tHe idiOts proMo: LRT'S "Bike-On Bike-Off (Bike O2)” - not good even on paper

this one landed on page 1 of PDI with a huge picture - LRT's "Bike-On-Bike-Off (Bike 02)" service. the LRT will now allow people with bicycles to ride the trains. we are so confused with this new service - we do totally understand what it is for, we do not see any advantage and we don't see the point.

first of all, commuters on the train with bikes will only be allowed to ride the train IF their bikes are the foldable types. commuters with regular bikes will still not be allowed to ride the train.

how many filipinos own foldable bikes? not very many. in fact we think extremely few filipinos own foldable bikes. there is a simple reason for it - foldable bikes are much more expensive than regular bikes. also, the appeal of foldable bikes is that owners can stow them inside the trunk of your car. that means the target commuters of Bike 02 are people who own cars. why would foldable bike owners park their cars someplace, remove the bike from the trunk of their cars and carry the foldable bike up to the LRT when they can just drive to their destination in the comfort of their cars?

right off, this idea says it is a totally useless service - it will cater to an extremely few number filipinos, probably less than 0.00001% of the metro manila population who own foldable bikes. and of those 0.00001% who own foldable bikes they will never use the service as it gives them no benefit and no advantage. in fact it inconveniences them as they need to carry the foldable bikes up the unforgiving stairs of the LRT from the ground to the trains.

allowing commuters who use regular bikes to ride the train may give some benefit to many of the poor who use bikes to go to their work and who use them in their work like messengers. many messengers can't afford motorcycles and use regular bikes. being able to ride the LRT with their bikes rather than bike along the treacherous Taft Avenue will be of great benefit to them as it will not only save them time, it will also keep them safe from being run-over in the streets. none of them can afford to buy foldable bikes as its cost will probably be equivalent to their salary for 3 to 5 years.

it leads you to ask a very important question --- who are the intended beneficiaries of this new service at the LRT? who are the target users?

it cannot be ordinary folks as they own only regular bikes. since they allow commuters with foldable bikes, the target seem to be the rich folks as they are the only ones who can afford to buy these types of bikes. but rich folks don't take the LRT, they have their own cars. in fact these rich folks buy foldable bikes because they want to be able to stow their bikes inside the trunk of their cars. if you own a car, you don't usually take the train, you use your car. we do not think you will find a rich folk who will buy a foldable bike just so he can take the LRT.

we are stumped! we can't figure out who the target market or target beneficiaries of this new service at the LRT. brands and companies launch new services to answer a need or to serve a target market. this one does not do any of that.

30 bike enthusiasts were on hand when this new service was launched by the LRT. the commuters, rich folks for sure, led by no less than Senator Pia Cayetano, took the train at the Araneta Center in Cubao then got off at the Legarda station in Manila. the article said the train ride took only 15 minutes versus riding the bike that will normally take them 30 minutes.

so what is the big deal with a 15 minutes of saving riding time? these 30 people are leisure bikers and health enthusiasts - saving 15 minutes of biking is not what they want to do. the point of being a leisure and health biker is to use the bike as long as you can, as often as you can. cutting biking time for these types of people is not the point for them!

the conclusion is that the LRT launched a new service, got page 1 coverage, that does not serve anyone and does not give anyone any benefit. it is a classic for tHe idiOts proMo.

you may be having a headache now at this point. this new service is probably driving you crazy. well, we have one more to drive you completely nuts. take a deep breathe -

the name of the new service is "Bike-On Bike-Off ” which is of course a play on the now famous RO-RO (Ride-On Ride-Off) service that allows people to use their cars to go from one island to the next. commuters ride their cars to barges and rides it off them on the next island.

here is what will drive you crazy. "Bike-On Bike-Off ”, the acronym for this service is actually BO-BO! hahahaha. a perfect name for a perfectly bobo service.

congrats to the LRT and the brilliant communication person who thought of this new service.

sunkist iced tea : sarap, honest

apples' anti-windows 7 tv ads

pantene shampoo thailand - ad that did not shine

this is a tv ad that asks a lot from the viewers for you to like it. it asks you to like it both in obvious and not at all obvious ways.

its easy to like the ad - there is a story and its a very dramatic story. everyone likes a story of triumph where the unlikely overcomes barriers and succeeds. this is also told in a very graphic way - there is a protagonist we love to hate and a heroine we love to love.

i forgot - this is a tv ad for pantene, a shampoo brand. yes, shampoo for the hair. but lets not get into that. its not that important.

the other part that this ad is asking us is what science fiction movies asks us to do and it is the only way we can appreciate this tv ad. we all know what science fiction movies are - they are make believe, the exact meaning of the word "fiction". the only way we can appreciate a science fiction movie is for us to suspend logic, throw away common sense, ignore truth and yes forget about science. there is much irony there - to enjoy a science fiction movie, we need to forget science.

that is the only way to do it. in a science fiction movie, we need to believe super heroes are real. humans in human life forms can fly and women have super powers. if we don't do it that way, there is no point in watching the movie as none of it will make sense.

that is what you need to do in this ad. you need to believe that a person who does not have the sense of hearing can learn to play a musical instrument and that a beaten up violin put together only by crude industrial tape can still sound beautiful when played, of concert quality no less.

if you don't treat those like you treat elements of a science fiction movie, you won't be able to appreciate all 4 minutes of this commercial. it is one of the longest tv ads i have seen. we don't think the ad was aired a lot of times in thailand given the length and the cost involved in airing it but even that we are willing to suspend logic for.

its a long ad because of many repeated scenes, over-extended sequences, unneeded scenes and subplots. we think the editing was very bad as many of the scenes specially those repeated were unnecessary to repeat. many of the scenes could have been taken out, specially the repeated ones and the story will still be intact.

the scene with the cocoon transforming into a butterfly then in flight we thought was unnecessary. the story itself of the little girl growing up then learning how to play was enough and actually very obvious that we did not need to see the cocoon to butterfly transformation. besides, in the first place that is not the point of the story. the story is about a girl who has dreams of playing a violin overcome adversity both her physical inability and the other girl protagonist. this is a story of overcoming adverssity, not of birth to adulthood or fulfillment.

before we forget, this is an ad for a shampoo brand. that is one more weakness of the ad. the ad forgot what it is supposed to do. it even missed the part of showing glorious hair at the end pay-off sequence. they tried to do it with the flowing and flying long hair but the shot was very poorly done. the hair was not shiny at all and the lighting was over-exposed that you are unable to see good volume of the hair. having poor cinematography at this sequence we think is a mortal sin and a huge opportunity loss in making a great sale for the brand.

ironic that the tagline at the end is "you can shine". we think its a WAWAM!

    

steve jobs back on the job

The Magician - 21st Philippine Advertising Congress TVC

did i miss something in this tvc? a hidden message i did not get? a footage that did not show in my computer?

i swear at the start of the ad, the whole theater was full of people watching the magic show. it is wall-to-wall people. then, as the camera panned to show the stage again, a flash of light, the theater was half empty of people. in fact the density of the audience gyrated from half empty to just one third full from shot to shot.

was there a meaning to that slight of hand of the audience (pun intended). i watched the commercial a few times trying to understand what it meant. i thought maybe the magic was not was happening to the volunteer but the audience, that the magician was making the audience disappear. but if that was the message, i don't get it. it does not make sense. and there were not enough visual and copy clues that that was what the ad meant. i gave up on that ideas.

this ad really has great production values. the colors are great, the characters are excellent, the set design and art design were very well done. even the slanted english spoken was a good touch to the ad. it was very pinoy and it works very well.

but with all the terrific production values, the ending was so cheaply done. it was obvious a dummy, a badly made one was what fell from the enclosure. it certainly did not leave you hanging if what fell was the woman or a dummy. i don't know if it was the way the clothes were put on the dummy or the way it fell to the ground that made it so obvious as a dummy. or maybe both.

this tv ad left a lot of questions in my mind. and the question was not the one that was asked at the end of the commercial.. they are - why did the ad start with a full audience then all of a sudden much less than full and why did they not make an effort to make that falling dummy look better.

its a WAWAM!

2009 21st Philippine Ad Congress Teaser Ad

direct pick up from the youtube posting:

A HISTORIC COLLABORATION

Fitting with the theme of this years Philippine Ad Congress (PAC), Perspectives, the PAC has called upon four of the industrys top directors to come together for a historic collaboration. Each director takes on the perspective of a single character on the night of a mysterious magic act. Henry Frejas, director of Nescafes Home/Batanes, Nestle Creams The Offering, and McDonalds Simbang Gabi, tells the story as seen through the eyes of the Magician; Sid Maderazo, director of the C2 Green Tea TVCs, the Coke Beat Game commercial and the Roadrunner short film Power, takes another view of the events on stage through the Assistants eyes; Carlo Directo, director of the Sky Cable TVCs, the McDonalds Burger, Burger TVCs, and the SMART Buddy Double-decker commercial, tells the tale from below through the Stagehands perspective; and AF Benaza, director of Nescafes Jewel, the Selecta Gold Series Platinum, and the Viva Mineralized Water Boy commercial, tells the tale as seen from the audience through the eyes the Volunteers Date.

sarah geronimo tv spot cebuana lhuillier

pro-reproductive health (RH) bill print ad shoots itself in the foot

double click image for larger view to be able to read copy.

this is a print ad published/sponsored by like-minded NGOs, groups and organizations who believe in the passage of the Reprodictive Health Bill which has been pending in congress for the last three and a half centuries. reading the print-ad, it is most probably spearheaded by RHAN or the Reproductive Health Advocacy Network.

all of these organizations want the reproductive health bill (read the bill here: http://2010presidentiables.wordpress.com/text-of-rh-bill-no-5043/) passed. that is the same objective of this print ad.

the print ad aims to persuade the target market to be supporters of the RH Bill, to get readers to push their congressmen to approve the bill or at least to generate a groundswell of support for its passage. to have a large portion of the target market to oush for it will get the congressmen take notice and approve the bill. well, at least that is what they hope to achieve.

after reading the ad, however, we think what the ad is able to achieve the opposite. we think it is turning the target market against the RH Bill. this pro-RH Bill ad has shot itself in the foot.

this is next in WAWAM!

Michael Jackson 1958-2009 : icon, epic, timeless, artist, genius, master, entertainer

icon, epic, timeless, artist, genius, master, entertainer – there are more but these are just the few words that describe michael jackson so perfectly well. from his childhood to adulthood, he knew what those words meant and he lived them. we pay tribute to one of the greats of music.

Rin On The Rox - pinay fil-am duo a youtube sensation and a guesting at the Ellen DeGeneres TV show

Rin On The Rox is a pinay fil-am duo who became a YouTube sensation, that got 15M hits to watch them sing inside a bathroom. ellen degeneres saw their youtube videos and got them to appear on her tv show.

more on them here: http://pinoyoutube.wordpress.com/ and here: http://wawam.wordpress.com/2009/06/25/rin-on-the-rox-duo-who-sings-inside-the-bathroom-2-pinays-in-the-us-youtube-sensation-appears-in-the-ellen-degeneres-tv-show/

NHI Chair responds to wawam.wordpress on Jose Rizal's house painted green

in his reply, ocampo gave the link to a column he writes at PDI. in that column he wrote he sent a text to someone and said he as the "idiot" who painted rizal's house green.

read it all here: http://wawam.wordpress.com/2009/06/19/shocking-historian-wants-us-to-appreciate-rizal-through-trivial-purssuits-we-need-significance-meaning-from-our-heroes-not-trivia/#comment-1391

it is not trivia we want from rizal, it is meaning and significance - rizal's house painted green

picture above is a scan from a photo published at the PDI. it is the house of jose rizal, the national hero of the philippines. it is a good example of how bad taste, in this one the choice of the color green can insult the memory of the country's national hero and how it can be insulting to a whole country of filipinos.

if this was marketing, it is a good example on how poor taste in color can screw up the brand image if a national hero and insult and embarrass a whole nation.

National Historical Institute chair Ambeth Ocampo rationalizes the choice of color this way:

In his column in the Philippine Daily Inquirer on June 3, NHI Chair Ambeth Ocampo explained that the reason for painting Rizal’s house green was to “highlight, and inform visitors of, the meaning of his surname.”

The surname Rizal is rooted in the Spanish word “ricial,” which means a green field ready for harvest, Ocampo said.

well, it is an intent or in marketing it is a brand intent but just because it is there does not mean it is usable and should be used. there are products for example that cause diarrhea if eaten too much, but these brands do not choose to highlight that in their marketing strategy.

we are all familiar with Tide Detergent brand. we all know what "tide" means but we do not see depicted in it's packaging design nor do we see sea water included inside a pack of Tide Detergent Powder.

there are many other more important considerations as to why one should act or not act in meanings of names.

for example, i would like to remember rizal for his writings, his genius, his hard work and his actions and sacrifices that helped the country become independent from spain. in fact, i will be interested to know what he ate for breakfast or what were his study habits that made him such a genius. it can also be interesting to know that the meaning of his surname rizal. but it does not necessarily mean i like to see his house painted green. i'll be happy to see it written down somewhere in a brochure. i do not need to see the color on his house.

the idea behind preserving rizal's house is to give homage and pay tribute to our national hero. we like to preserve the house where he was born and where he grew up so that we can get a first hand view, to somewhat experience his life in that house. we do that out of awe, respect and even love for rizal who has done so much, his life included for our country and the generations and generations of filipinos who have benefited from his sacrifice and heroism.

painting rizal's house green, just because it is some trivia about his name is not a good reason enough to actually take action on. i actually do not care about the meaning of his surname. that did not even play any role in his heroism or his life and i doubt in his own writing.

what mr. ocampo has done is give us trivia. everyone knows we enjoy trivial pursuits for fun or to make fun of. but that does not at all apply to a national hero and most specially to apply that to his house to make it look horrific and trivial.

it is not trivia we want from rizal, it is meaning and significance that we want. when we find meaning and significance in rizal, then we become a better nation. something i am sure rizal would have wanted.

for a historian, i am shocked that mr. ocampo did not know that.

read more about this here: http://wawam.wordpress.com/2009/06/19/rizals-house-painted-green-an-insult-to-jose-rizal-and-all-filipinos/

No To Con-Ass Power – across the board, in lightning speed : Marketing & Advertising 101

the efforts executed by No To Con Ass supporters is an excellent case study for Marketing & Advertising 101.these are the key points:

• the most impressive was the lightning speed by which the various efforts were launched all within 24 to 48 hours of congress approving HR 1109. within that time frame - blogs, websites and facebook accounts were launched; a logo was created and distributed, small groups organized who did pockets of small protests around the city.
• a major rally was announced, organized and executed on june 10, less than a week after congress approved HR 1109 and the rally in makati was very well attended.
• a no to con ass, tv ad, "Hindi Ako Papayag" was written, produced and aired within 3 to 4 days of the congress approving con-ass. this ad had an excellent concept with a strong and memorable strategy visual. copy was sparse and very sharp. there was no mistaking what the message was and delivered in a very compelling way, the visuals as the main driver. we also noticed the production values of the ad, it was well made and well directed.
• within the same very short time frame various groups who attended the rally executed their own concepts of protest with many of them very creative, persuasive and to the point. it's amazing to see all sorts of unique groups expressing their protest on the issue in their own way.

from a marketing and advertising perspective, these are what happened:

• on the over-all excellent marketing strategy that covers all components of persuasion
• communication strategy was brilliant - sharp, insightful and highly creative
• succeeded in connecting with a very wide target audience through a long list of efforts that appeal to each audience segment
• succeeded in capturing participants from a very wide demographics and psychographics profile from the rich to the poor
• excellent use of various media (traditional and non-traditional) and events all executed within the same short time frame for optimum impact and visibility
• lightning speed and flawless execution

in this marketing and advertising effort the line between marketer/advertiser and target audience is almost invisible with both groups crossing the line in various degrees and efforts. but as in any mass media exposed marketing and advertising activity, the true audience will always be those at home or at the office watching the event unfold who are always large in number.

it is the marketer and adman's dream. it's secret in it's success? those who executed the marketing and advertising activities were highly committed to their cause and believed in it with a passion.

that by itself is another marketing and advertising lesson in Marketing & Advertising 101.

read more here: http://2010presidentiables.wordpress.com/2009/06/11/no-to-con-ass-power-across-the-board-in-lightning-speed/

"No To Con Ass" logo

we would have preferred a more communicative and thought provoking visual, but this design works very well as is. the other impressive component of this logo is the speed by which this was released in the internet for others to use it. from what we know this was released within 24 hours of the action in congress.