Daily Mail Scum…
I am an unashamedly proud pinko, lefto, vegetarian Guardian reader. This is doing the rounds and it’s rather chucklesome…
Iain G. Morrison is a senior marketer in the British Tourism Industry. And contrary to popular belief, did NOT read it in The Daily Mail…
Points of view…
Are we live Kate?
Dear Anne Robinson,
Why, oh why, oh why do people always start letters to points of view with why, oh why, oh why??? Anyhoo, as people who write to points of view often do upfront, I digress.
Let me start by saying that I am deeply fond of all things Auntie.
The BBC is rarely off in my house, office, commute etc. As with most people the right side of 40, I don’t tend to bother with the radio or TV schedule anymore what with your wonderous i-player. And lets face it, that’s what’s kept the Asian network and BBC 6 going this long!
Fear not, I’m not going to get all ‘Save BBC Radio 6’ on you (despite owning a few compact discs from Cornershop). No, I need to discuss something far more disturbing. Have you been watching BBC2 of late? I think someone is purposefully trying to run it into the ground.
I know one of the many ‘cost saving measures’ being bandied around is cutting BBC2’s afternoon schedule, but given the drivel blocking the airwaves this week, I’d go a step further and shut if off at night-time too. I mean I ask you. Outside of the farming community, who really wants to watch a sheep give birth. Lambing Live? Seriously?
Are you trying to make the Daily Mail brigade queasy whilst they sup their pre-bed cup of cocoa? (Actually, I don’t mind that so much, perhaps you should aim to do that a little more).
I know the licence payer is obliged to find Kate Humble some nature nonsense to ramble on about live on TV for a week, but have you nothing better to fill the schedule with than some jumper / chop in the waiting go through childbirth? Why, even re-runs of the Tellytubbies would be preferable to being exposed to drivel such as: “I put my hand in and could feel two front feet at the entrance to the cervix,” she said.
ENTRANCE TO THE CERVIX? What would Mary Whitehouse have made of this animal related filth, I ask you?
“Following up the legs, I could feel the muzzle. You don’t have to pull; you gently help the ewe who is pushing anyway. It’s a cliché but it was a miracle – a living thing. There was a rush and this great big slippery black lamb was lying there.”.
If you wouldn’t mind having a word with the controller of BBC2 and getting him to pass on his heartfelt apology (and no doubt detailed explanation of the teeny tiny demographic of three people living in rural somewhere being represented by this drivel), it would be greatly appreciated.
And if that fails, just tell him he’s the weakest link (goodbye), and that he should ruddy well give Mad Men a decent scheduling slot. Say in place of lambs popping out live?
I’m sure deep down everyone know it makes sense, and watching Don Draper make babies is far more preferable than watching sheep pop them out.
Yours frustratingly desperate for a lamb chop (and been put right off meat for life by BBC2),
Iain G. Morrison (the sheep hating Mad Men and beeb loving ad man).
Soapy…
What do:
1) Paedophilia, 2) Alcoholism, 3) Attempted murder on a parent, 4) and most recently, a young muslims foray into a homosexual relationship have in common? (I’m sure Abu Hamza would not approve…)
Why, they’re all headline grabbing attempts by the Beeb scriptwriters to keep the masses watching Easternders of course…
‘Enders is something of an institution, but has lost its way somewhat over the past few years.
I’m still surprised the BBC haven’t adopted more digital marketing techniques to give the show a boost and deepen engagement with its hard-core audience, particularly to help them shape, and input into the show.
But for the meantime, they have another Daily Mail furore ahead… (which will help awareness in the short term at least)
Iain Morrison is a senior marketer in the British Tourism Industry, an Eastenders fan and like all of you, knows nothing beats a good soap death…
In the night garden…
In the night garden
Kids love it.
Some adults moan about the use of ‘improper language’ encouraging kids to keep up the googoo gaagaa speak (both sides can quote stats, for what it’s worth, I think it’s positive), but you can’t ignore the fact for legions of parents and children, In the night garden has affirmed itself as one of the top kids TV programmes in a very short space of time…
In the Night Garden is best described as; ‘a modern televisual interpretation of a nursery rhyme picture book’. Quite a tall order, but when you consider that this is a staple in the ‘bedtime hour’ on cbeebies (BBC’s dedicated children’s TV channel), it presents itself as the modern day equivalent of a bedtime story. Its about a magical place that exists between waking and sleeping in a child’s imagination.
We even have Knight of the Realm David Jacobi narrating. Perfect pre-bed time fodder.
The whole programme is executed flawlessly. Gentle intro, upbeat story / crazy funtime, and as we start the wind-down, a recap of the story, all the characters slow, and pack themselves off to bed. And then at the end, it’s your turn to go to bed too little one. Genius…
Carry this through into every possible merchandising opportunity going, and we have some very happy creators, and some parents lighter in the wallet.
The BBC / Virgin cynically deleting all shows from store-able hard drives in the build up to Christmas aside (ensuring everyone bought the DVD box set to keep up the bedtime routine), we have a shining example of how to make money from the pre-school market, without being seen to be aggressively marketing to them. After all, none of us want the Daily Mail brigade up in arms calling on tighter government regulations…
Hats off chaps, well done.
Iain Morrison is a senior marketer in the British Tourism Industry. And a massive Pontipinites fan, even though they haven’t got the gravitas to carry an entire episode all on their own…
Calling in sick…
full of flu?
Occasionally (whether clients or agencies choose to admit it), part of the brief is ‘get my brand / product in the papers. Extend the campaign however you can, get journalists writing about us, get us on the news… Anything, just make something magical happen that takes the campaign beyond what we can actually afford…’.
Often, this can transform a modest campaign budget into something that becomes not just tomorrow’s water-cooler moment, but rumbles on for days, weeks if you are really, really lucky. Charities often deploy this tactic to maximum effect, anyone remember the baby shooting up, or with a cockroach crawling out of it’s mouth? A killer combination (well done BBH / NSPCC).
The latest storm in a tea-cup, is Benilyn’s new campaign, encouraging (shock horror), people who are unwell with cold / flu type symptoms to call in sick. Business leaders are up in arms, complaining about sickness costing the economy some £13 billion a year (I wonder how much poor management costs the economy), and the Daily Mail brigade have yet another reason to give an unapproving sniff to the biggest threat to their well-being since the last biggest threat to their well-being..
Yet, the agency that created the ad (and no doubt stage managed the timely release of certain snippets to the press), claim that many managers would rather ill people stay at home, get well, and not martyr into work.
When they soldier on, they are generally markedly less productive than normal, and run the risk infecting those around them. (For those of us in London, an hour home on the underground should always see to that irrespective of who has what bug in the office).
The campaign line, ‘Take a Benilyn day’ didn’t cause the majority of the furore however. That came from the very simple, engaging website (takeabenilynday.co.uk), which offers ideas on what to do on your bed ridden sick day, and (cue Daily Mail shock), how to make the all important call to the boss. Sadly, the head under the duvet technique is not recommended, or even cited. Have a look at the site. It’s worth the 5 minute investment, if nothing else to chuckle at those that have a ‘formal boss’. Poor dears…
All in all, this showcases an exercise in a well briefed agency (that understands its client, their product, their limits, the consumer all combined with a killer insight and a keen team of people who understand how to stage manage the campaign to the wider media in order to make that small budget go that bit further.
One would presume a promotion for the marketing manager is in the offing, the relationship is further embedded with the agency, and that all parties understood EXACTLY what they were doing, risks and all, as these projects are prone to failure, or backfire.
Kudos to you all, but I’ll still be sticking with lemsip…
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