My all-time top 10 TV adverts.

I was chatting to a colleague the other day and we talking about our favourite ads of all-time I casually rattled of a couple of mine and she responded and said perhaps you could share your top ten, well I made a list and below is my top 10 ever. > > In first place is 'Snow Plough' from 1964 for VW. I saw this advert in the late 80's and it's one of those adverts that attracted me to go to art college. Timeless and the voiceover is so dry, just brilliant. A very close second was 1999 Surfer from Guinness, I literally got goosebumps when I heard and saw this at the cienma. Those close ups and the beginning combined with the booming soundeffects, the build of the story as we pan out to sea, the editing is top notch. It sold product as it was based on a product truth but it was also the closest to been also a work of art. Tick Tock, tick tock. In at number 3 is Dambusters by Carling Black Label Loved the way this was shot I remember at the time this was one of the first UK TV commercials to have that cinematic feel to it, the pay off at the end and twist is just so good. British humour at it's finest. Another beer advert! Seem to have a theme going on Heineken. 'The Water in Majorca' they say refreshes the parts other beers cannot reach well I can watch this spot again and again and I'll never get tired of it. I know the gags as I watched it so many times but the performances are just esquiste. Gosh. Volvo featuring Jean-Claude Van Damme is in at number 6, here he is carrying out his famous splits between two moving trucks. Apparently it was never done before,and I can see why it bcame viral with so many hits. A wonderful demo and I loved the choice of music from Enya, which has a very sedate pace to it as the story unfolds and with that end shot, for us boys it's eye watering brilliant. I saw this advert for Tonka Trucks one Christmas as a 5 year kid, I wanted one for Christmas. When I did I tried everything to smash it as boys we do but alas the advert was true, it did not smash as mauch as I tried. Another brilliant demo around a product truth. This advert still makes me laugh, it was at a time when a lot of adverts were very Punk rock and disruptive was a common thread as the agnecy HHCL at the time who did this advert also did Ronceal and Pot Noodle. This Tango ad was my favourite it was even better than the orginal 'orange man slap' 'Let's break for lunch' what a line and what a performance!! An idea that'so simple, locked off camera just a mamma mia of an idea. The cast and the surpise product makes this piece, it's so left field in its creative execution. I love it, the dude is brilliant. and my last one for Nike - Parklife, yes it's still a cracker. The blend of superstars with everyday Sunday league players and those third shots too all round a top draw spot from Nike. So there you have it, these are my top 10, any others you think should be included or taken out?

Good ideas are timeless

I love ideas as in creative ideas that are playful with the written word or art directed in a way that captures your eye. (Ideally both of these skill sets work even better in conjunction). Take these two examples which came up in my social media feed, they stopped me in my tracks, my thumb came to juddering halt, I wondered why? Both have charm in tone of voice, both are also informative. They treat the viewer with intelligence and there's no need to 'fill in the gaps' as many marketing director's these like to do. This is what great ideas do, it moves you to act. To buy product, ohh those dirty words that seems to be the trend these days, to avoid selling stuff, ironically at all costs. 'Brand purpose' is all the rage but these posters have a purpose and their purpose is to flog stuff. What is also of interest, these two posters must be at least 40 year's apart, the Tide poster was conceieved just after the end of WW2, when Britain was in rebuilding mode after her cities where bombed, this is my hometown, London, East London to be precise. I love the line, it even has the brands name in the headline. (Dave Trott would I'm sure be impressed) and if you look closely it even has a bit of a special build going on, the use of type and graphics is dated but somehow would look fresh now, it has that retro feel to it. The headline" Tide's in - Dirt's out! what a line - just 4 words and hits a home run and the product benifit pitched in a charming way. Fast-foward to the 90's and we have a poster van driving around selling a bedside cabient. Again what a headline this is, it made me smile and again just 4 words to sell the product. How many ads have you seen lately that can do that? B&Q is the only work out of Uncommon London I can recall that has acheived that lately. These are timeless and like all good ideas will be remembered and recalled, as for the 99.9%, they'll all go in the black hole of nothingness. Work to be done for all creatives to get noticed and sell stuff. Tick,tock.

Unbelievable in this day and age.

This was aired on my Facebook feed from a female colleague bemoaning in this day and age this type of work is been produced. It’s shocking really and when you work in the industry you feel quite embarrassed even when you had thankfully nothing to do it with it. As I’m in the industry I also know that ‘creative’ work and I use the term loosely here, has to go various rounds of sign off, from internal sketches and finally mock ups to present back to a team of marketing directors. SO at what stage did anyone question this headline: ”You look like you would fancy a 50 year old..’ In an industry I know from colleagues at various agencies the sly bullying and ageism is rife in our industry. This type of work just encourages that behaviour further. I also noticed today the new Campaign Faces to watch what was so refreshing was the vast majority were female, so change is happening I just hope that the change will also come when it comes to hiring mature and experienced talent. How refreshing would it be when the day comes when you have a creative team one in their 20’s and one in their 70’s in a top ad agency. - now that’s something that I would raise a drink to. Time for change let’s as creative’s not encourage work like this if we want to attract the best talent into the industry.

Blah Blah Bollocks

Thursday Thought: Filling in the blanks with a formulaic approach in writing creative briefs produces formulaic creative solutions. We need to think and dig deeper into out clients needs beyond marketing jargon. (The solution might not even be an advertising campaign). Think differently and make a real difference.

The Formula To Writing A Manifesto

I came across this and it shows you the tricks writers use when writing that powerful manifesto.After much crafting and late nights they finally stand in front of a suite of clients as they all turn and stare. He or she pushes play, the film begins with the exact formula as the poster below, same pace, same bullet points with a big final one word headline which is a bit random, it gets them all the time. High-fives as we see grown men with tears rolling down their faces as they hug one another. You take the glory but in your heart you know it’s just not really that creative it's a trick. So why do we all do it? Because it bloody works when it comes to winning pitches. Sad really that it will come down to the 'best' choice of accompanying music and footage.Most clients fall for this trap, but the good ones, pause after seeing this and say; 'Very good internal mood film now show me how that idea comes to life for our audience that they will react in a positive way?' 'How is that going to solve our business problem?' Wise words, maybe we should put that in all our future manifestos? Now that would be creative.

I don’t need two hands to hold a Gold Cannes

Came across this belter this morning and I had to share. Yes yes I know you could write this script for any beer brand and my response would be; yes you could but bollocks! Why? Because they did it first and to be frank this has everything in my book; a simple idea, art directed and the cast are spot on, and the cherry on the top is the writing of the lyrics, pure class as is the production, it’s off the chart. I watched the full version, transfixed and laughed at each scenario, really lovely work and when I finished viewing I thought to myself;that should do well at Cannes this year. ‘I’m drinking this for you’ with their classic line; 'I don't need two hands to....' Apparently didn’t win anything, please correct me if I’m wrong but I just read it on the forums. If that is the case then something is seriously wrong there, this is a piece of old (maybe that is the problem) school approach but goes one step further in treating the viewer with intelligence that entices you in, rather than a quick blunt gag. One thing that I do know; if I was the creative behind this work; I wouldn’t need two hands to hold a Gold Cannes, to know this is a cracking piece of creative communication. View this gem here

If You Want Change Start At The Top

This is #MarketingMurmur 6 vodcast, Some views on the #Shesays event I attended at Karmarama the other night. Hearing the panels horror stories, it struck me how unbelievable rude some clients and agency people behave. Appalling in their demands and bullying emotionally and physically. It's rife in our industry and we do nothing, shame on the management within agencies who allow clients to treat agency staff in this way. Sadly ares holes are at the top regardless of their gender. Most agencies eventually fire clients only when the business is about to leave or they can't make anymore money from it, they then say we did it as they were treating our team badly. The sad truth is; talented people leave the business because of these attitudes. Interested to hear your thoughts and your horror stories and maybe some suggestions on how to change this behaviour.

The elephant in the room

Marketing Murmur on diversity in our industry and that comment from Justin Tidall

Marketing Ideas and spooky job titles

Funny thing I noticed recently, and it's this; our industry is now changing not by the year or week it's changing by the day,a quick search today this is what came up; Snapchat glasses, BMW built a power plant from old electric-car batteries, Microsoft puts AI to work in Office 365 I could go on and in that new roles are created and others evolve; for instant job titles; 'digital creative directors' are now becoming 'heads of digital transformation' others too like 'design directors' with a tap of a key command are now; 'product innovation directors'. So what's happening? I think as an industry we are in a state of flux. Don't panic, I've seen 4 major changes so far in my career, we're just in another transition. Many companies trying to find their niche on what to do? What do they stand for? Or as the old school would say; what's our USP? No different of old but now the lines are now blurred for instance we now have cross-over from PR, media into agency land and vice versa, marketing directors becoming an agency planner. It's now not unusual for even creatives going client side working for the likes of Uber and Facebook. I personally think it's great with all this cross over as it shows that companies are in search of the ideas but many muddy the water, they complicate things. As always it's the idea that counts not the title or where you work, that's super exciting for me, is an idea or ideas that truly transform a business which sets them apart either agency or client side. Enjoy the ride. Here's an image I love which made me laugh, when someone asked me when I was working in Australia 'what's the difference between a front end and and a back end developer? I shared this from my image bank. Thankfully these roles never changed.

Very Krafty

Towards the end of last year, Kraft decided to renove all articial flavours, perservatives and dyes from its popular Macaroni and Cheese product. But when Kraft informed its customers of the imminent change, it was met with strong resistance. Social media lit up with moans and complaints from fans saying they will stop eating the product if they change. Now for the Krafty bit; with advice from their agency CP&B - their response? Don't tell them!! So what did they do? So for 3 months around the end of 2015, Kraft quietly started selling the new product in the old packaging, and the changes was only announced in very small type on the packs. Kraft sold 50 million boxes, which is standard in 3 months, so no complaints, they then launched the campaign' We'd invite you to try it, but you already have' - the whole idea was don't advertise (How ironic coming from an ad agency) That’s what you call real problem solving in marketing - not trying to over analysis, or use tech for tech sake, or do a big old production number – it just comes down to one thing; smart thinking.

Creative but savvy too

Yes indeed many great creative minds are like this, it's not by choice it's just the way our brains are wired. But what sets creative people apart from great creatives? Great creative minds have a clear goal, almost to the point of obsession, if that is winning a pitch, reaching a new audience, inventing a new product, it takes will power and brain power to make it happen, great creative leaders know this.

Self-centred brand?

If anyone ever asks you what's the difference between brand centric and customer centric? Then this visual sums it up, genius

Best Conversion Rate by colour

I have worked at various digital campaigns from finance to fashion brands and have always looked at how best to optimize the performance of the campaign. One thing I have learned is that you never stop learning and tweaking. Take this infographic from Quicksprount around the use of colour, amazing how one change of the CTA (Call To Action) button from say green to red can make all the difference in the success of a campaign. I did a similar test for a campaign for one of the big banks in Australia 2 years ago - I was told time and time again that a green CTA gets higher click throughs - I asked where's the prove? No one had real concrete stats, just an assumption- as in; 'green is the colour for go!! an action colour some would say' Well, I said let's put it to the test, the outcome; red won hands down. It was one of the most successful campaigns the bank had ever ran. Now I know what some marketing directors are thinking, 'I'll apply the colour red to all my CTA's' well, that would be a mistake, and here's why; trends change, people's behaviour change on what gets an interaction. So next time you run a campaign, look at reference like this infographic but always test and learn along the way. Some more info here

Click, click, click

This is a lovely piece from Goodby Sliverstein, highlights how you track your ROI when it comes to display, how many marketing managers really know how well their comms are doing.

ADOBE "CLICK BABY CLICK" from Isaiah Seret on Vimeo.

Copywriting at its best

Says it all; wonderful copywriting, someone understands their audience perfectly -mixed with wit and skilful writing.

L'Oreal an amazing transformation

Now here is a piece of content from L'Oreal, where they avoid the run of the mill model and plump for a less conventional model AKA Zombie Boy, Dermablend takes you behind the scenes with 'Go Beyond The Cover' this is an old school great demo for the product called Dermablend. (Dave Trott I'm sure would approve). Very watchable, and watching it unfold, dare I say; it's flawless.