Filed under: A Bit Of Inspiration, Attitude & Aptitude, Brand Suicide, Corporate Evil, Crap Campaigns In History, Crap Products In History, Cunning, Egovertising, Insight, Marketing, Marketing Fail, Prams
I know … I know … you would think I am over the whole ‘pram marketing’ thing by now.
Not just because I’ve written a ton about it [here and here and here and probably many other places] but because Otis is 2 and doesn’t need one anymore.
But I’m not.
Not while they keep putting out bullshit like this …
Like everything iCandy do, there’s so much that just pisses me off.
Let’s start with the colouring of the ad.
Orange.
ORANGE.
Who the fuck would want an orange pram?
I’ll tell you who, the pricks who own a lime green Lamborghini.
Yeah, those folks who are so bloody egotistical that they make sure absolutely no one can miss them.
Having a supercar to nip down to the post office to buy some stamps isn’t enough.
They need it in a shade of vomit that means even blind people can see it.
But that isn’t even the most annoying bit.
Look at that claim.
ABSOLUTELY FUTUREPROOF.
Errrrrrrm, does it turn into a bike?
What about a car?
Or a house?
Does it turn into anything OTHER THAN A BLOODY PRAM?
No, no it doesn’t … but yet again, iCandy have spouted a load of marketing twaddle because they don’t want to be in the pram business, they want to be in the innovation business and while I have no doubt that to give a pram 30 different configurations is quite an achievement, it’s still a pram and the innovation isn’t that soddin’ innovative.
But hey, they won’t matter to the fools who buy it … the same fools, as we identified earlier, who buy a lime green Lamborghini.
Because to them it won’t matter if they never use any of the configurations available to them because the purpose of purchase is not to ensure their child is protected and comfortable while being transported between the gym and the chip shop … oh no … for them, it’s all about being seen by everyone around them and being able to bore their ‘friends’ with a list of the prams features they will neither use nor understand.
Once upon a time there was a famous advertising slogan for the telecommunications company Orange that said:
The futures bright, the futures orange.
Well, thanks to iCandy, we have an updated version of that.
The futures bright, the futures fucked.
Filed under: A Bit Of Inspiration, Attitude & Aptitude, Comment, Creativity, Culture, Cunning, Devious Strategy, EvilGenius, Marketing, Marketing Fail, Technology
A little while ago, I wrote about how technology scared me.
It wasn’t because Facebook had served me an ad suggesting I may like to buy a Queen t-shirt that states I was born in the month of June … it was because it was hideous, even for me.
However recently, I was exposed to something even worse than that.
Something that technology was to blame for.
This …
OK, so these things are meant to be a bit of mindless fun … but imagine if you were Barack Obama or Chris Evans.
Would they think it’s ‘mindless fun’?
Mindless, maybe … but fun?!
Even if the technology behind this ‘game’ is simply randomly grabbing 2 celebrity photos and claiming the enquirer is a combination of them, it’s all a bit dangerous.
Yes, I said dangerous … which I openly admit, is a very over-the-top statement, but it’s my blog so I’ll call it what I want.
Oh yes.
Ahem.
So back to the point of the post …
You see there are a huge amount of people who are forever looking for evidence of their specialness and they adapt their reaction to news and events to suit.
A horoscope announcing the World will recognise your contribution to civilisation?
Met with a sense of positivity or – at the very least – hope, even if you try laugh it off to your mates. Trust me, if you’re reading it out for others to hear, there’s a part of you that believes it. Or wants to believe it.
A horoscope announcing this is a week where you will reveal yourself to have failed?
Met with a sneer and swear words.
The thing I found funny about this ‘which celebrity are you most like’ thing, was how many people did it and posted the results.
There were just as many people despairing about what was given to them as there was humble bragging.
The despair was written in a way where you felt the person was asking their friends for reassurance that they weren’t really a cross between Lassie and Britney Spears whereas the humble braggers wrote with a tone that tried to convey they’d found the whole thing hilarious while actually being smug their true spirit had been recognised by an online ‘game’.
And that’s why I love what I do … because while many think it’s all about listening and watching, I feel it’s about understanding and interpreting because so much of what we do is driven by what we are trying to hide [even from ourselves] rather than what we want to reveal.
As I’ve said many times, we’re all hypocrites and these shit Facebook things have a wonderful way of revealing it.
[But I really do think I have Chris Evans/Obama qualities. In my case, I’m positive it’s all true]
Filed under: A Bit Of Inspiration, Attitude & Aptitude, Comment, Culture, Food, Marketing, Marketing Fail
Despite being half Italian, I identify myself as British.
And I love my country.
I do.
I know I don’t live there, but it is still somewhere very precious to me, both for my memories and my friends.
My Britishness affects quite a lot of what I do and how I do it.
Even to this day, if I see ‘bangers and mash’ on a menu, I’m going to have it.
It doesn’t matter if I’m in London, Shanghai or Vietnam … it’s going to go into my gob.
And when I do go home, I absolutely adore stocking up on old favourites.
Monster Munch crisps.
Double Decker chocolate bars.
Kebab Cob Special from Nick the Greeks on Radcliffe Road.
Of course it’s not just food that makes me feel British, but I mention this because I recently got served this ad on Facebook.
Look, I get how nostalgic food can make you feel.
And yes, I appreciate how irrational our emotions can be.
But seriously, who the hell would be nostalgic for beef stock cubes.
Especially pretty shitty beef stock cubes.
Suddenly I don’t feel anywhere near as sad as I thought I was.
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PS: If you want to get a taste for British regional ‘cuisine’ – as well as good old fashioned banter – check out the comments in this awesome article about the Wigan ‘pie sandwich’.
Filed under: A Bit Of Inspiration, Attitude & Aptitude, Comment, Communication Strategy, Creativity, Cunning, Devious Strategy, Insight, Marketing
Just to make sure no one is under the mistaken illusion that this blog is topical, I wanted to bring your attention to something that happened way back in March 2016.
OK … OK … I know for this blog, that’s pretty topical, but let’s put that aside for now.
As I’ve discovered over the years, the car industry may be one of the most competitive industries out there and nothing highlights this more than at Auto-shows.
Seriously, it often appears the focus of the manufacturers is simply to out-do the competition rather than try to engage the potential owner.
Anyway, at New York Auto Show last year [yes, last year] Audi set up a bunch of free Wi-Fi networks and gave them names that highlighted the A4’s features over the BMW 328i.
And because people are always scrambling for free wifi at conventions like this, a huge amount of people not only saw it, but got educated by it at the same time.
Simple, smart, evil.
Of course, this isn’t a new thing, just a smart thing.
A deviously smart thing.
Filed under: A Bit Of Inspiration, Attitude & Aptitude, Comment, Cunning, Insight
So I recently watched the movie, The Big Short, again and was reminded of this quote …
God I love it.
Apart from being funny, I love it because it’s true.
As humans, we are inherently hypocritical. Not because we are bastards, but because it helps us survive and give us self-respect.in this highly competitive world.
Because as I wrote here, general honesty is better than raw truth.