The best known Super Bowl spot of all time is perhaps the Apple 1984 one. For that era, it was the equivalent of ’shock and awe’, I guess. Over time, advertising during the event has been a subject of increasing public & media attention. The result: advertisers wanted to outdo each other in getting attention. For a while it was funny. The early spots for EDS, E*Trade, Budweiser (frog), Monster.com (‘When I grow up’), Tabasco (‘Mosquito’) were genuinely funny and memorable.

Over the years, things have become repetitive. Being bizarre, outrageous and aiming for the lowest common denominator in terms of IQ levels may have delivered results years ago. Not anymore. So stop aiming to please only the cretins among the audience. I think GoDaddy is a perfect example of this. What worked some 5 years ago is being rehashed and re-presented over and over again. It’s tiring to watch. Almost feel like the guy in the Career Builder ad – letting out deep sighs.

I showed a 50-odd ad collection of last night’s Super Bowl in the office. Underwhelming is the word that comes to mind. See the ads here or here. What gives? I think agencies are getting caught up in their own creativity or too much of this crowd sourcing bit is happening. What explains the lack of a single, outstanding ad with an idea? Google’s Parisian Love was my favourite among the lot – simply because it was devoid of any buffoonery.  It’s perhaps becuase the event and the advertising around it has become what we in India call, a tamasha.

Trust me, next year will be no different. There will be even more crowd sourcing, even more hype before the event (why on earth do advertisers release their Super Bowl ads to media before the event?) and even more bizarre ad themes. Hopefully the old style advertising will stand out even more.

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Ad Age reports that ‘Omnicom Group’s TBWA/Chiat/Day has appointed Neal Grossman, a one-time certified public accountant who over 25 years at TBWA has served in various financial and strategy positions, as its first global chief compensation officer‘. This new position is over and above the Chief Financial Officer is meant to lead contract renegotiations with clients and procurement officers, and overseeing fee discussions during new-business pitches. He will develop value-based compensation models that are mutually beneficial to the agency and its clients. Phew. About time.

Over the years, agencies are dealing with procurement officers to negotiate compensation & fees, not the CMO or the CEO. Agency services are equated with raw materials, stationery and other over heads. The name of the game – ‘best price’ for the client. Unfortunately, agencies have paved their own path to arrive here.  I think TBWA’s move is a step in the right direction. As the article outlines, this role requires a unique skill set  - appreciating the value of various departments within the agency. The success of such a role depends on so many other factors though:

- it warrants a similar broad perspective from the client side too. Very often the person negotiating the price on the other side simply sees a head count and a number. A senior resource (often expensive) could be asked to be replaced by two people who would cost half that amount. The value of the senior person’s input goes unappreciated or unexplained to the client.

- does the Chief Compensation Officer have the power to veto an account on account of it being non-viable?

Either which way, an interesting move by TBWA to address an industry-level issue. Will other agencies follow suit?

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Saatchi & Saatchi, Australia has developed a new integrated campaign for Toohey’s NEW beer (yes, the brand name is NEW).  I simply loved the central creative idea, the executions and the potential for creating integrated stuff.  According to Campaign Brief,  the fully integrated campaign explores the truth that in Australia, beer is constantly used as currency. Whether it’s helping a mate move house or installing a dishwasher, you can always get things done with a case of beer. But the beauty lies in converting it to a Beer Economy idea – Toohey’s NEW is the official currency of the beer economy.

The idea is brought alive in a series of spots showcasing funny situations with a handy guide to how much you can charge for tasks ranging from helping your mate to helping your nana.

See the rest of the ads here.

In absolute parity categories like beer, advertising is often the differentiator. What I liked about this campaign was the creation of a creative idea based on a human insight – something that is ownable and can be leveraged across media. Not surprisingly, there is lot more stuff planned. According to mUmBRELLA:

the campaign will have digital component with a website offering beer lovers advice and guidelines on the ‘beer values’ of various tasks. An online Beer Exchange Calculator application will allow users to answer multiple choice questions to work out how many beers they are owed, or how many they need to hand over.

The website is based around a YouTube channel which will house the campaign’s content and link users to resources which can be personalised, including downloadable branded ‘beer invoices’ and a ‘For the Love of Beer I Will ……’ PDF template for people to use when trading tasks for beer.

The campaign will be supported by in-store activation, with bottle shops and pubs stocking ‘Beer IOU’ coasters, ‘Tooheys New Accepted Here’ stickers for tradesmen and ‘Beer IOU’ cheque books.

Awesome stuff.

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Over the years, ‘newspapers, periodicals and’ as a category has seen some memorable creative work – Veja (Dead vs Alive), The Economist, SKY television and several others come to mind. Among the common themes covered, ‘transporting you to the place of action’ and ‘presenting an in-depth coverage of world events feature right up there. In this context, came across an interesting execution for Cape Times, South Africa.

Agency: Lowe Bull, Cape Town, South Africa. Via: Ads of the World

Interesting twist to an otherwise familiar theme. Take a look at the original Tiananmen Square photo and the idea for the 2nd ad comes alive even more. And oh, flawless execution – which is something missing from mainstream print advertising in India. No?

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The new TVC for Parle Agro’s baked munchies, Hippo, is creating some buzz. A majority of people have reacted with positive comments. In a highly competitive category, the ‘root cause of all evil is hunger – appease hunger with Hippo’ proposition is being seen as unique.

Agency: Creativeland Asia

The brand name Hippo, the packaging, communication and the planned surround ideas seem to follow a similar pattern seen in the earlier work from the Parle Agro-Creativeland Asia combination: a focused brand idea which then permeates across the brand name, packaging and the communication. Take for example, Saint Juice. Positioned as a 100% juice, every aspect of the brand – from the name, to packaging to communication reflected this pure, honest platform. Even with LMN, they had a focused proposition, a memorable brand name and an insightful communication.

With Hippo, here are the things that worked for me:

- a focused approach: ‘Fighting world hunger’ is an exalted claim and one may argue that it’s hyperbole at it’s best. But hey, at least they’ve stuck to it from the word go. As outlined in the personality of Hippo in the website, the brand is a caring cook. They carried that thought in the brand name too. The attempt seems also to differentiate from the market – and hence the packaging is relatively simple & stark.

- big idea with legs:  by not focusing on ‘how my brand makes you feel’ or a specific feature of the product, they have taken an exalted stand: what the brand does from a larger perspective.

And the things that didn’t work for me:

- there is no reason-why given to buy the brand. The focus is all on making a clutter breaking commercial which hopefully leads to likeability which hopefully leads to sales

- isn’t hunger satiation the job of all snacks? I could distribute samosas and fight evil? How is Hippo better placed (baked not fried gets a mention) to do that? Just because they are saying it first doesn’t make it any more credible.

- at 1:40 seconds it’s a bit of  a luxury in media. Yes, making a cracker of a longer duration commercial is better than making a mediocre 30-seconder, but ain’t this a tad too long?

- huge opportunity lost in not having the website ready to complement the TVC. The TV commercial promotes the web URL only for you to see the  TVC again there.

But the above issues could be just quibbles. By not playing safe and thinking big, Hippo has created buzz. More importantly the focused, cohesive approach across all elements appealed to me. Remains to be seen if the consumer bites the fighting hunger argument. Do you?

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This video put together by Neil Curtis is doing the round of tech & Apple blogs. It compresses the entire iPad launch event into 180-odd seconds, capturing the key sound bytes of the event.

Via: Mashable

Pretty much sumps how Apple presents it’s products: there’s no half-assed stuff here.

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Here’s a great example of the Seen & Noted category of creatives.  The Creative Method, Australia created a Christmas Party invitation that was meant to serve as a new business tool too. According to the agency, initially the prospects were emailed a doctors prescription, followed by the package in a discrete paper bag. The invitation and the tablets were located inside.

Via: Packaging of the World.

Apparently, the party included staff dressed as doctors & medicinal shots administered by transvestites. Ravi Shastri would have said this is ‘just what the doctor ordered’ for new business. Reminded me of an invite sent for the launch of Mauritius Tourism to corporate honchos and Page 3 types. It was a huge box with a note written to the secretary asking her ‘not to spoil the fun for her boss’. Otherwise, direct mail pieces would be thrown into the bin by her – you know, those days emails weren’t common. Inside the big box was a question ‘What on earth do you wear for a Mauritian evening?’. Open it and it said, ‘try this for size’. Open the second flap and there was a straw hat. I am told many of those who attended the party wore the straw hat. I wouldn’t know – I think I just carried the art work once back from Studio for proof checking.

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Loved this campaign for The Goodlife Recipe, a pet food company, for it’s insight, the creative idea and the execution. They’ve created a ficititious family, The Bartons who have a pet dog, Clay and a cat, Mitten. The everyday antics of their pets is presented in claymation (Clay, Mitten – get it?) in a series of print ads.

Agency: TBWA\Chiat\Day. Via Ads of the World.

Pet food brands have in the past, tapped on the the insight that ‘pet lovers share a special relationship with their pets’. It could manifest in going to great lengths to make them feel special or simply enjoying the unique equation pets have with them. And only pet lovers could relate to such a trigger. One of the popular campaigns based on this insight is for Purina’s Felix cat food. It showcased the mischief and antics of a cat called Felix through a series of cartoons in UK dailies. It was all summed up beautifully in the tag line: ‘Cats like Felix like Felix‘.

Anyway, I am digressing. I also liked the Good Recipe campaign because of the seamless integration of the idea on the web. Unlike some campaigns where the advertising is developed independent of brands’s personality on the web, this one feels like one big integrated idea.

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And so the iPad has been announced. And the sun still rises in the east.

I was glued to my Macbook,  following the various live blogs. I also managed to catch the live television coverage on CNBC’s US feed. The last time a similar thing happened in 2007, during the iPhone launch, I was elated. It was a high. Did I get the same elated feeling this time around? No. Like several tech watchers and bloggers have said, the iPad is not a revolutionary product. But it certainly isn’t a bummer like some Apple bashers and WinMo fanboys claim.

I think there is a concerted effort from Apple to create a market. As Sir Steve put it, Apple wants to be in the intersection of technology and liberal arts. Does Apple have a winner? That’s anybody’s guess. I think the chances are good. Damn good. There are enough and more naysayers (as was the case with the iPhone – Al Ries predicted that it would be a disaster) who think the iPad serves no purpose or has serious shortcomings to make any headway.

Who is it meant for?: ‘why would I carry this when I already have a phone and have a computer?’ is the common question. The simple answer is: it’s not meant for everybody. If you already have a laptop (which gives mobile connectivity and takes care of your computing need) and a smartphone (for calls and basic internet surfing and gaming) you will be hard pressed to justify an iPad. If you also have an Amazon Kindle, you are unlikely to see merit in such a device. The sweet spot which Apple refers to – in between a smart phone and a Netbook – doesn’t exisit today in my opinion. Steve Jobs should have included this slide in his presentation, but since he didn’t here’s my version of it:

The likely reaction to iPad from the 3 groups:

Bottom: ‘I want’!

Middle: ‘I don’t need an iPad! But I think I wan’t it! Wait, no…I don’t. Maybe I will check it out’.

Top: ‘WinMo and Win 7 rock! I am happy with my mobile and PC. What’s an iPad?’

Essentially, if you are sold on Apple products already  - especially the iPod Touch or the iPhone, you make a great candidate for iPad. I think the UI of the iPod Touch/iPhone would already be familiar and the promised user experience of the iPad would be a smooth transition. As Milind (an iPhone fan) of Smoking Apples, puts it:

I’ve never really liked notebooks. All I’ve ever used the MacBook for was surf the internet, and when forced to, a little bit of coding is as far as I’ll go. I’ve been waiting for an Apple tablet, and now that I see it, it fits in totally with what I’ve wanted. It’s cheap, does internet really well, and will be an awesome media consumption device. I don’t expect to use it to play games (I don’t even use my iPhone for that), nor would I think of doing heavy graphics work on it. As of right now, the iPhone is more of an internet communicator to me than a phone. Given the iPad, the iPhone will act as a backup for when I can’t carry my iPad along. To read up on my Instapaper queue, weed through my feeds with a slick RSS reader, and reply to email, is just what the iPad was made for, and I want that.

There are scores like Milind for whom the iPhone/iPod is inseparable and for them this is a great backup option. For Macbook users like me, this could be great hybrid device – bringing in the best of the Macbook (web surfing experience, keyboard, productivity) and the extras like the iBook Store, App Store on steroid, music and video. Some have dubbed the iPad ‘an oversized iPod Touch’ dismissively. So what? The great looks, superb web surfing experience and the enhancements – all promise a great user experience.Those who own a Blackberry or high end smartphone and/or Windows laptop would probably be the fence sitters. The naysayers with little chance of buying the iPad would be mid-priced/popular mobile phone users and Windows users would probably be the hardest to convert.

I think the iPad has good chances of being a success (especially in the West), because:

- Captive initial audience : there are 75 million units of iPhone and iPod touch worldwide. Anyone who has used one of those will know how intuitive the user experience is.

- Unique content: when the iPhone App Store was announced, who would have imagined that it would have an app for bird watchers, so many genuinely useful apps? That it woud make the iPhone useful even in the field of telemedicine? Similarly, content specially made for the iPad from periodicials, journals, text books, gamers could make it far more appealing than a smart phone, Netbook or iPad touch.

When it comes to India, I predict it to be a non-starter – if Apple ever chooses to officially launch here, that is. Why?

- No iPhone halo or Apple halo

- We want the comfort of a device that claims to do everything rather than a device that actually does few things extremely well

- pricing: base price of $499 means at least 35k in India. Laptops start at that price here.

My biggest gripe with the iPad is the lack of multi-tasking. Not being able to check your Twitter feed while say, working on a document on an iPad, is a huge let down. One hopes that future versions have this option along with others like a camera. But what the hell, the bloody thing looks great. Drool.

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When you have a hit in your hands, like the Barclays Waterslide commercial, the pressure to go one up with a sequel is huge. Barclaycard and BBH, their agency, have taken this literally and have put a man on a roller coaster ride across New York in their follow up commercial.

When you have such a powerful visual device in water slide (which was even converted into a successful iPhone game) and roller coaster, why bother with highlighting product features & benefits? The link to the ‘contactless’ payment is tenuous at best.But an enjoyable commercial, nevertheless. So when is the iPhone app being released?

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