No man can serve two masters

Originality is an effectiveness issue

Every now and again you hear about how some famous piece of advertising or marketing work has actually been directly 'inspired' (or copied) from something else that previously existed. Notable recent examples include Honda's 'cog', Sony 'bunnies', the road safety basketball one and that Aero one with skateboarders in the swimming pool. In fact it is now the fun game du j0ur to see if people can spot the artistic or cultural references that spawned the commercial.

It is particularly important to creatives, the people paid, and are often under pressure to develop ideas, who prize the creation of something totally new so highly. Somehow, to be directly influenced by something that has gone before is cheating. However we are here to make money, not art and the end point of the journey is not the glittering diamond we release onto a virgin and untrammelled world, it is a change in the business fortunes of our clients, ultimately (dare I say it) sales.That is not to say by any means that originality isn't  important in the development of creative ideas. To create a difference between you and the competition, as David Ogilvy put it - “the burr of singularity” is vital. We humans delight in the novel, think on the truism that you and I are basically living inside the bodies of cavemen, we are always looking for the colour of a tasty new fruit, or the red flash of danger in the forest. The sea of green blends into the background. To create something new and different screams to our psyche, and that is why we as marketing people need to do it.

Bill Bernbach agreed,  “In communications, familiarity breeds apathy”

So while I agree that distinctiveness is vital (the Trifecta of Ogilvy, Bernbach and Law cannot be disputed), it is not necessarily that case that total originality is required, simply rather that the majority of the people you are exposing the work to consider it to be different enough to warrant attention.

Now we live in a recombinant age, but as pedants the world over write, was it ever thus. John Webster was well know for taking inspiration from situations in the street, other art work or references in culture. Who cares? William Shakespeare nicked all sorts of things including the whole idea of a number of his stories, as well as passages, characters from the classics and contemporaries. They used to have a name for it, it was called the renaissance. It is worthwile noting that there has never been a successful court case for plagiarism in advertising in the UK, and that is because, contrary to popular belief, copyright does NOT extend to ideas. Copyright applies to a tangible work, not to the idea behind it, so if you use a similar idea, but execute it in a different way (ie. Not a direct remake), no copyright infringement exists.

The point is not that there is nothing original any more, it is that whether it is completely original or not is not important.. The important question is whether the majority of the target audience will consider it to be a novel stimulus, if they do, it is original enough, and we should then content ourselves with evaluating is the work itself effective at its stated aim. Stat.

Fallon 0, Dare 1

 

Match report from Capt. Green - www.daredigital.com

Substitute Phil Wright sneaked a memorable victory over rival agency fallon last night during a blustery friendly at Maida Vale.

Captain Green gambled when he replaced Rohit Mistry with Phil Wright at half-time with the scoreline locked at 0-0, yet it was this ploy that paid off in spectacular style as Wright scored with only 10 minutes remaining, putting away a brave header past a stranded fallon goalkeeper.



1st half

The game had started competitively with fallon showing decent composure on the ball from the kick off. Dare occasionally regained possession but it soon became obvious that the game was to be won or lost physically as fallon constantly stifled our early attempts at possession.

Despite what was a period of dominance for fallon dare were just able to contain the best of their opportunities mainly thanks to some absolutely crucial tackles from both Kassam and Charlton, with Nadeem intervening.

A cruel wind would also cause havoc throughout the evening with the direction of the ball becoming increasingly unpredictable when launched over the top of both defences.

The half-time break came, the team re-grouped swiftly and calm was restored as the squad shared their concerns and advice with each other. Two changes were made with Suman making a straight swap for Dip upfront and the same with Rohit swapping for Phil Wright on the left-wing.


2nd half

The game became more even in the second half with dare beginning to show signs of adjustment to the high standard fallon had set. Confidence and belief grew stronger yet chances were few and far between as the game gradually became a crunching midfield battle. Both teams still maintained some decent chances but none looking realistic to convert.

Then would come the decisive moment in the fallon defence where the goalkeeper struggled to claim a high ball. Phil Wright had risen bravely to challenge for the high ball and with Wright intimidating the stranded keeper, the ball connecting and bounced successfully into the net securing Phil’s first 11-a-side goal in dare colours.

Fallon's spirit was far from broken after the goal, with their forwards missing three decent chances late on from close range with 5 minutes remaining. Eventually the game came to an end after some desperate clearances in the dying moments.

Overall, a defear for Fallon was harsh after they played some great football. However, their efforts were not enough to defeat the spirit of the dare squad who quite literary wanted the game more and eventually forced the goal that made all the difference:

You are fallon. We are dare.


(old picture from the Glue testimonial game unfortunately)

Team rating

8 - Nadeem Daniel
Despite struggling with his goal kicks Nadeem made a great return to the 11-a-side scene for dare and played what was his best game to date. Made a crucial low save in the 2nd half and helped the defence vocally throughout with their positioning and marking. A clean-sheet also being a dare first (I think?).

7 - James Filmer
Struggled to settle in what was an unfamiliar position in the 1st half. Had a much better 2nd half wining some crucial headers and combined well with Lathwell and Wright to contain fallon’s attacks down the left.

9 – Lee Charlton
Rarely put a foot wrong with only the occasional clearance going wide. Constantly won crucial headers and performed some marvellous lat-ditch tackles to prevent fallon all-night. Also did very to channel his aggression from what was a very relaxed referee.

7 – Captain Green
After battling the wind (and Roy>) in the 1st half the captain had a comfortable night at the back mainly thanks to Charlton's and Lexi’s timely interventions.  Struggled a little physically on this occasion with the forwards and should of been a little more committed in the tackle. Clearances were also a little too wild for my preference. However, was proud to help lead a very positive dare team to a memorable victory.

8 – James Kassam
With the wind against him more than most Kassam took some time to settle down in the 1st half with some wild clearances at times. However, he produced a stunning tackle to stop fallon from what was a simple close range finish and rescue dare during a crucial period. A strong performance 2nd half when faced against both a decent winger/full-back combination.

8 – Gary Lathwell
A good return to the scene from Lathwell. Help bring some calm to the centre of midfield and his physical presence was vital duing tough times in the midfield. Helped well all night down the left and combined successfully with Lexi on several occasions.

9 – Lexi Cherniavsky
‘The engine’ - finally returned to dare fc after weeks of excuses and absences. Lexi was crucial - upping his game to cope with the onslaught fallon were causing in the middle. In the later stages Cherniavsky absorbed a lot of the pressure from the opposition and still managed to contribute well when dare pushed forward. A match winning performance only lacking a goal to top it off.

6 – Rohit Mistry < Phil Wright
Unfortunately Rohit only had limited time to make a mark in this game and he struggled to get much service in the first period making it difficult to judge his performance. Overall, Rohit has yet to bring his fantastic 5-a-side form to the 11-a-side game. Although he has the potential to be a great asset if he can work on his appetite for the tackle.

7 – Ian Fooks
An experimental role for Fooks he seamed well suited for an opportunity on the wing after recent 5-a-side performances. However, Fooks struggled to get comfortable in the wide-role and looked a little behind the pace compared to his last outing against Glue in the middle. Had one good effort on goal and interchanged well at times, but has and can play a lot better.

8 – Roy Nayee
Provided a great range of passing and composure to the midfield, and covered very well in desperate times during the 1st half. Lost his discipline a little in the opening period but returned in the 2nd fully composed. Had a few efforts on goal but never really had a decent opportunity to finish comfortably.

Roy’s experience helped calm a busy midfield and assured an organised unit when times were tough.

6 – Kit Suman < Dip Mistry
Despite his obvious motivation for the game Suman struggled to get into his lone role against a tough defence. Service was limited and it soon became obvious he would need added support upfront to get his game going. Like Rohit, Suman excels in the close-range intimacy of the 5-a-side game but lacked the presence needed yesterday to trouble the fallon back line.

8 – Phil Wright > Rohit Mistry
Brave ‘Pip’ scored a massive goal and made a great difference in the 2nd half with his covering on the left-side. A greatly committed performance deservedly capped with a goal to finish.

8 – Dip Mistry > Kit Suman
Dip’s ability to hold and use the ball helped rescue the 2nd period for dare. From an early point he added a new dimension to our attempts at pushing fallon forward. A crucial injection of calm and composure.

Skittles replaces website with links to twitter, flickr, facebook, yada

This is a brave and interesting idea, Skittles have replaced their entire corporate website with a series of links to various social media sites. The homepage is the twitter search page of everything that people are saying about the brand right at that very moment.

  The flash panel at the top left of the screen links to the other sites, and ties the whole thing together.

'Products' links to wikipedia, 'media' links to youtube and flickr. 'Friends' is the facebook page and 'contact' links to a contact form on their own site.

Interestingly, 'chatter' is the same as 'home' currently, suggesting that the twitter feed homepage is temporary. Perhaps this is a stunt to get twitter attention? Lord knows it's so hot right now.

A lot is currently being made of how people are hijacking the skittles twitter page to include profanities etc, but this is temporary, and if anyone from the skittles marketing team is reading this, you should tough it out as this approach will probably pay off for you in the long run.

Friends page

The idea is quite extreme at the moment, but what is good about the idea is that it is flexible. There are not massive production implications of changing the flash panel and shifting a few links around. Probably in a week or so you will find a 'proper' homepage going over the top of the site, if only to link to the other environments.

Media page


Product page

Bravo to whoever sold this in, as it is going to be big.

Ryanair is a great brand, discuss

I had a fantastic chat the other week with an ex-client of mine and the boys from we are social about whether or not Ryanair was a brilliant brand. Everyone said they are arseholes, and to be honest I do not disagree one bit. Instead, and perhaps controversially, I feel that being an arsehole is a fundamental part of their incredibly successful brand personality.

Everything they do or say is set up to give across the impression that they will do anything they can to save money. From the fact that they have the cheapest aircraft interiors, tackiest colours, the seats don't recline and they charge for luggage. Famously, if there is any problem with the flight, all the airline staff have been reported to disappear, leaving the abandoned passengers to work out what to do next.

In Dublin airport, they actually have a poster from a legal firm near the Ryanair desk explaining what your rights are, and giving you a number to call for more information and legal advice, presumably because there are so many customers who would have cause to use such a service.

All of these things make you think "these are some people who really care about how they can save a few quid".

Their brand attributes I guess could be summarised as canny, smart, cheap, money grubbing

This is an incredibly successful business model. Ryanair is one of the only airlines that actually turns a profit. I think the key to it is that people by and large are not introspective. They don't think that they will avail themselves of a five pound sandwich, or need to bring more than one piece of hand luggage. They laugh at the other chumps who fall foul of these rules, but they are smart, they won't be sucked in.

Yesterday they pulled a blinder. On the day they posted their first quarterly loss in recent memory, they made an announcement that they intended to charge £30 for any duty free that is not put inside the single item of hand baggage. This sent the Guardian readers in apoplexy. It was a good idea as it deflected attention from the business performance, and played again the familiar cheapness script.

Remember we ought to be, mentally at least, giving ourselves piles if we're trying to sell preparation H, and the readers of the Guardian are unlikely to be the heartland demographic that Michael O'Leary is trying to attract

Corporate identity
This logo looks like it cost about £750 to put together. I am sure that is exactly the effect they are after. Also, if you look on Google images, you can see that the logo itself changes about once a fortnight. They are too cheap to even have any guidelines made up. If ever they get a new temp in to put the next ad campaign, they just do what they feel.

Customer experience: This is like the inside of a big dirty bus. I would not be surprised if there was chewing gum on the underside of every one of these seats. There is no way anyone is going to nick or crease one of their safety cards either:

For Chrissakes they even have calendar girls

Website: this screams at me that this is the airline equivalent of PoundStretcher. Every fibre of its being says cheapness, and this is very clever.

Michael O'Leary himself even plays his part. He is not a stupid man by any means and his japesterish tactics and unapologetic style ties in with the whole brand framework.

I would be curious to know if they had any help with any of this work or if they really did do it all themselves. I doubt any agency would includes something like this on its portfolio, but in my opinion you cannot deny it is successful. I wonder who worked on it because looking this cheap probably costs a lot of money.

Esquire October: e-ink cover

The Esquire that goes on sale in October this year is going to have an e-ink front cover and front inner. The cover will animate, and there will be a Ford ad on the inside front. The Ford ad has paid for most of the costs of production - which amounts to a 'few dollars' per copy

The withering rejoinder

The Media Futures conference I went to the other week, reminded me of a little phrase that a planner I used to work with (Abe) said was invaluable. The basic idea is that whenever anyone makes some claim or tries to peddle you a message, the immediate response to this should be 'so what'.

This 'withering rejoinder' as Dr Brian Winston put it, is the acid test for whether any innovation really is likely to change the society it goes into. It is also the thing that every person asks themselves whenever they see your marketing hyperbole.

Use the 'so what?' test next time. You will see it works.

Ikea in Japan: interior decorating a train

Via pinktentacle

First life to second life phone calls are here

You know what it’s like. You’re chatting to your robot friend whilst skydiving from a floating marshmallow castle when you realise you’re late for work.

Wouldn’t it be great if your second life didn’t have to end where your first life begins?

We think so too, so we created Vodafone InsideOut. It lets you call and text between Second Life and the real world. The Beta service is live, so you can try it out now.

Second Life phone service from Vodafone now launched!

The beta is available until end November this year.

Jet threads of the red sun - The Flaming Lips

Transmedia planning

Get a load of this:

Nice, very nice. Via the usual