Filed under: Comment
So a while back there was a video doing the rounds that featured a young kid being shown a bunch of logos and then being asked to name the brand behind them.
It was sweet, cute and – in a small way – insightful.
Maybe it’s because I’m becoming more and more Chinese … maybe it’s because I like giving fucked up projects to my colleagues or maybe it’s because I just thought it would be interesting, but I decided it would be good to copy the experiment but from a purely Chinese perspective.
With that in mind, I asked my poor colleague, Yi Liu, to find some 5 year old kids and test whether they recognised some of the World’s biggest brand logos.
However, on top of ‘describing what they see’, we also wanted to find out if they knew what the brand actually did and – where possible – where they had seen them.
Thanks to the 2 little characters who helped us out, the answers are charming and funny … but similar to the original experiment, they are also insightful, especially in terms of category association and media habits.
It might of been a bit of fun … we might have used an age group that many of the brands tested don’t really target … but for some brand managers, the kids opinions should put the fear of god into what they’re doing & how they’re doing it.
Enjoy.
47 Comments
I quite enjoyed that. What’s got into me?
Comment by DH March 30, 2012 @ 6:15 amThe kid on the right is my favourite. Doesn’t give a fuck.
Comment by DH March 30, 2012 @ 6:18 amOr he’s a moody bastard.
Comment by DH March 30, 2012 @ 6:18 amBrilliant. Unless you’re coke China’s marketing director.
Comment by Pete March 30, 2012 @ 6:22 amOr the marketing person at Adidas.
Comment by Pete March 30, 2012 @ 6:25 am4-year-olds don’t lie – but i’m sure these fake marketing executives have tons of lame excuses in their back pockets
Comment by Angel X March 30, 2012 @ 6:37 amWieden goes Foxconn?
Comment by niko March 30, 2012 @ 6:25 amRob goes Foxconn more like.
Comment by DH March 30, 2012 @ 6:27 amWe pay better than Baz pays. We give ice-cream.
Comment by Rob March 30, 2012 @ 7:56 amgary glitter is impressed.
Comment by andy@cynic March 30, 2012 @ 8:04 amOh come on. An ad guy makes a deliberately cute video with his “indoctrinated” kid. Another ad guy copies it in China. Welcome to the industry echo-chamber. They’re 4 and 5, it would be worrying if they did care. Is it insightful that they don’t recognise much? Hardly. And how are you turning Chinese?
Comment by John March 30, 2012 @ 6:29 amI believe Rob refers to himself as “turning Chinese” because he copied something another person executed successfully previously. It’s culture cliche comedy, an unmet tapped category in the alternative comedian portfolio.
Comment by George March 30, 2012 @ 6:46 amBrilliant!
Though I thought that’s what creatives did.
Comment by John March 30, 2012 @ 6:51 amThat really is the reason he said he was turning Chinese isn’t it? That’s how I took it anyway.
Comment by Pete March 30, 2012 @ 6:59 amben elton called. i told him to fuck off.
Comment by andy@cynic March 30, 2012 @ 7:20 amthat is how he meant it pete, doddsys having one of his “slow” days.
Comment by andy@cynic March 30, 2012 @ 7:21 amSpot the person taking this too seriously.
John, have you forgotten we’re on Rob’s blog. Nothing serious happens here.
Comment by DH March 30, 2012 @ 6:50 amThough if I was their marketing manager, I’d take that coke washing powder comment pretty seriously. They know apple but not coke? Can’t be good for the ego.
Comment by DH March 30, 2012 @ 6:53 amfuck me doddsy, calm down. yes its a rip off, yes its bollocks but its more truthful than most agency award entry films and more fucking interesting.
Comment by andy@cynic March 30, 2012 @ 7:18 amYou’re right John, it doesn’t mean much – for a start it’s only 2 kids – but I still think there are some comments there that are interesting, if only to investigate further and on a bigger scale.
Given a 4 and 5 year old know what Apple is – despite their low spend compared to, say Coke – I would say that is interesting, even though in the big context of things, it’s all just a cutesy little project.
And George nailed why I said I was turning Chinese – I’ve copied something successful from another market, except my version is a bit rawer and a bit more rough around the edges. But that’s all down to me, not the fab little kids, they are brilliance personified.
Comment by Rob March 30, 2012 @ 8:00 amyawn fucking yawn.
Comment by andy@cynic March 30, 2012 @ 8:04 amThree bland observations:
1. Chinese kids watch way too much tv
2. Chinese boys (or boys in general) need to ease down on their enthusiasm on cars
3. Chinese kids should be encouraged to express opinions without raising their fucking hand
This is a totally derail from the essence of this brilliant and cute project….but just saying.
Comment by Angel X March 30, 2012 @ 6:32 ami dont know who you are but i think i like you. congratufuckinglations, thats the first time thats ever happened on here.
Comment by andy@cynic March 30, 2012 @ 7:19 amGotta say i thought your account was hacked by someone else – until i see congratufuckinglations. Lucky me. Should gone out to buy the mega million record $5 billion lottery.
Comment by Angel X March 30, 2012 @ 7:24 amHello Angel, great to have you pop by. Hope all’s good.
Comment by Rob March 30, 2012 @ 8:01 amIt’s interesting these very young children appear to know Nike and Apple more than all the others, including homegrown local equivalent brands.
Comment by George March 30, 2012 @ 6:42 amRob, Baz, you’re doing a hell of a job influencing China’s young and innocent and in no way should you be referred to as “materialism pushers”.
Materialism pushers. Way to go George.
Comment by DH March 30, 2012 @ 6:49 amyeah, because when you worked on toys r us you didnt make any fucker buy anything they didnt want did you. actually judging by the sales figures they achieved, you fucking didnt.
Comment by andy@cynic March 30, 2012 @ 7:16 amComment of the year right there Andy. You’ve still got it.
Comment by Rob March 30, 2012 @ 8:01 amUnfortunately. Ha.
of course it fucking is. i said it.
Comment by andy@cynic March 30, 2012 @ 8:04 amI wouldn’t change my marketing strategy based on their comments but I enjoyed watching it.
Comment by Lee Hill March 30, 2012 @ 7:09 amwheres that fucking invisible children director when you fucking need him? oh i know, hes in jail for naked wanking in the street.
Comment by andy@cynic March 30, 2012 @ 7:14 amAnd the next time you use the term babes on this blog…
Comment by John March 30, 2012 @ 7:21 amThat comment say’s more about you than I ever could.
The police are on their way over.
Comment by Rob March 30, 2012 @ 8:02 amnice kev roberts attack. yesterday ups, today mr fucking loveskidmarks. i can see those fucking blood pressure pills are working well.
Comment by andy@cynic March 30, 2012 @ 8:03 amMr Loveskidmarks.
Gold.
Comment by Billy Whizz March 30, 2012 @ 8:24 amThis video is timely. I have a review soon.
Comment by Bazza March 30, 2012 @ 8:50 amI bet you do. The question is will you end up being escorted back to your office or out of the building?
Comment by Rob March 30, 2012 @ 9:03 amWere any Apple products used in the creation of this exercise?
Comment by John March 30, 2012 @ 5:22 pmYes … but not in the sense the kids saw it. We used Apple to edit the video, what the kids viewed the logos on, was a brand-free monitor.
Comment by Rob March 30, 2012 @ 5:24 pmRats.
Comment by John March 30, 2012 @ 5:32 pmYes, there were rats there – they’re also known as ‘advertising executives’.
Comment by Rob March 30, 2012 @ 5:41 pmPaging Mr. Tumbleweed.
Comment by John March 30, 2012 @ 5:44 pmWhy are you paging him? Don’t you just have to turn to your bed and ask him face-to-face?
Boom. Errrrm, tish.
Comment by Rob March 30, 2012 @ 6:08 pmI’d say don’t give up your day job, but that would just provoke the sleep-deprived father.
Comment by John March 30, 2012 @ 6:15 pmTouche!
Comment by Rob March 30, 2012 @ 6:24 pmMaybe that’s it. Rob is actually working at Weeden and Kenedy, a cheap Chinese knock off…? 😉
Great video, I can’t wait for Adidas and CocaCola’s Chinese marketing team to see it..!!
Comment by Rob Mortimer (Not a fake Andy) April 3, 2012 @ 9:32 pm