Help me. I don’t know what to make of the video above. Campaign magazine chose it as their ad of the week.
Is it an ad? Or is it a music video with product placement? And is it any good?
Supposedly, it’s for Converse shoes. But the sell is so soft, the idea so recessive, I could easily miss that it’s advertising anything.
I know the saying “it’s easy to criticise, hard to create”, but I’d expect more from Anomaly, the agency behind the video above. They’re the guys who did the Diesel ‘Be stupid” advertising – a campaign with a big idea and attitude. Anomaly are, apparently, a “cool” agency, hailed by some industry pundits as the future of advertising. So maybe I’m missing something in the Converse ad.
I do like it as a piece of video. And I like the music. But then it’s just got… a logo stuck on the end. That’s all. Surely it’s not that easy to make an ad?
But then maybe it’s meant only for teenage hipsters.
I’ll go ask the kids what they think of it…
<later>
Well, teen one thought it was “better than most adverts, but nothing special”. Teen two, who is, importantly, a Converse customer, said she thought it was “OK”.
Maybe “OK” in teen speak means “it’s great, I’ll recommend it to my friends – and go out immediately to buy some more Converse shoes.”
Do you know the Canadian store department chain called The Bay?
It’s part of The Hudson Bay Company, one of the oldest commercial corporations in the world, with a pretty impressive history – they used to be the de facto government in large parts of North America in fur-trading times.
The last time I was in one of The Bay’s outlets, I thought it had become quite an ordinary store.
Fortunately The Bay proved me wrong.
They’ve just sent me a thank you note, with my receipt, for a gift I bought from them online. And not a mass-produced thank you note – it’s handwritten.
Isn’t that something?
So often when we sell to customers, we don’t think beyond the sale, how to make them buy from us again.
A handwritten thank you with no strings attached – now that’s a charming way to make me want to go back to The Bay.
P.S. My one criticism: it would have been better to sign off with a person’s name.
Phew! What a busy few weeks I’ve had. I’ve been typing my way out from under a mountain of briefs.
The work is what marketing people call CRM. And what we copywriters call letter writing.
The direct marketing specialists say that such work involves skills distinct from those of advertising. And I agree, up to a point. It’s person-to-person and highly targeted – I had to tailor one of my letters, for 22 different types of customer.
But I think the very best advertising is also one-to-one. It strikes a chord. It makes you feel like there’s a person behind the ad who understands you – as though they’re talking to you alone.
That’s especially the case with good long-running campaigns with copy. Not that there are many of those about these days.
There is one that springs to mind though – the Jack Daniels cross-track posters in London Underground stations.
I don't know who writes the Jack Daniel's posters (someone at Arnold Worldwide), but I think they're very good.
I’ve admired this campaign for a long time. Whenever I use the Tube, I read the Jack Daniel’s ads (there’s always time waiting for a train). They pull me in with their wry descriptions of life in the slow lane in Lynchburg, Tennessee. When reading them, it’s as if a real Lynchburger is talking to me.
I say it doesn’t matter whether you’re creating advertising, DM or any other type of marketing. To me it’s all one big conversation.
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If you’d like to read more about the Jack Daniel’s campaign, here are links to a couple of interesting articles:
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