So a while ago, I wrote a rather damming post on an ‘ad’ GREY had put out to promote their “EYE ON ASIA” research report.
In the post, I explained what they were saying was a delightful blend of condescending colonial arrogance, regional cliché and universal-state-the-obvious blandom … which pissed off a certain Pius Thicknesse so much, he/she felt compelled to slag me off but interestingly, not for the flaws I raised in the claimed research findings, but for daring to suggest the ‘ad’ was written by a Westerner.
Excellent.
Anyway, as I said in the post – crap ad aside – GREY has a long heritage in doing good Asian regional research, so I assumed this was simply the result of a bad copywriter or a bad brief rather than the a momentary lapse of intelligence by the people who undertook the study, but it would appear I was being too generous in my excuses because I’ve just received this:
I know it looks almost identical to the last ‘ad’ of theirs I slagged off, but it is different – except it’s almost exactly the same as well.
What do I mean?
Well whilst this ‘ad’ supposedly highlights GREY’s research findings regarding the ‘grey dollar’ … the fact is the majority of the copy doesn’t really talk about any of this, preferring to rehash the flawed and grammatically prejudiced content of the previous advertisement.
The thing is, the topic of the ‘grey dollar’ is a very important one … one that tends to get overlooked by agencies and marketers because it’s not a ‘cool’ demographic … so why they decided to come out with some general questions that could apply to anybody is beyond me.
Oh hang on, I know now … because the opening lines of their ‘ad’ explain this isn’t about targeting an age demographic – it’s about targeting a mindset – but that’s hardly ‘new news’ is it? Fuck me, that approach has been around for donkeys years which then opens up another issue, why have a headline that immediately implies you have information about a particular age group?
This is mental.
So regardless of whether GREY are trying to say they have insights on grey haired folk or people who simply wish to live their life in a positive manner, let’s look at some of the questions they highlight.
• Why Asians are fickle consumers
• Why Asians are smart shoppers
• Why Asians delight in brands that constantly engage them in new ways
• Why Asians expect their brands to embrace change
OK … OK … so we’re not really sure who GREY are talking about in this ad/study [not the best thing for a company who claims to be experts in clear and concise communication] but regardless of that, are these questions even unique to the ‘Asian’ population?
Of course not, it’s generic commentary trumped up to sound like mindblowing research that uncovers major and unique factors about the Asian population … major and unique factors than can help marketers engage and grow within this region. And the irony is, there are absolutely fundamental differences in this regions attitudes and behaviour – and even more so when dealing with the older generation – but given the ads, research and ‘findings’ all seem to be flawed, confused and/or generalistic, I doubt GREY’s insights will either uncover them or explain what you can do with them once you’ve got them.
This sort of thing really, really pisses me off … especially the “ASIANS” label, which implies the population of this region are somewhat alien compared to the nice white folk back home in the West … though given they tar 16 totally different countries – including NZ and Australia – as Asian [ie: all the same], then it goes to show GREY’s EYE ON ASIA is in need of some new prescription glasses.
Come on Pius Thicknesse, give me your worst – though I’d rather have a civil conversation with you on it, if you have the balls.