Archive | Good ad / bad ad RSS for this section
April 3, 2015  

#GoodAd from Snickers feat. Mr. Bean…

In any long running campaign, inevitably there are weaker, and stronger executions. I’d say this be one of the latter. Taking advantage of the Clarkson fracas was smart. But this little gem featuring Rowan ‘Mr. Bean’ Atkinson himself? Tis rather amusing.

Iain G. Morrison is a senior marketer in the third sector. And is off to get some nuts. Cashew as you’re asking. Not Marathon / Snickers… 

March 19, 2015  

The solar eclipse comes to Britain…

So. There’s an eclipse tomorrow. It’s Britain. It’s spring. And it’s highly likely the weather will spoil most people’s ability to watch it. But, don’t worry. If you can’t see the eclipse, just watch this rather amusing ad from 1999 instead.

Much more entertaining…

Iain G. Morrison is a senior marketer in the third sector. And loves the cake. Jaffa, or otherwise… 

November 13, 2014  

#BRANDFAIL OF THE WEEK: Sainsbury’s Christmas Ad

Oh Sainsbury’s.

There is no denying, this is a beautiful piece of work. Absolutely stunning. Emotive without the need for a huge amount of dialogue. Beautifully shot. Moody. Epic in that cinema like way. Credibility lent by a charitable stamp. But…

When all those men who died on the battlefield were sold a vision of a better tomorrow, did that include blatantly using their sacrifice during the Christmas ‘supermarket wars’ to flog a few poxy crackers, prawn rings, booze,  puddings and other overpriced festive tat?

The answer to that, is no. Highly emotive it may be, but it’s also highly disrespectful and tasteless. IGM is not amused…

Iain G. Morrison is a senior marketer in the third sector. And is firmly on Team Penguin this evening… 

February 6, 2014  

Money Supermarket Snoop Dog ad…

This made me laugh out loud. If there was an award for the best car insurance ad of the decade, this MUST be in with a shout. Nice hashtag use on Twitter, with #moneysnoopermarket leading the charge. Pity they didn’t carry it through to the TVC though, but all in?

Sterling work….

Iain G. Morrison is not currently in the market for car insurance…

January 6, 2014  

Hotels4u new campaign: Anything for you my Brummie cupcake…

I am not from that there London (although having lived here for over a decade, it would appear I’m a bona fide Londoner).

One thing that still frustrates me as a northerner, is the ongoing lack of regional accents across the media, let alone that advertising landscape. Yes, the soft Celtic tones of the Scots and Irish generally fare well. They are oft’ used for their warm, open, trusting tones. But the Brummies?

Research rarely positions their accent well domestically. And let’s be honest. This new ad campaign from Hotels4u is unlikely to do much to help that view. Yes, they were going for fun. And they’ve probably produced several ads on a very small budget, for which they should be applauded.

But is it annoying? Yes. Is it memorable? Unsure. Does it have the staying power of the annoying Insurance Opera Singer (who they seem to be doing a good job of managing through staged consumer hatred)? I doubt it. Will it work? I guess we’ll see…

But still. Anything for yaaaaaawwww coooopcayyyyke. Can’t wait to see what the Brumlanders make of it…

Iain G. Morrison is a senior marketer in the third sector. And is absolutely not anti-Brummie. bab.

October 22, 2012  

Good ad / bad ad: Another lemon from British Airways

Oh British Airways. What has happened to thee?

Gone are the years of your beloved ads. Gone are the days you could lay claim to being the world’s favourite airline. And now, it seems gone are the days where we could hope BBH could start churning out some decent work for you.

After the Facebook chairs turd, we now have this from BA’s . How do they differentiate between their offering and the aggressive low-cost competitors? Which benefits do they really zone in on…

  • A greater route network to central airports not miles from where you want to be?
  • A focus on their generous Air Miles (well, Avios) scheme that means the more often you fly, the greater the benefits?
  • A genuine focus on the superior service offered by their highly trained (and highly paid), cabin crew?
  • A poxy piece of lemon in a plastic cup?

It’s not funny. It’s not engaging. It’s a pretend piece of talking lemon in a free drink (big whoop), that in my view, should lead to a serious shake up. Something somewhere just isn’t right.

A freelance journalist was asking his Twitter followers to send in questions for his upcoming interview Sir John Hegarty on Twitter a few months back .

My question?

Hand on heart, did he really want any of BBH’s British Airways work on his reel. For some reason, despite acknowledging the question (and passively agreeing with me), he chose not to ask it. I shall leave you all to draw your own conclusions.

Seems everyone on the BA account is too busy zigging…

Iain G. Morrison prefers lime in his gin.

October 4, 2012  

New Facebook ad. And chairs…?

So. The much heralded Facebook ad they release as they hit the 1 billion mark.

When you compare it to the Google work, it’s sorely lacking in emotion. And considering Facebook are master facilitators in the social space, it seems an odd move to disable comments on their Youtube channel…

C-minus Facebook. Please try harder next time…

Iain G. Morrison won’t be rushing out to buy shares in Facebook. Quite yet…

September 28, 2012  

Google. A kitchen table. A satchel. Simply stunning…

I find a lot of work coming out of the BBH stable these days very hit or miss. Their rather grandiose opinion of themselves isn’t always warranted when you see a lot of the very average work they churn out these days.

But their Google work?

Them at their best. Touching stories. Beautifully told. Engaging. Shareable. More of this please BBH…

Iain G. Morrison rather fancies himself a new man bag…

September 25, 2012  

Heineken Bond ad? Oh dear…

Heineken.

They have such a rich marketing history, and have churned out some ruddy brilliant TV ads over the years. Their museum (or experience as they like to call it), in Amsterdam is worth a visit. Done some pretty tasty digi-bits in recent years too.

However, there’s so many things wrong with this latest offering. It’s just not funny. Homage elements are drab; uninspired. Bond takes his drinks shaken, not stirred. We all know this. To imagine he’d rock up at the bar and order a beer by brand name? Well, it just doesn’t wash. However much money they’ve wasted on sponsorship.

But the thing that offends me most? It feels an awful lot like a recent Stella ad?

Poor Heineken. Poor…

Iain G. Morrison is a not a fan of beer. He likes gin…

September 14, 2012  

Save our library…

The classic answer to a marketing problem / solution for much of the last century, was advertising. Men don’t wee straight? Then put an ad up in the urinal telling them to pee straight. Presumably, distracting them. And having them piss all over the god damned place.

Some bright spark came along one day and said, nay. An ad isn’t the answer. We need to think differently. Come at the problem from a different angle. Find a new solution. Let’s put stickers of flies all over the centre of the urinal, and give those sloppy gents something to aim at. Result? Man improves aim. Feels like King. Cleaner happy. Everyone wins. Solution to problem much cheaper than multi-mega-bucks global campaign.

I’m not saying advertising doesn’t have it’s place and can’t generate results. But sometimes, it’s just not the answer. This let gem came across my inbox from the Balls loving (Ed, not hairy), @Stevengradidge who shares my view. That. This. Is. Utter. Genius…

Not bad thinking from Leo Burnett. Book burning / Tea Party stupid looking / library saving kudos to them indeed…

Iain G. Morrison loves libraries. 

« Older Posts