Verdict’s in on the new litter campaign: Rubbish!

The screen shot here is either from the new Department of the Environment anti litter campaign or this year’s Big Brother. Either way, it’s puerile, trashy and the usual case of government agency advertising by numbers. It does however smack somewhat nicely of Skins – the poshbrat follow-up to the scintillating Shameless. So, not entirely crap, then.
It is easy to knock this type of public cervix advertising (fish, barrel – am I stretching the metaphor?!) but this at least tries to look smart – at the same time as covered in shit, if you know what I mean?!Don’t like the song very much. Seems a tad twee. Could have done with injecting cajones via a pumping soundtrack. It all leaves me with the feeling of an acid flashback envisaged by someone whose experience of drug taking begins and ends with bonjella.

They don’t call it copywriting for nothing

Not entirely gratuitous pic of Holly


http://www.windmilllane.com/sharks/kinsale_brian_swords.mov

http://www.windmilllane.com/sharks/kinsale_ger_roe.mov

Watching these 'Future of Irish Advertising' ads is a little like spotting the cop with the speed camera in the distance on the N11. You know he’s seen you. You know he’s caught you. You know you’re going to get penalty points. But you still whack on the brakes in the feeble hope that somehow you bought a car whose paint is invisible to police radar.

Ok. Watching these ads is nothing like that. But I was think of Jessica Alba and Holly Valance and that paragraph helped to refocus me.

In fact, watching them is more like watching a poor person’s version of the Bergkamp cheesey Reebok ads.


Homage aside: I’m afraid the whole idea was as doomed as a subway viral. Advertising parodies – especially those perpetrated by advertisers – are, almost without exception, crap. In fact, 99.9% of all parodies are crap. Just trawl through youtube. You’ll see what I mean. Should have used professionals – comedians. They know funny.

It is nice to see advertising being advertised though. And on telly too.

Aside: Note to clients though: the barber with the worst haircut in town may well be the best haircutter. The same doesn’t apply to advertising.



Backside: ‘The Future of Advertising in Ireland?’ Going back to my cop analogy: slow down ahead. So stay in the pub down in Kinsale (fishing, my arse!) brush up on your interpersonal skills, lads. You may end up with that mop yet. Will come in handy when polishing all those awards, Ger.

Goodbye to the prawn sandwiches...

There was a time when McConnells were considered to be the Manchester United of the Irish ad scene: playing out of a vast concrete and glass stadium (Charlemont Place) they had a far larger squad of creatives than their rivals. The trophy Room was full of Sharks, Bells and other strangely-shaped sculptures.
And in John Fanning they had a manager as wily, if not as red-faced, as Alex Ferguson.

But in recent times, the ABM's have had a field day.
Major accounts have stormed out of the dressing room, and Jarlath Jennings (Carlos Queiroz?) has had mixed fortunes in reviving a thinning (Gerry Kennedy excepted) squad that may have seen better days.

Reflecting their new mid-table status in the Irish Advertising Premier League is a move away from the Theatre of Dreams (which, amazingly, they never owned) to a new and presumably more bijou premises in Barrow Street.

Check out the rather amusing viral they've released to mark the event.

http://www.mcconnells.ie/moving/email.html

McFlurrys in the Rare 'Oul Times

There was a time in the UK when you rarely heard a regional accent on the TV. By that I mean you never heard Scousers doing the weather. Or Brummies reading the news. And you never heard anything redolent of north of the Watford Gap on TV or radio ads.

Nowadays, all has changed. Regional accents have become part and parcel of the UK creative resource.

But over here in Ireland, the whole accent thing seems to be stuck in a time warp. Or should I say, a Dub-warp.

Take for instance the McFlurrys radio spot where a pair of "real" Dubs start singing to the tune of the Flake jingle.

At this point I should own up to being of rural origin, though living in the capital for many years. But I'm getting sand in my crack hearing grating phoney voice-over inner-city Dublin accents on ads. If you're a culchie like me, you simply can't relate.

And it's worth pointing out that most of the population do NOT live in the capital.

So in the interests of less predictable and lazy TV and radio, can we all start looking beyond the "loveable 'oul Dub" cliche.

Interesting fact of the day...

Fascinatingly, Birmingham City manager Steve Bruce is a cousin of the actor Neil Burgess who plays the character of Barry Scott on television adverts for the cleaning product Cillit Bang.

The science of creativity...

Came upon this amusing diagram on the blog of fellow-creative, Scamp: http://scampblog.blogspot.com/

If conducting this experiment in Ireland, add twice the amount of h2o in illust (b).

Remembering The Wilde Men of Advertysinge

Was listening to the radio in the office yesterday morning, and Ryan Tubridy had on a guy called Sam Delaney, flogging his book "Get Smashed", an account of the London ad scene in the 70's.
This, of course, was the Golden Age of Advertising, and spawned creatives of the callibre of Alan Parker, Ridley Scott, David Puttnam and Charles Saatchi.
What was as remarkable as the innovative work produced, were the hedonistic, alcohol-fuelled lifestyles. Much of the iconic advertising we regard today as "classic" was conceived in the pub.
Tubridy also had on Stuart Fogarty of AFA O'Meara, who made the point that since then, creative work has increasingly taken a back seat to commercial interests, Martin Sorrell of WPP starting the rot in the eighties.
If you're old enough you may well recall their (slightly less talented) Irish contemporaries. Guys like Ken Flynn and Cathal Sweeney, renowned for their quaffing prowess. Or have heard legendary tales, like the time Graham Stone threw his typewriter down the stairs. Others, such as Leo Cullen, who seemed to have moved office to the bar in O'Briens. And directors like Michael McGarry and John Devis, not noted for their abstemious lifestyles.
I fear, as Stuart suggests, those days may be gone forever. The accountants have taken over the asylum.

It's Dull Inside

http://ie.youtube.com/watch?v=SrdJnerQ_uk

First couple of days back after ye olde two week holidaye.
You know the feeling. More sluggish than a slug with arthritis.
And the large pile of kappa board leaning against my desk signifies that the work that was so urgent over two weeks ago still hasn't been presented.
And no, we haven't heard anything back on that pitch we did a month ago.

So basically, sod all happened while I was away.

A desultory glance at Creative Ireland offers little of interest apart from a debate as to whether IIBBDO did the new Guinness ad "Music Machine" or not. I assume they did. I've only seen it a few times, and whilst it has all the production values you'd expect, and a reasonably interesting idea at its core, I find it a bit dull. Curiously, it brings to my mind a similar, much-derided Guinness ad from the late eighties (Arks) which also featured little yellow men.

Anyway, I'm off outside for a smoke.