Filed under: Comment
So a couple of weeks ago I hosted an advertising conference for the American Chamber of Commerce [don’t ask]
Anyway, all was going well till I had to comment on the most disgustingly inappropriate ad I think I have ever seen – a campaign in South Africa for Flora margarine – where they sponsored a live television broadcast of a heart transplant under the guise of ‘celebrating healthy eating’.
[By the way, it won at Cannes which shows just how screwed up our industry really is – especially as their submission didn’t mention a single thing about sales or an improvement in overall health & wellbeing of the population! Mind you, what do you expect from an agency called LOWE BULL, I kid you not!!!]
So I went off on one …
While frothing at the mouth, I ranted about how I wished everyone associated with this abomination was dead …
The man who had the operation?
DEAD
The family of the man who let him get into such a state he needed an operation?
DEAD
The client who approved the concept?
DEAD
The holding company who let one of their brands do this concept?
DEAD
The creatives who came up with the idea?
DEAD
The client service and planners who didn’t highlight the idea was crap and the submission even worse?
DEAD
The agency who proudly submitted this concept?
DEAD
The population of South Africa for not rioting over such a disgraceful piece of shit?
DEAD
In other words I hated it … however if the audience were still unsure of my thoughts, I decided to end it with the words …
“Where’s Lee Harvey Oswald when you need him”
… which given the audience, probably wasn’t the best thing to do.
To be fair, they didn’t say anything … but I heard a collective sharp intake of breath … so to the entire American population of HK, I apologise but you should blame LOWE BULL because they’re the idiots that started it.
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alright campbell, youve not solved the middle east shit, its not as bad/good as your infamous ‘your country was late coming to world was 2 so theres no need to apologise for being late to this meeting’ comment and it isnt anything adland will wet their fucking panties over but its another sign the evil shit rob is coming home and that fills me with a medium level of excitement.
if you make some acidic comment at the next mountain view love in then i will accept your transformation back to someone i like is complete. given up on george, hes drunk the kool aid, bought the fucking t and sworn pissing allegiance. wimp.
and youre fucking right about that flora shit, a joke in everyfuckingway from idea, execution and cannes submission but not as much as a joke as awarding the thing anything other than a fucking slow and painful death sentence.
Comment by andy@cynic November 10, 2009 @ 6:55 amWhen I read yesterdays post I thought this was the dawn of Rob 2.0 but after reading todays, I don’t know if there’s that much change at all. 😉
Comment by Pete November 10, 2009 @ 8:04 amIt’s not me … it’s them.
[Hey, George W used that excuse for years so I don’t see why I can’t!]
Comment by Rob November 10, 2009 @ 8:17 amoh.my.god. make.believe. did you really say this? dead dead dead? and wishing for mr oswald? oh how i wish i could have seen it live 🙂 and they really are called lowe bull. i know i shouldnt laugh and all, but… lol
on a serious note, i havent heard of that heart transplant thing before, which is probably showing a lack of knowledge, especially as it won at cannes. celebrating healthy eating? celebrating suffering more like. love your heart. was there some strapline saying if you love something let it go. did they also make a reality show out of the man’s recovery. if not, thats a missed opportunity.
Comment by peggy November 10, 2009 @ 8:49 amErrrrrm yes I did. Whoops …
I also said that maybe the link to the Flora brand was that the DR’s greased the scalpel in the margarine prior to slicing the bloke open and doing the operation.
It was shit – but my fave bit of the whole submission was when they tried to justify the campaign by saying it had been a Worldwide phenomenon because it had appeared in some press and 40+ blogs.
Susan Boyle is – whether we like her or not – is a Worldwide phenomenon, a crass campaign that gets on 40 odd blogs most certainly isn’t.
Comment by Rob November 10, 2009 @ 8:59 amahahaha you didnt! 😀 i guess everyone was mildly bewildered. not as bewildered as they should have been by the flora thing in the first place i reckon… and hype worldwide? well, i read adblogs and follow the news, but as i said, i just heard of it for the first time. but then i usually dont read any medical journals.
Comment by peggy November 10, 2009 @ 9:14 amI agree with Andy.
Comment by Bazza November 10, 2009 @ 9:33 amYou have a habit of these moments of destruction don’t you Robert.
I am still unsure whether it is a slip of the tongue or the need to satisfy your mischievous streak, but let us not forgot the time you performed social and professional suicide in my company. I certainly haven’t.
Comment by Lee Hill November 10, 2009 @ 12:55 pmPut it this way Lee, it’s certainly one of the possibilities you mention … however in the case you refer to, there were – as you well know – mitigating circumstances, namely falling victim to the dangers of Strepsil abuse.
I should have sued …
Comment by Rob November 10, 2009 @ 2:23 pmNaughty.
Comment by Marcus November 10, 2009 @ 10:33 pmnaughty? fucking sad and pathetic you mean marcus. this is a “man” who cant hold his fucking wine gums, lets remember that.
Comment by andy@cynic November 11, 2009 @ 12:08 amMatthew Bull was just in the office. Want me to pass on a message? 😉
Comment by Will November 11, 2009 @ 2:10 amthere is nothing more loathsome as name dropping.
Comment by Marcus November 11, 2009 @ 2:26 amwhat if the man would have died during the live broadcast? death. brought to you by flora.
Comment by peggy November 11, 2009 @ 4:17 ambut then this would at least have caused some hype.
Comment by peggy November 11, 2009 @ 4:56 amyes there is marcus, friends who are more fucking successful than you who did fuck all to achieve it but act like they did everything to achieve it.
Comment by andy@cynic November 11, 2009 @ 5:39 amMarcus – I thought it was timely; not an intentional name drop.
Comment by Will November 11, 2009 @ 6:11 pmThere’s some people I know that think saying “I know Marcus Brown” is a name drop. 🙂
Comment by Rob November 11, 2009 @ 6:18 pmI know him. I’m just not sure about that Kaiser weirdo. Or Charles Stab.
Comment by Will November 11, 2009 @ 7:19 pmWho’s Marcus Brown?
Comment by John November 11, 2009 @ 7:27 pmsomeone less fucking sleazy than you.
Comment by andy@cynic November 11, 2009 @ 9:29 pmThat doesn’t help much.
Comment by John November 12, 2009 @ 2:11 amdepends if youre a man or a woman
Comment by andy@cynic November 12, 2009 @ 6:06 am