Nirvana smells of teen spirits

Saw this spot via a recent Tweet. Clever, delightful concept and beautifully shot. One of a series not too distant from Carlsberg’s long running ‘Probably the Best Lager in the World’ campaign where these utopian worlds would exist if their particular brand of booze was running the show. Course reality is spend five minutes in any city centre late on a Friday or Saturday night where alcohol IS directing proceedings and it’s a stretch to believe you’ll see the kind of charm filled world seen here! More likely get threatened or vomited on by some ‘Absolut’ drunken youth. But then it’s not about the social problems caused by alcohol abuse it’s just an ad right? And a very good one at that.

Winston

Good old Ray Winston! Tough, bluff, authentic and ready to kill someone at any moment. No wonder he played Henry VIII.... West Ham's marketing team did very well in signing up his services for this teaser for next seasons strip. When it comes to celebrity endorsements then this is a winner. And thank goodness Vinnie Jones never played for the Hammers....

A large queue in the Departure lounge

I like to think that we're pretty high Brow at Mammal. We're really not big on toilet humour or anything that degrades us and our clients to little more than a bunch of giggling school-boys. This said there's a spot for All-Bran that's been given a regular run in Australia featuring former cricket test legend Merv Hughes. Seems the agency responsible felt that his mere presence was enough for the ad to work. That rather quaint 'Down Under' mentality of shoving an Aussie icon in an ad and thinking that'll do. Job done. No decent script or ideas required. Equalling of course a limp and dreary TV campaign that does no-one any favours. Least of all the client footing the bill. This said here's a US version of the same '10 Day Fibre Plan' which doesn't include any top Aussie blokes and though visiting a cliched visual idea and the toilet humour we don't approve of is a darn sight better than the Antipodean version. You can't help but smile as you watch...Tut Tut! Shame on us all.....

Shirts (not hats) off!

Avid readers of this blog will have enjoyed a little piece wot I wrote not long ago regarding shirt sponsorship for English Prem team West Ham United AKA The Mighty Hammers. In the blog I was moaning (who me?! never!) about the prominence of the XL Holidays logo on the shirts taking away from the spirit of the strip and in turn de-valuing the West Ham brand. Good news (well unless of course you just booked a holiday with them...) is that XL Holidays have gone bust and West Ham have now terminated their $20 million sponsorship with them. Taking the logo from the shirts and all the branding from the hallowed ground at Upton Park. I'm assuming that meantime the shirts will, like Barcelona, carry no shirt advertising until a new sponsor can be found. Now THAT'S the West Ham United shirt I want! Pure, simple and proud. And if under new manager Zola we could get a string of wins happening in the Prem, maybe have a decent run in the cup competitions AND convince the club owners to put a cool Mammal logo on the shirts (well we can dream!) then the world would be a happier place.

11 IS 'One Louder' Slash!

Ford or Holden? City or United? Dockers or Eagles? Personally I couldn’t give a valid opinion or any of these BUT ask Fender or Gibson? and my piggy little eyes light up and I’ll start to babble. When it comes to guitars and the brands us guitarists love then it’s an argument likely to be as hotly debated as the rightly ownership of the Falkland Islands between an Argentinean and a Brit… Personally I am a Fender man. I won’t go into boring spodish detail but to my ear and eye their design is perfection. The more brute-like Gibson’s have their rightful place in the pantheon of rock guitars but they just don’t have the flexibility of a Fender. I mean if it was good enough for Jimi Hendrix then it’s good enough for me. Which is what any ad for Fender should be telling prospective buyers. Either way here a spot for Mastercard….



B

Pigs might fly. Well climb anyway....

It would appear that I have something of an animal obsession this week as this blog is slightly 'animal related' as well. Well we are called mammal so it goes with the territory. Pfizer as you may know are one the largest pharmaceutical manufacturers on the planet. They make those little blue pills called ‘Viagra’ which are apparently quite popular. They also make a range of ‘animal health’ products from which this wondrous photo from Italian agency D’Adda comes. The message might be somewhat vague but the image manages that delicate balancing act of being both eye-catching and tender. And of course any ad that gets makes an emotion going is onto something. Next time the cat gets a gummy eye I might not demand the vet prescribes a Pfizer product but I might least be aware of the name.

Shirt Sponsor United

There can’t have been too many Manchester Utd fans who didn’t shake their heads in dismay when they hear American owner (Malcolm Glazer) refer to their beloved football team as a ‘Franchise’. OK he’s not wrong. That’s what all the big clubs around the world are. And if not that’s what they want and indeed need to become. You can get Man Utd TV and clothing so we can be fairly certain that a Man Utd washing machine, perfume range and holiday company are all around the corner. Just think ‘Virgin’ but with football boots and flashy dyed hair. Actually Branson already has that second one...

Anyway, it’s a commercial fact of today’s football but for most football fans it does tend to distract from the passion of the game itself.

Which leads me to the current West Ham Utd shirt. Now I’ve been a ‘Hammer’ fan for as long as I can remember and more than happy to wear the replica shirt (Made in China for $0.50 and retailing in shops here for $180.00...) I’m wearing that shirt because of that little West Ham emblem on the left hand pocket corner. Not because of the vast ‘XL Holidays’ logo that totally dominates the entire front of the shirt. Shirt sponsorship has been around for ages (though hats off to Barcelona who have always refused to have shirt sponsors and now have a five year deal with ‘UNICEF’ which for a sport staggering in cash is a commendable way to go). And not doubt to pay those outrageous players wage demands West Ham needed a deal that would pay big money and XL Holidays obviously wanted maximum exposure.

But when it comes to brands then there’s always that danger of ‘devaluing the currency’. And having your club brand logo totally dominated by the current shirt sponsor does just that. Anyway, I shall wear my shirt with pride as always next season but should I need to book a holiday then XL Holidays won’t be top of my list. Maybe give Man U a call and see what packages they’re offering this year…..

Brand Epiphany

This is a blog about branding, marketing, design and creative ideas and how all that stuff is used to connect people to companies and companies to people, or at least how i see it. it's NOT about helping companies to sell stuff - that would be a little to one-way, a little to asymmetrical. This blog started because after 15 years in branding, advertising and marketing I realised that the brand process was being looked at the wrong way, or if you like, only one way - from the companies point of view, but what i realised is the need to not only building brands to connect to people, it's about helping people connect with it brands! The difference? perspective.

I don't want to 'just' help companies build their brands anymore i want to work from the perspective of the 'people' who i feel would like, need, would 'get into connecting with a brand - and then build it from that perspective - sloppily said i know - but of epiphanic (not a word- it should be!) never the less - a shift in dimension, a fresh perspective on things, a break through if you like - a new way of looking at things that gives deeper meaning for me when i am presented with an opportunity to work with a new client or even to look at the way I'm working with them now - inner peace? yes, almost...