effectiveness awards help [which to a degree they do – some much more than others] in the big scheme of things, I believe they are adding of the cause rather than the solution.

Let me put this on the backburner for a while but it’s a bloody massive issue and I look forward to taking it on – even if it means I might never again be asked to sit through days and days and days of case studies where 90% of the submissions prove too much of advertising deludes itself that it makes a massive difference to a companies success both interms of profit and popularity.

[Saying that, when I come across a submission that truly demonstrates an agency solved a clients business issue thanks to their brains, imagination, bravery and creativity – then it makes me feel excited to the point of bursting]

While the above picture might look like a bunch of politicians engaging in a verse of ‘Auld Lang Syne’ … it is actually an attempt to publicly demonstrate their ‘unity’.

Now while I’m sure it all made sense in the Public Relations department, the reality is that it comes across as completely contrived and laughable.

To be fair it’s not nearly as horrific as this MDA ad …

… but it’s still pretty awful.

Why not go the whole hog and fucking jump around giving ‘high 5’s’?

Why politicians continue to believe photoshoots show the World they care is beyond me …

… but on the brightside, they give us something to smile about …

… that is until we remember these are the individuals supposedly looking after our best interests, ha!

… because I’ve just been ‘booked’ to attend a clients board meeting on December 28th.

Doesn’t anyone bludge over Christmas anymore? Bah Humbug! 🙂

This is Rosie … a 12 weekish old, street kitten who has been ‘adopted’ by Jill and me. As if the poor thing hadn’t suffered enough eh?

Anyway, while this little cute bundle of ‘weepoo energy’ proves pets DON’T look like their owners … she does demonstrate how much influence owners can have over their pets because in next to no time, she’s scarily adopted the households love for all things ‘television’ – be it film, series, video games.

Seriously, as soon as the TV goes on, her ‘bat-like’ ears go up and she watches the rubbish on the screen as if it was specially created for her.

Infact apart from the fact …

1 My house now looks like a bomb site

2 She has the odd moment where she acts like she’s just overdosed on speed

3 Makes me get up at 5am so she can have a 10 minute cuddle

… she’d bring out all the paternal instincts within me, however as …

1 I like a tidy house

2 I don’t like spending hours pulling animals from curtains, electrical cable, sofas [etc etc]

3 I don’t like getting up at 10am, let alone 5

… my Mum will have to wait a little longer before she hears the patting of any more feet! 

She might be 12 weeks old and the size of a magazine, but she already rules the house!

I can categorically state the human species is the weakest of them all, ha!

Saw this taxi in Singapore advertising the ‘Bee Movie’.

The fact that someone took the time to put ‘black stripes’ all over the already yellow cab is a lovely little touch and helps move the ad from ‘street wallpaper’ to something far more charming and noticeable.