today's AMAZING TV AD : honda's "cog" 2 minute tv spot

for more on this, go to this post : http://the-wawam-file.blogspot.com/2008/04/cog-honda-tv-spot-another-amazing-ad.html; april 14 post.
the inspiration is mount pinatubo when some years ago, all of a sudden, after decades of being dormant, it decided to erupt, spewing debris and ash several kilometers high, blowing ashes to float everywhere, far and wide, turning the skies gloomy gray as far away as metro manila, hundreds of kilometers away, covering metro manila streets and rooftops with thick ash. the pinatubo eruption was so powerful that its ashes changed the color of sunsets not only in the philippines but also worldwide.

that's what happens when clients and advertising agencies decide to run ads not worthy to be called advertising. its dark, its huge and very irritating and unfortunately, everywhere!


all they are doing is wawam! what a waste of advertising money!


here is a first row view of Philippine Advertising and Philippine Marketing.

mount pinatubo erupts shooting ashes several kilometers high, then floating to blanket many other towns hundreds of kilometers away

new comments from WAWAM! readers

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if you want to read the latest comments, go to the post itself and click "comments".

Monday, June 30, 2008

URC's hunt's pork & beans ridiculous use of a "consumer insight" : part 4

i've been wondering about it and this is pure speculation on my part (or if this was a report done by an account manager, it is called "competitive ad analysis") - why did URC's hunt's pork & beans rice vs bread tv ad suffer a fatal flaw?

the concept of that tv ad begins with the idea of rice not being available, then makes a sale on hunt's pork & beans can be enjoyed not only with rice but also with bread. we will no longer go into discussing the logic, actually the absence of logic or even common sense in the way the copy was written (discussed fully in this post : http://the-wawam-file.blogspot.com/2008/06/hunts-pork-beans-tv-ad-you-said-what.html), but will stay on why and how the tv ad used the "no more rice" idea as a take-off point. we will center the discussion on that point.

my conclusion is this, but if you find it hilarious and ridiculous go ahead and find it that way, because i think that is exactly what it is - this tv ad wanted to exploit the true to life crisis the country is facing - the rice crisis, or specifically the rice shortage in this country. they opened the commercial that way to grab the attention of the audience. given the peculating attitude among the audience, it's a powerful opening.

as far as that is concerned, it actually worked! as i have written in the previous post, this ad immediately caught my attention after the first sentence of the audio - "mom, there is no more rice." the rice shortage is in everybody's mind. unfortunately, after that sentence, i started laughing and totally tuned off from the commercial after the third sentence. because from that time on, i found the ad didn't make sense at all.

the "no more rice idea" i think is actually being used in this ad as a "consumer insight" and the set up for the ad. and that is where all the problems of the ad began.

in the first place, "no more rice" is not a consumer insight, it's a consumer finding on attitude, concern or fear. as written in the "anti-WAWAM!"section, any consumer finding will first need to be transformed into something else to make it into a consumer insight. that was not done here.

the second problem and this is as fatal as the first one, is that the "no more rice" idea is so far removed from the product sale for hunt's pork & beans that it is an almost alien idea. in other words it's actually unusable in this ad. putting that unusable idea eventually harmed the commercial.

using the "no more rice" idea created so many problems in the delivery of the sale for the ad. the creatives were so adamant at using this idea that they forced it into the commercial like pushing a square peg into a round hole, resulting to a warped sense of logic.

using it meant they had to go take a round about logic to make sure they will not alienate a large part of their consumers who eat the product with rice. saying the product can also be enjoyed with bread is good, but with the opening of the ad with the "no more rice" kine, to complete the "logic", the delivery of the message resulted gaping holes in the presentation of the thought.

the problem of this commercial, it's fatal flaw, is in the use of a consumer insight that is actually not an insight, but just a powerful consumer concern and one that does not lend itself to making a sale for the brand's proposition.

in other words, it's a ridiculous use of a "consumer insight". or as what we call it here, it's a WAWAM!

hunt's pork & beans previous ad campaign : part 3



picked up these ads from the URC website. they look like the previous ad campaign they ran before the current tv on air "rice vs bread" campaign. based on these ads, they positioned hunt's pork & beans on a nutrition platform, building kids' intelligence on performance in school.

is the current "rice vs hamburger" tv ad a better one than this one? that's next in WAWAM!

Sunday, June 29, 2008

on commercial load - gma7 misses the point : part 2

the press statement of gma7 on the issue of commercial load on tv programs is a lame attempt to justify or rationalize their action. assuming they mean what they said in the press statement, the only other viable conclusion is gma7 is missing the point on why the KBP has imposed a limit on commercial load in tv programs.

it's not about financials or revenues or as they call it "restraint of trade" that is being imposed on them by the KBP, it's about avoiding audience fatigue on watching too many commercials.

the audience watch tv to watch the tv shows, not the commercials. commercials shown in these tv programs are a disruption to the enjoyment of the tv shows by the audience. loading tv programs with too many commercials will force the audience to tune off when the ads are shown. tv commercials actually is actually an irritant to tv watching.

by now, the audience know that a commercial break will have 4 to 6 commercials and with the tv remote in their hand, the audience will probably change channel at the latest on the 2nd commercial that is shown. that means there will be a lot of ads in that commercial break that viewers will not watch.

that is not good for the ad industry. as abrera has said, by now it's possible this overload of tv ads would have taught the audience a new habit of zapping out of tv ads. what good will that do to the ad industry?

my point of view is that the broadcast industry should impose a low number of commercial load. to compensate, tv stations should increase their cost per spot accordingly so that the total revenues they earn from the total commercial minutes will be the same. if for example they now have a commercial load of 6 ads per gap, and they charge P200T/spot for a total of P1.2M per gap; they should reduce the commercial load to just 4 ads per gap but increase the charge to P300T/spot for still a total of P1.2M revenues per gap. no loss of revenue for the tv station but a more pleasant viewing experience for the audience and a better appreciation of the ads.

i think the ad industry as a whole will benefit more in the long run with less ads on tv. so what if the cost per spot goes up? that's a good thing. tv advertising is not for every client, we don't have to make it affordable to small clients or brands with small budgets. the truth is there are just too many brands advertising on tv who go on air just for a very short airing period for lack of budget. if the ad agency will be honest about it, the truth is airing a tv ad campaign on a short airing period is as effective as not airing a tv ad at all.

increasing the cost per spot of tv ads to the level of making it unaffordable to small clients and brands with small budgets will force ad agencies to be honest with their clients and will stop ad agencies from recommending tv advertising to all of its clients just for the sake of earning revenues but no real impact on business building.

tv is not the only advertising medium available for clients to use. and in fact media other than tv in many instances are a better fit for some brands and definitely more cost effective.

making cost per spot very prohibitive will also force ad agencies to work harder at coming up with better and more creative tv advertising. with it's cost very high, clients will now be more demanding on their ad agencies when it comes to tv ads. clients will say, you're making me pay so much for tv ads, you better make sure you come up with great ads.

also, the tv stations should know commercial air time is a seller's market. there are only two viable tv stations in the country, ABS-CBN and GMA7. the ad industry has no choice but to buy commercial air time from them. they can sell their tv spots at P200T/spot or P500T/spot and the ad agencies and clients will continue to buy them. they have no other choice.

just to illustrate the point i am making - look at the super bowl in the US. 1 30 second tv spot in the 2008 super bowl cost P2.7 Million! super bowl commercial airtime is the highest cost in all of TV in the US.

and guess what? the ad industry and clients continue ro buy commercial airtime in the super bowl, cost per spot does not matter. why not? that's because the super bowl has a very high audience rating, the highest in the year. that is also true in the philippines - ad agencies and clients buy spots based on audience rating. they will buy into a tv show no matter what the cost is as long as it delivers in audience rating.

what about the quality of the ads aired? clients and ad agencies air the best and the most creative ads during the super bowl. looking for the funniest. most memorable and most effective ad during the super bowl has become a side tradition to watching the super bowl for the audience. day after the super bowl the audience don't just talk about the great plays in the super bowl, they also talk about the great ads they saw during the game.

airing the best ad during the super bowl has even become like a side competition among the ad agencies. their work getting ranked as best in the super bowl earns them prestige and precious bragging rights.

and that is the point i am making here. if philippine television makes it's cost per spot higher but lower the number of commercial load per program, the audience will be happier and will watch all the commercials making the ads more effective in doing their job. and because it involves higher cost for clients, it will make them demand better quality ads from the ad industry.

the net effect will be : better quality and more effective ads and a happier audience. isn't that what we all want?

gma7 refutes KBP ad load rule

this is next in WAWAM! : the tv remote vs the greed of tv stations part 2

read part 1 here : http://the-wawam-file.blogspot.com/2008/06/tv-remote-vs-greed-of-tv-stations-part.html

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GMA 7 refutes KBP ad load rule
By Riza T. Olchondra

Philippine Daily Inquirer

First Posted 03:06:00 04/13/2008

MANILA, Philippines - GMA Network, Inc. said on Wednesday that the Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster ng Pilipinas (KBP) rule limiting the commercial load of programs to 18 minutes per hour will push commercial airtime prices up.

The network, which left the KBP in 2003, also said that the cap violates Philippine laws.

“A limitation on the supply of the very limited resource of commercial airtime would push commercial airtime prices upwards. Thus, time standard disrupts market forces that dictate supply and demand and is anti-competition,” GMA said in a statement.

Manipulative

Citing local and US laws, GMA also said that limiting the number of minutes per hour for commercials, among others, “had the actual effect of manipulating the supply of commercial television time.”

The network views the time standard “as a form of combination in restraint of trade and therefore violative of the Constitution and the Revised Penal Code.”

GMA officials could not be reached for comment regarding the network’s ad load, revenue from ads, and ad rates.

Full support

Last month, KBP member ABS-CBN declared full support for the ad load cap.
“The limit safeguards the public from possible abuse by broadcast organizations,” ABS-CBN corporate communications head Bong Osorio said in a statement.

“Limiting the number of TV and radio spots lessen the advertising clutter; thereby, making the ads more effective,” he added.

ABS-CBN head for business analysis Vivian Tin said on Tuesday that the ad load limit will not pull down the company’s ad revenue. “Last year, though KBP gave a little bit of leeway to the cap—to 20 minutes— we did not go beyond that out of respect for the audience. Between the price increase and the increase in number of minutes that’s coming out in terms of demand ... we think airtime revenues will grow healthily even at 18 minutes.”

Last Tuesday, ABS-CBN announced that it is raising ad rates by 15 percent, subject to negotiation with advertisers.


http://showbizandstyle.inquirer.net/entertainment/entertainment/view/20080413-130041/GMA-7-refutes-KBP-ad-load-rule

Friday, June 27, 2008

WAWAM! pays tribute to Mr. Bill Gates

today, friday US time, bill gates will retire from microsoft. we all know who he is and we all know the kind of genius that he is. i think we are lucky to have lived at a time when bill gates did his magic and genius. his work has touched our lives and made it richer and exciting and has taken it through leaps and bounds things for the better. aside from being an intellectual genius, he is also a marketing genius. WAWAM! pays tribute to Mr. Bill Gates.

interesting picture on the right, with this caption :- "In 1978, the original 11 members of Microsoft: standing in back row, from left, Steve Wood, Bob Wallace, Jim Lane; second row, Bob O’Rear, Bob Greenberg, Marc McDonald, Gordon Letwin; front row, Bill Gates, Andrea Lewis, Marla Wood and Paul Allen."

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Microsoft Seeks Path Beyond the Gates Legacy
By STEVE LOHR
New York Times
Published: June 27, 2008

Bill Gates is retiring, sort of. He is still only 52, and he is going off to spend more time guiding the world’s richest philanthropy, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. He will still be Microsoft’s chairman and largest shareholder, but Friday is his last day as a full-time worker at the software giant, marking the unofficial end of his career as a business leader.

And what a career it has been. Mr. Gates has been an animating force behind the personal computer revolution, helping to build a huge global industry and engineer blockbuster products like Windows and Office, used every day in offices and homes around the world.

read the complete story here : http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/27/technology/27soft.html?_r=1&bl&ex=1214712000&en=4026f0e3cf93a6ef&ei=5087%0A&oref=slogin

brain food # 2 : the 22 immutable laws of branding


The 22 Immutable Laws of Branding
by: Al Ries & Laura Ries

1. The Law of Expansion: The power of a brand is inversely proportional to its scope. Trying to be all things to all people undermines the power of the brand. The strength of brands lies in becoming synony-mous with a single category. Brands that spread themselves across categories lose brand focus, identity, and ultimately market share.

2. The Law of Contraction: A brand becomes stronger when you narrow its focus. By narrowing the focus to a single category, a brand can achieve extraordinary success. Starbucks, Subway and Dominos Pizza became category killers when they narrowed their focus.

3. The Law of Publicity: The birth of a brand is achieved with publicity, not advertising. A new brand must be capable of generating favorable public-ity in the media or it won't have a chance in the marketplace. Anita Roddick built the Body Shop into a global brand with no advertising, but with massive amounts of publicity. On the other hand, Miller Brewing spent $50 million in advertising to launch a brand called Miller Regular. The brand generated no publicity and very little sales.

4. The Law of Advertising: Once born, a brand needs advertising to stay healthy. Sooner or later, a brand leader has to shift its branding strategy from publicity to advertising. By raising the price of admission, advertising makes it difficult for a competitor to carve out a substantial share of the market.

5. The Law of the Word: A brand should strive to own a word in the mind of the consumer. If you want to build a brand, you must focus your branding efforts on owning a word in the prospect's mind. A word that nobody else owns. Kleenex owns "tissue," Federal Express owns "overnight," Volvo owns "safety."

6. The Law of Credentials: The crucial ingredient in the success of any brand is its claim to authenticity. Coke is the real thing in the minds of many, even though the last "real thing" advertisement ran almost thirty years ago. A brand's credentials in a category as authentic, real, original, or the leader are very powerful indeed.

7. The Law of Quality: Quality is important, but brands are not built by quality alone. Does a Rolex keep better time than a Timex? Does Hertz have better service than Alamo? Does a Montblanc pen write better than a Cross? Are you sure? The perception of quality, more than quality itself, is what builds a brand. And the best way to build a quality perception in the mind of consumers is by following the laws of branding.

8. The Law of the Category: A leading brand should promote the category, not the brand. The most efficient, most productive, most useful aspect of branding is creating a new category. Customers don't really care about new brands, they care about new categories. What was the market for cheap cars before Volkswagen? What was the market for home pizza delivery before Dominos? What was the market for in-line skates before Rollerblade?

9. The Law of the Name: In the long run, a brand is nothing more than a name. In the short term, a brand needs a unique idea or concept to survive. But in the long term, all that is left is the difference between your brand name and the brand names of your competitors. Shorter names that are unique and memorable are far stronger than longer, vague or generic names.

10. The Law of Extensions: The easiest way to destroy a brand is to put its name on everything. More than 90% of all new product introductions in the U.S. are line extensions. Line extensions destroy brand value by weakening the brand. The effects can be felt in diminished market share of the core brand, a loss of brand identity, and a cannibalization of the one's own sales. Often, the brand extension directly attacks the strength of the core brand. Does Extra Strength Tylenol imply that regular Tylenol isn't strong enough?

11. The Law of Fellowship: In order to build the category, a brand should welcome other brands. Consumers want to have choices. Choice stimulates demand. Healthy competition helps to build the category. The competi-tion between Coke and Pepsi makes customers more cola conscious. Per capita consumption goes up.

12. The Law of the Generic: One of the fastest routes to failure is giving a brand a generic name. The problem with a generic brand name is its inability to differentiate the brand from the competition. At your local health food store, you'll find Nature's Resource, Nature's Answer, Nature's Bounty, Nature's Secret, Nature's Way, Nature's Best, Nature's Plus, etc. Will any of these generic brands break into the mind and become a major brand? Unlikely.

13. The Law of the Company: Brands are brands. Companies are companies. There is a difference. Customer's think of brands, not companies. Procter and Gamble isn't Tide. General Motors isn't Cadillac. The brand itself should be the focus of your attention. Use the company name, if necessary, in a decidedly secondary way.

14. The Law of Subbrands: What branding builds, subbranding can destroy. Subbranding erodes the power of the core brand. Waterford is the leading Irish crystal maker. Introducing "cheap" Waterford as "Marquis by Waterford" only dilutes the Waterford brand. Subbranding attacks a brand's place in he mind of the prospect.

15. The Law of Siblings: There is a time and place to launch a second brand. A second brand can be launched to focus on a new subcategory within the same product family. Toyota launched Lexus because the Toyota brand couldn't fill the luxury ar category. The focus is on the brand, not the company. Customers buy a Lexus not because it's made by Toyota, but in spite of it.

16. The Law of Shape: A brand's logotype should be designed to fit the eyes. Both eyes. A customer sees the world through two horizontal-ly mounted eyes peering out of the head. For maximum visual impact, a logotype should have a horizontal shape. The ideal shape is 2 1 /4 units wide by 1 unit high.

17. The Law of Color: A brand should use a color that is the opposite of its major competitor. Coke is red, and Pepsi is Blue. Hertz is yellow, and Avis is Red. Color consistency over the long term can help a brand burn its way into the mind.

18. The Law of Borders: There are no barriers to global branding. A brand should know no borders. The perfect solution to growth in a competitive market is not line extensions, but building a global brand. A brand should have a consistent message globally, but must take into account the perceptions of its country of origin.

19. The Law of Consistency: A brand is not built overnight.Success is measured in decades, not years.This is the law which is violated most frequently. Once a brand occupies a position in the mind, the manufacturer often thinks of reasons to change. Markets may change, but brands shouldn't. They may be bent slightly, or given a new slant, but their essential characteristics should never be changed. Long-term, consistent programs might be boring, but they are also immensely powerful.

20. The Law of Change: Brands can be changed, but only infrequently and only very carefully. Nothing is absolute and there are exceptions to every rule. There are three situations where changing your brand is feasible: When your brand is weak or non-existent in the mind, when you want to move your brand down the food chain to a lower price and perception point, or when your brand is in a slow-moving field and the change is going to take place over an extended period of time. Remember, changing your brand is a long and difficult process. Change at your own risk!

21. The Law of Mortality: No brand will live forever. Euthanasia is often thebest solution. While the laws of branding are immutable, brands themselves are not. They are born, grow up, mature, and eventually will die. Yet companies that are willing to spend millions to save a dying brand, won't spend pennies to launch a new one. Opportunities for new brands and threats to old ones are constantly being created by the invention of new categories. The rise of personal computers created opportunities for Compaq, Dell and Gateway, but put pressure on Digital, Data General and Wang.

22. The Law of Singularity: The most important aspect of a brand is its single-mindedness. What is a brand? A singular idea or concept that you own inside the mind of the prospect. It's as simple or as difficult as that.

Excerpted from "The 22 Immutable Laws of Branding"

OgilvyOne Manila - PR 101, lesson #1 getting press conferences to work for you : part 3

memo to OgilvyOne manila:

for your information:

this was the statement in that press release that made me laugh and doubted its content: "Digital marketing has moved from being "niche and new" to being "mass and mainstream."

this was a newspaper article published in the philippines by the philippine daily inquirer coming from a press conference held in manila. that was essentially what was in the headline and is in the first paragraph of the article.

there was no way i was going to believe that. my eyes popped!

85% of the philippine population belong to the DE socio-eco class, 50%+ live below the poverty line and digital marketing has moved from being niche and new to mass and mainstream? who are we kidding here?

this is a market where "tingi" reigns supreme! the philippine market practically invented this new sku called "tingi" where we can buy a single stick of cigarette or practically one spoonful of cooking oil and one spoonful of soy sauce from the palengke. the philippine market has practically taught the rest of the world what one-use packaging and sku mean!

how in the world did digital marketing jump to mass and mainstream? what miracle was hurled at the philippines? somebody gave the pinoy masa, 85% of the population , computers and made the internet available in all homes? when did that happen?

of course "digital marketing" is not just computers and the internet, but that's the core of what digital marketing is all about. cell phone or specifically SMS, is the only widely used digital form in the philippines and can be argued as masa, all the others are still at their infancy. and the reason is simple - most of the population have very little income to afford anything other than today's food and transportation expenses.

so, OgilvyOne manila wants to leverage or make something out of the visit of the president of the asia pacific to manila. what could they have done?

first, do not make the asia pacific president talk about topics that are not relevant and meaningful to the philippine market.

not even topics that will not happen in the next ten years.

make the asia pacific president talk about something relevant and meaningful to the philippine market. things like:

  • how small digital markets evolved to being large digital markets
  • the asian psyche and how well it fits into the digital world
  • the pinoy passion of SMS and how that can be transformed into the true digital world
  • case studies of how digital marketing helped brands succeed
  • new technology and thinking that OgilvyOne has that can be used in the philippines

that's just a few and i suppose you get my drift.

if those are boring and not worthy of a press conference, perhaps you should have not called a press conference at all.

yours truly,

WAWAM!

dilbert on marketing

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dogbert on marketing

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dilbert on marketing




Thursday, June 26, 2008

dilbert on advertising

double click image for larger view


OgilvyOne's april fool's joke in june : part 2

it wasn't really a joke, but it did sound like one, like a nasty april fool's prank done in late june.

that PDI article has been appearing in the google "advertising in asia and the philippines" section of WAWAM! for a few days already. the headline read "'Digital marketing now mass and mainstream' - ad exec, author", and i ignored it and did not bother to read the article.

i found the headline odd and a little funny. i wondered why PDI the country's most widely circulated newspaper would print a preposterous article like that? the philippines - digital marketing mass and mainstream? hahaha

the comedy is completed when just below the article in the PDI about what OgilcyOne said, another article with a headline read "Philippine marketers still wary of online advertising" http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/storypage.aspx?StoryId=122517

the OgivlyOne article obviously came from a press conference they called when Kent Wertime, president of OgilvyOne Asia Pacific visited the philippines. wertime is the president, visited manila and the OgilvyOne manila wanted to give their boss some press exposure. that's a good thing to do for your boss. and also use the opportunity to give OgilvyOne some press coverage and get more business in the philippines.

were the objectives met? no, i don't think so.

the timing of the press conference for OgilvyOne was pretty bad. another article casting doubt if not contradicting the statement of the asia pacific president appeared just about the same time as they had the press conference material printed.

what happened was a PR nightmare. ogilvy's PR agency has lots to explain on this one.

but the timing is not the only thing wrong about the OgilvyOne effort. something bigger than that - a bigger mistake, a more fatal one is the topic they chose for the asia pacific president to talk about.

i wasn't in the press conference so i really don't know what was talked about during the conference. i am only basing it on the news article. it's possible the writer of the news article screwed up that's why it's written that way.

but i doubt if it's the newspaper reporter's fault. they usually give out press write-ups for reporters to take with them to make sure there are no errors and the message is controlled when published. so in other words, the topic the asia pacific president talked about is the topic they want released in the papers.

the fatal error is this - "digital marketing now mass and mainstream" DOES NOT apply in the philippine market.

it probably applies in the US market (or does it?). if it does not apply in the philippines, why the hell did they make that as the topic for the asia pacific president to talk about? they just had the asia pacific president say something completely meaningless and irrelevant to the philippine audience. what's the point? will OgivlyOne get more clients in the philippines if the asia pacific president said something meaningless and irrelevant to the philippine market?

now, the fatal error does not end there.

the topic opened a wound in the heart of OgilvyOne and this one is the april fool's joke unleashed in the month of june, something like adding salt, actually two rounds of salt on the open wound.

read through the article, and you will see two elements in their press conference that effectively made OgilvyOne shoot themselves in the foot, well both feet.

1st shot in the foot: "Still, the "tectonic shift" toward digital marketing is increasingly felt in Asia where usage of mobile phones and the Internet is growing."

in other words, digital marketing being mass and mainstream HAS NOT YET arrived even in asia, it is just forming. they just contradicted themselves!

2nd shot in the other foot: "Puyat however admitted that digital marketing remains a young industry in the country."

and guess what, it's far from being here in the philippines!!! so, why in the world did the president of OgilvyOne asia pacific call a press conference in the philippines to tell us something that isn't here and not meaningful and relevant in the philippine market?

one of the key reasons one calls for a press conference is to make yourself relevant and meaningful. and saying something not relevant and meaningful will make them that? huh?

i don't think OgivlyOne will get new clients out of this press release and press conference. here's a more scary thought - OgilvyOne's existing clients who do use digital marketing with them might stop using digital marketing. the president of OgivlyOne manila just admitted they have been doing digital marketing for their clients that is not effective and does not bring anything to the business.

this very expnsive april fool's joke is a WAWAM! this is a self-inflicted WAWAM! for OgilvyOne manila.

OgilvyOne Asia Pacific cracks a joke! part 1

highlights on the article are mine. this is next on WAWAM!

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Digital marketing now ‘mass and mainstream’--ad exec, author
By Erwin Oliva
INQUIRER.net
First Posted 17:51:00 06/24/2008

MAKATI City, Philippines -- Digital marketing has moved from being "niche and new" to being "mass and mainstream," according to an advertising executive and author who has written books on a digital marketing.

Consumer brands like Nike and Adidas are now using digital marketing to reach a mass market now using various types of digital media, said Kent Wertime, president of OgilvyOne Asia Pacific, in an interview with reporters here.

Having been in advertising for the past 17 years, Wertime said marketers are gravitating toward digital media because the numbers are just too hard to ignore: 3.1 billion mobile phone users, 900 million PC users and 1.4 billion Internet users as of 2007.

"Digital media will become a predominant form," he said, as he explained that digital marketing is about reaching people through digital channels.

In the Philippines, about 90 percent of OgilvyOne's clients are now moving to digital media since last year, said Elly Puyat, managing director of OgilvyOne Worldwide in Manila.

Puyat however admitted that digital marketing remains a young industry in the country.

"A lot of clients in Asia have some form of online presence, but it's not yet a truly digital strategy. If you're not in search marketing, for instance, you're far behind," Wertime said.

Still, the "tectonic shift" toward digital marketing is increasingly felt in Asia where usage of mobile phones and the Internet is growing, the executive said.

Citing a global study on media spending worldwide in 2008, Wertime said Asia as a whole has led in terms of per capita media spending this year. The global average on per capita spending on media is about $98. Philippine spending is currently pegged at $38.

http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/infotech/view/20080624-144523/Digital-marketing-now-mass-and-mainstream--ad-exec-author

Wednesday, June 25, 2008

brain food #1 : the 22 immutable laws of marketing

The 22 Immutable Laws Of Marketing
by: Jack Trout and Al Ries


Excerpts:


1. the law of leadership - it is better to be first than it is to be better: "The basic issue in marketing in creating a category (i.e. a given type of product or service) you can be first in. It's the law of leadership. It's better to be first than it is to be better. ItÕs much easier to get into the mind first than it is to try to convince someone you have a better product than the one that did get there first."

2. the law of the category - if you can't be first in a category, set up a new category you can be first in.


3. the law of the mind - it's better to be first in the mind than to be first in the marketplace: "Is something wrong with the law of leadership (previously presented)? No, but the law of the mind modifies it. It is better to be first in the prospect's mind than first into the marketplace....Being first in the mind is everything in marketing. Being first into the marketplace is important only to the extent that it allows you to get into the mind first."


4. the law of perception - marketing is not a battle of products, it's a battle of perceptions.


5. the law of focus - the most powerful concept in marketing is owning a word in the prospect's mind (i.e. the way that Coke 'owns' the word 'cola', or Xerox owns 'copier').


6. the law of exclusivity - two companies cannot own the same word in the prospect's mind.


7. the law of the ladder - the strategy to use depends on which rung you occupy on the ladder - each category has its own ladder or hierarchy, and where your product or service is in this hierarchy will determine your strategic options.


8. the law of duality - in the long run, every market becomes a two-horse race.


9. the law of the opposite - if you're shooting for second place, your strategy is determined by the market leader.


10. the law of division - over time, a category will divide and become two or more categories.


11. the law of perspective - marketing effects take place over an extended period of time.


12. the law of line extension - there's an irresistible pressure to extend the equity of the brand: "One day a company is tightly focused on a single produce that is highly profitable. The next day the same company is spread thin over many products and is losing money."


13. the law of sacrifice - you have to give up something in order to get something: "The law of sacrifice is the opposite of the law of line extension. If you want to be successful today, you should give something up. There are three things to sacrifice: product line, target market, and constant change."


14. the law of attributes - for every attribute, there is an opposite effective attribute: "Marketing is a battle of ideas. So if you are to succeed, you must have an idea or attribute of your own to focus your efforts around. Without one, you had better have a low price. A very low price."


15. the law of candor - when you admit a negative, the prospect will give you a positive: "...it may come as a surprise to you that one of the most effective ways to get into a prospect's mind is to first admit a negative and then twist it into a positive."


16. the law of singularity - in each situation, only one move will produce substantial results.


17. the law of unpredictability - unless you write your competitor's plans, you can't predict the future.


18. the law of success - success often leads to arrogance, and arrogance to failure.


19. the law of failure - failure is to be expected and accepted.


20. the law of hype - the situation is often the opposite of the way it appears in the press: "When things are going well, a company doesn't need the hype. When you need the hype, it usually means you're in trouble."


21. the law of acceleration - successful programs are not built on fads, they're built on trends.


22. the law of resources - without adequate funding, an idea won't get off the ground: "Marketing is a game fought in the mind of the prospect. You need money to get into a mind. And you need money to stay in the mind once you get there."

Tuesday, June 24, 2008

hunt's pork & beans tv ad - huh? ano daw sabi??? : part 1

unfortunately this tv commercial is not available in the internet. but i feel the urgent and desperate need even to talk about it. i think this ad was first aired just over the weekend.

the commercial opens with a young boy going to the rice cooker, opens it, looks inside, then talks to his mom off camera, saying something like "there is no more rice".

split second reaction, i thought, hmm a commercial for rice? since when did anyone advertise rice? or a rice substitute?

then, the camera cuts to some food preparation and the copy says something like "it's ok if t here's no rice, there is hunt's pork and beans and rice". (shows a food shot of hunt's pork & beans over rice.) then cut to another food preparation, mom voice over says something like "you can eat hunt's pork & beans with bread". (shows a food prep of hunts pork & beans inside a hamburger bun.)

what the hell was that? right after the third line of the ad, i start laughing and tune off for the rest of the commercial!

where in the world is the logic in that tv commercial? first line is "there is no more rice" and the immediate answer to that is "it's ok, there is hunt's pork & beans and rice"??? the boy wanted rice and he was asking the mother what he will do since they have ran out of rice. and that is the answer of the mom? how did that the mom's statement answer the boy's line? it does not make sense! to begin with i thought there is no more rice?

and then the second line doesn't make sense either, "you can enjoy hunt's pork & beans with bread".

i think the point they wanted to make here is that it's ok to run out of rice, you can eat hunt's pork & beans in many ways, not just with rice but also with bread.
but this idea was presented in a very confused and misleading way, it felt like there were missing scenes in the ad, either before the commercial started or scenes after the line of the boy. there is a huge logic gap in there! the logic gap is so huge that i am shocked nobody noticed it.

commercials first and foremost must make sense if not logical. sometimes we get ads that are very creative and incredible that they are not really logical in terms of understanding reality. but they are presented in a logical way that we can accept.
like the coke "angel' commercial, it's a fantasy and therefore not literally logical in our real world, but the premise and story of the ad is presented in a sensible and logical manner. even when it tries to be very creative and out of the box, logic and sense is a very basic and fundamental need in any commercial.

this hunt's tv commercial does not even try to make sense or to be logical. i think i know what happened here. and my guess is it's the client's fault.

i think one of the objectives of the storyboard is to encourage extended usage by telling the audience that hunt's pork & beans can be enjoyed even with bread other than the traditional way of eating it with rice.
they probably shot the commercial using a storyboard that had that storyline. with the lines and visuals in this sequence:
boy: there is no more rice.
mom: it's ok even if we don't have rice, you can enjoy it with bread
(visual of hunt's pork & beans and bread)

mom: it's as good as eating it with rice (shows visual of hunt's pork & beans on rice)

my guess is at post production approval stage, one of the clients, probably the president, a very logical person, objected to the shot commercial. this client was afraid that with the shot storyboard (my own versions of the lines, above), they run the risk of alienating their current users whose eating habit is to eat the product with rice. the president was afraid that there was too much emphasis on eating the product with bread that it will turn off a very large chunk of their current franchise who has the established habit of eating it with rice. and that will mean they will lose market share.

their solution? they inserted the hunt's pork & beans shot and line before the bread visual. but what they forgot to check was - did the audio make sense, was the story being presented logical?

someone in the agency got scared and did not challenge the client. someone forgot to ask about making sense and being logical. if this wasn't the client's fault, who is the ad agency of this brand?

this hunt's pork & beans "rice" tv ad? it's a WAWAM!
more on this WAWAM! ad in the next post...

Monday, June 23, 2008

super bowl 2008 great ads : bridgestone tire's screamer ad

here's another super bowl 2008 favorite tv spot - bridgestone tire's "screamer" tv spot.

this is a good study of what advertising should be. it's entertaining, funny even. it has a single message, there is no mistaking that. it has minimal copy. the commercial captures you and it entertains you very well. and to top it all, you get the message of what bridgestone tires stand for. excellent ad!

Sunday, June 22, 2008

tide detergent's mr. palengke tv commercial - part 2

senator mar roxas in this tide detergent commercial did not mention the tide brand name even once. he also did not touch the product and and in fact his only interaction with tide was when he pointed to the price discount on the pack.

is it a tide detergent tv commercial? hell, yeah! is it a product endorsement tv ad by the nationally elected senator? hell, yeah!

there is no mistaking - mr. palengke appeared in the tide commercial and is endorsing the product. why else would you display such huge bags of tide, standing up with the tide logo clearly seen? i don't think you will ever see any store in the palengke where they display tide that way and certainly not in front of the store where it contains nothing but giant tide packs. the way tide was displayed and the shelf itself is simply not done in the palengkes.



this is not tide's brandsell advertising. in the world of p&g advertising, this is considered as a tactical value advertising. it's meant to sell tide's large packs and promote big purchases among consumers in the palengke.

what? wait a minute. mr. palengke in a palengke promoting big pack purchases? something is very wrong about that!

first of all, detergent purchase habits says most consumers buy small packs for lower cash outlay. also, the palengke is where most DE and some lower C socio-eco users go to for their daily needs, and most of them go to the palengkes very often because they do no have the money to buy in bulk, thus the consumer practice is small price but more frequent purchases.

and the above is where we move in to a new topic - this is not just a product endorsement ad, it is actually a political campaign ad.

promoting large priced purchases for bulk detergent products is simply alien to the palengke goers. it's consumers who go to supermarkets who do that, but hardly is that legitimate purchasing habit for those who shop in palengkes. very few palengke goers can afford large pack purchases, in fact it is in the palengke where you can buy literally a spoonful of anything, placed in small plastic bags. you can actually buy condiments and cooking needs in small plastic bags good for one cooking. for an advertising purist, you can argue this commercial is off strategy.

the fact that the mr. palengke, senator mar roxas commercial is situated in a palengke means only one thing - it's a political ad.

but p&g is not foolish. they will not intentionally and knowingly air an off strategy commercial. being off strategy in p&g is a mortal sin that will get you fired the next minute you say it. i am certain they have done extensive consumer research on this tv commercial - from the choice of the talent to a full blown advertising pre-airing test and i bet they found that while this commercial is meant to be tactical, it has powerful brandsell characteristics.

is it a WAWAM!? it's not entirely a WAWAM! for tide detergent. mr. palengke has excellent credentials and a huge following. it's also not a WAWAM! for senator mr. roxas. he is getting national tv exposure highly consistent with his positioning as the mr. palengke. and for free! the media money behind it is being paid for by p&g.

again, is it a WAWAM!?

yes, it's a WAWAM! for the filipino people and it's soul. we can rationalize it all we want. we can take it down to technicalities like no brand name was said, but the fact remains, like judas, several pieces of silver worth millions of pesos in talent fee was exchanged for integrity, pride, honesty and honor in a nationally elected public office.

Saturday, June 21, 2008

the tv remote vs the greed of tv stations : part 1

gma7 fought with the advertising industry and the kbp on too much commercial load a few years ago. the kbp fined gma7 for putting too many commercials into its tv shows, violating kbp guidelines on the maximum number of commercials allowed that was followed by the industry.

the kbp, like the adboard is a self-regulating body created by the industry itself and everyone for many years have followed its rulings and guidelines. gma7 was adamant with its stand, saying first they did not violate the rules then later on when given evidence said they said were not bound by the rules of the kbp. when it was clear that gma7 will be sanctioned by the kbp and supported by the advertising industry, gma7 did the most despicable move that demonstrated guilt - it withdrew its membership to the KBP so that it is no longer bound by it's rules and regulations.

i thought that was a dumb ass move that would eventually not only hurt gma7 but more importantly hurt the broadcasting industry and advertising as whole. i felt gma7 was simply satisfying it's greed for revenues and profits (more commercial load, more ad revenues) putting the broadcasting and advertising industry in jeopardy. in satisfying it's gluttony, it was killing the industry that it was getting it's food from.

more importantly, i thought that move will eventually hurt the tv audience. let's not forget, people watch television for the shows, not the commercials. ask any tv viewer and i'm sure 100% of them will probably say they prefer not to watch commercials at all.

aside from the unwatchable tv shows, the large number of tv commercials in a show are two reasons i hardly watch local tv stations. i prefer to watch cable tv where there is a tolerable number of interruptions. i usually force myself to watch local newscasts and when i do that, the tv remote is always in my hand and would switch channels every commercial break. i am practically on a commercial free viewing, thanks to my tv remote.

and that is what i find as most striking in what abrera said - "when we overload shows with commercials, we are actually teaching the audience to avoid them".

tv watching is not just a behavior, it is essentially a habit that modern humans have formed. it is formed over time and through constant repetition. habits are formed when humans acquire something good or pleasurable out of it or on the other side of it, to avoid something bad or unpleasant.

the latter - avoidance of something bad or unpleasant is what abrera is referring to when she said "we are actually teaching the audience to avoid them". every tv has a remote these days and that means every audience has one in his hand. the power to watch or not to watch anything is literally in the hands of the audience.

that is the impact of what gma7 did. it's over and beyond revenues, fighting with the KBP or fighting with the ad industry, it's affecting audience behavior, the group everyone i mentioned above are after.

any marketer and advertising practitioner know that the core of what we will do is first affecting an attitude change that will lead to a habit change, forming a new one or changing an old one.

gma7 for sure knows that. and it is sad that one of the two largest tv networks in the country is involved in the formation of a new habit that will hurt not only itself but most specially the whole ad industry. if abrera is right, and i think she is, it looks like gma7 gave itself and the whole ad industry a poison pill.

gma7? a WAWAM!


more on this, next in WAWAM!...

Friday, June 20, 2008

too many commercials turning off viewers

this is an interesting comment. up next is the view from WAWAM!


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Advertisers losing audience in RP due to too many commercials

By ISAGANI DE CASTRO, JR.abs-cbnNEWS.com/Newsbreak

The Philippines has too many advertisements on television, and consumers have adapted to it by changing channels and returning to programs they like just at the right time with their remote controls, a leading advertising executive said.

In an open forum at the 2008 World Marketing Conference at the SMX Convention Center, Emily Abrera, regional chair of the McCann Worldgroup Asia, said the Philippines has the highest commercial load per hour in Asia. “We have the highest commercial load in the world. Certainly, it’s the highest in Asia, and I think it’s probably one of the highest in the world,” she said. In an interview with abs-cbnNEWS.com/Newsbreak, Abrera said the local advertising-industry prescribed limit is 18 minutes of commercials per hour, a level that is already highest in Asia. In other Asian countries, the limit is 12 to 14 minutes per hour.

Anti-ads behavior

Abrera said too many commercials have forced consumers to adapt, and they have developed behavior that is anti-advertisement. “You will note that people are continuously watching several channels simultaneously. And people are very good and have evolved this wonderful sense of timing so that they know that as soon as commercial come on, they go to the channel where they’re watching something else. So in other words, they’re tracking several programs at the same time. And they come back, almost as soon as that last spot is ending. They’re very good at that already,” Abrera said. “When we overload with commercials, we are actually teaching people how to avoid them. We’re giving them the greatest reason how to avoid watching our work. And that is what worries me the most, that we’re losing our audience for our commercials,” she said.

Regulation needed

Abrera said there is a need for more regulation of these commercials in the Philippines. The regulation is supposed to be done by the advertising board in the Philippines and the broadcasters’ association, Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster ng Pilipinas (KBP). “I still think we need to be regulated,” Abrera said. But she lamented that GMA-7 is no longer a member of KBP, “so we can’t hold them to the following guidelines.”

According to a content analysis-study done by De La Salle University students discussed during the open forum, GMA-7 has a commercial load of 30 minutes per hour while ABS-CBN has a commercial load of “15 to 20 minutes per hour.” Abrera said marketing associations in the Philippines are “trying to find a balance” that would allow television networks to comply while reducing costs to advertisers. She said the balance is needed because “the fewer commercials we have, the highest cost it will be for a commercial minute or 30-seconders.”

New technology factor

She said the industry cannot continue with the same set-up of overloading consumers with commercials. “It’s something that needs to be addressed. And we cannot continue interrupting programs. Because that also interrupts viewing and creates a sort of a negative effect after a while.” Abrera said new technologies such as mobile phones are partly to blame for the commercial overload. “I don’t think it’s just in the Philippine setting.

I think we’re just inundated with messages from everywhere, because also of new media, because we carry our phones all the time. So we get all sorts of offers, promotions. If you look at the billboards which are just all over the place, it’s as if there’s nowhere you can turn where there isn’t space that is occupied by a branded message. And this I think teaches us also how to tune off,” she told abs-cbnNEWS.com/Newsbreak.

Creative ads

Abrera urged advertising and marketing firms to be more creative in their campaigns through ads that consumers won’t mind being interrupted with. “We’re going to have to perform the job of entertaining, uplifting with a very subtle sell,” she said. “The message has got to be worth their time, worth their interruption.”

Abrera said young people know so much about producing videos these days that it makes the job of advertisers more difficult. “They know so much about production that you’re going to have to show them something so interesting that they’re going to want to see it over and over again,” she said. Abrera said another challenge is how to produce advertisements for computers or laptops, Ipods, and mobile phones, which consumers don’t want interrupted with commercials.

“The other thing we have to realize is, these new media—computer, the mobile phone, iPod—these are very personal, extremely personal.They’re extensions of the self, and so there’s a higher wall there that I think we have to scale, to enter,” she said. This is a big change from the time when all advertisers had to do was “just buy and pay for the space and you can intrude on anyone at any given time." “Today, they have to give us permission to deliver our message,” Abrera said.

durex condom tv spot : condoms are really funny!

there is a pinoy joke that uses the same story of sperms rushing out of it's home that i remembered when i saw this ad. it's a funny joke but it's off what WAWAM! is all about.

this durex commercial, however, is about WAWAM! enjoy the ad, it's funny. and also very educational - it explains very well what "a surge of urges do to men" and exactly how a condom succeeds at it's designated role.


Thursday, June 19, 2008

hooters philippines - misplaced brand equity?

the picture on the left, of hooter girls in the US tells you exactly what the hooters brand equity is or are. their hands are exactly on their brand equities.

and just to tell you that's exactly what the hooters brand equity is - i go to this forum where the men in it where all talking about the hooters manila opening. a few of them were actually planning on going to hooters to look at the brand equities and maybe get some food or drinks on the side.


pictures of the hooter girls manila were shown to them, and almost immediately, the men decided not to go anymore. that's how devastating the off-strategy brand equity of hooters manila have become - a turn off. they quickly lost triers when the brand equities were shown in pictures.

aside from the flatter than expected brand equities hooters manila showed, what caught the attention of the men where what appears to be another brand equity. look closely at the picture of hooter girls manila on the left. look at the shirt of the girls, way down below the hooters logo, where the text that says "manila bay". notice the distortion being caused on the text? if you lay that shirt flat on a surface, the printing will not show any distortion. the text only got that way after the girls wore the shirt. (with great apologies to the ladies on the picture. we're just discussing the merits of brand equities here.)
this is a great lesson in marketing and we know that very well - BE TRUE TO YOUR BRAND EQUITY or lose customers!

Wednesday, June 18, 2008

hooters philippines - brand equity that can't make mountains out of mole hills

we don't know if it was a soft launch, but hooters launched its first restaurant in the philippines at the mall of asia in pasay city. didn't see any ad or anything in media, just by word of mouth, specifically the mouths of men.

the interesting part is that just a few days, probably within hours of it's opening, pictures of the waitresses of hooters philippines circulated in the internet. and that got me thinking about a pair of errrr brand images and brand equity.

restaurants have them too. any owner of a restaurant will tell you, to succeed in the restaurant business, you need to be known for something. the more specific you are known for, the better.

in marketing research, there is a tool called word association where the respondents are shown or told certain words and the respondents playback the word that comes to mind upon seeing the word stimulus. this tool allows researchers to determine what are the images consumers associate with certain thoughts or concepts. for restaurants, it is almost always the food they are known for.

here's a short exercise. there are some restaurants that are a no brainer. please say the names aloud and say them quickly.

pancake house = pancakes; chicken bacolod house = chicken bacolod; lapid's = chicharon.

there are some that's not in their names, but its a quick answer. again, say them aloud and say them quickly.

ferino's = bibingka; starbucks = coffee; max's = chicken; jollibee = spaghetti; digman = halo-halo; aristocrat = chicken barbecue.

hooters = boobs!

what? boobs? is that food? well, boobs aren't food (at least not edible) but let's be honest here, when you say hooters, the first thing or first pair that comes to mind are female boobs. i don't think anyone has ever said steak, ribs, soup or salad when you say the word hooters.

simply put, perhaps to annoy the feminists, big female boobs is what hooters is known for. and it is these pairs of reasons that hooter girls are famous for and most probably the most photographed waitresses in the whole world. just like the hooter girl on the picture, what she has in front of her, a pair that are proud and smart is what hooters is known for.

that's really very hard to explain to my 10 year old son - "son, let's have dinner at hooters, i want to look at some things." but that's a separate story all together.

don't blame me, the hooters logo says the same thing, too. ok, so an owl hoots and that explains the image of the animal being there. sure, the eyes of owls are huge but the shape of the eyes and the two dots are conveniently placed in the middle of each eye and that tells us exactly what we are supposed to look at, well ok and to hoot at.

perhaps, this hooters logo should have PG13 rating?

that takes care of clearly establishing what the hooters brand equity is.

like the hooter girl counterparts in the US, the pinay hooter girls were also photographed extensively. and by looking at the poses of the pinay hooter girls, aside from how to carry a tray of food and having an intimate knowledge of the hooters menu, it seems how to pose for pictures has been part and parcel of the hooter girl training program. the poses of the pinay hooter girls are exactly the same with those of the hooter girls in the US.

BUT, there is a big difference. based on the pictures of the pinay hooter girls, it appears hooters philippines have failed to deliver on the hooters brand equity. it's a deflated brand equity that even the best of the underwires failed to compensate for.

if i was the asia regional marketing director of hooters, i would definitely tell hooters philippines is off strategy and off brand equity. recommendation - hooters philippines need to uplift and upgrade it's brand equity, if you know what i mean.

hooters philippines brand equity - it's a WAWAM!

here are some pics of the pinay hooter girls. with profound apologies to the ladies in the pictures.



"tiger, the impossible" - one more reason why it's a perfect tagline for brand tiger woods

practically everyone in the sports world are one in saying tiger just won the greatest golf game anyone has ever played and in awesome fashion. even tiger himself said it - it was his greatest game.

all the reviews and comments are saying one thing, it's unanimous, for brand tiger woods, the most powerful tagline is : "Tiger, The Impossible".



Woods' feat at U.S. Open inspires, awes

By Jerry Potter, USA TODAY

Tiger Woods has amazed people before, but his limping, 91-hole victory in the U.S. Open got the attention of three observers who are hard to impress.

Bill Mallon, an orthopedic surgeon and former PGA Tour player, said, "I think his knee is a problem he will have to deal with for the future. From what I saw at the Open he's pretty good at dealing with it."

Woods' teacher, Hank Haney, wrote in an e-mail, "The U.S. Open will be considered the greatest accomplishment in sports history."
Haney explained that Woods, a stickler for preparation, was unable to walk 18 holes before the tournament at Torrey Pines in San Diego, and he said that Woods hit no more than 50 balls before each round and did not practice afterward.

Jack Nicklaus, the man Woods is chasing for the most victories in majors, said last month that his concern was Woods' inability to practice and prepare for the Open.
Nicklaus said he "wouldn't bet against" Woods, but after the Open he said he was amazed by the performance.

Woods, who described his victory as "probably the best ever," made a birdie putt on the 72nd hole Sunday to tie Rocco Mediate, then beat him Monday in a playoff that went 19 holes. It was his 14th victory in majors, four shy of Nicklaus' record, which he established from the 1962 U.S. Open through the 1986 Masters.

"I have always said I hope I am alive when he breaks the record," said Nicklaus, 68, "because I want to be the first person to shake his hand."

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/golf/pga/2008-06-18-tiger-adjustments_N.htm

Tuesday, June 17, 2008

mr. palengke goes labandera - is it a product endorsement ad or a political ad part 1


from a PDI news article:

"Sen. Manuel “Mar” Roxas II, who once pushed the detergent brand Tide,denied doing any product endorsements: “But I didn’t endorse. I didn’t say that
the public should buy a product, nor did I hold any product. And I did not say that it was better than the others. It’s a public service announcement saying that all product sellers should be true to consumers
.”

let's get this out of the way first before a discussion on the merits of senator roxas' tide tv commercial.

the above statement is an empty rationalization of the endorsement ad senator roxas did for tide detergent. it's lawyer speak that's building a wall of semantics to have some good things around it to have some things to defend something bad.

of course the tv commercial is an endorsement ad. he doesn't have to hold the product, he doesn't even have to say anything, it's enough for his face to be in the commercial and that automatically makes it an endorsement tv ad of tide detergent.

aside from that, the fact that he got several million pesos as talent fee obviously makes it an endorsement ad.

will tide detergent, a leading detergent brand pay him millions to appear in that commercial for public service? who is he kidding? tide detergent is one of the most competitive detergent brands in the market. it is manufactured by procter & gamble, the inventor of the "brand management" system and one of the savviest marketers in the world. they will NOT get mar roxas to appear in their tv commercial for reasons other than selling cases of tide detergent. not only did they pay senator mar roxas a handsome talent fee, they are spending hundreds of millions of pesos to air the tv commercial. there is nothing that tide detergent nor procter & gamble does that is not about selling more cases of its products.

next in WAWAM! - is the senator mar roxas tide detergent commercial all worth it?

Tiger, The Impossible wins US Open



After 19 Extra Holes, Woods Captures His Third U.S. Open

By LARRY DORMAN
Published: June 17, 2008

SAN DIEGO — Calling it “probably the greatest tournament I’ve ever had,” Tiger Woods outlasted a determined Rocco Mediate on Monday, finally defeating him on the first hole of sudden death to win the 108th United States Open.

Woods again came back from the brink of defeat, with a birdie on the final hole in the 18-hole playoff to pull even with Mediate at an even-par 71 and then a par on the first hole of sudden death to win.

---
“It was a great battle all week,” Woods said. “I was up and down, up and down, up and down all week, and then the playoff. Everyone knows Rocco was in bad shape last year, and for him to be back out here and playing this well. Honestly, it was an unbelievably gutsy performance. He put so much pressure on me today, and he played well all week. This is probably the greatest tournament I’ve ever had.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/17/sports/golf/17golf.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin#

Monday, June 16, 2008

Tiger, The Impossible



there is no argument, tiger woods is the greatest player of the game. the question really is do we have enough space to list down all the impossible stuff that he has made possible in his career and those he has yet to make.


let's be honest here, golf is one the most boring game to watch on tv. but i will be watching tomorrow for the finals of the US Open and that's only for one reason - tiger woods is in the finals.


it has only been tiger woods that has made watching golf bearable. in fact, he makes it much more than bearable, it's exciting and breathtaking as basketball and football.
so, tiger, the impossible will play tomorrow for the US Open, and this article is a good read to frame tomorrow's game.


pay attention to what his opponent tomorrow, rocco mediate has to say about woods. last sentence of this article.

tiger, the impossible is always a delight to watch.


In the End, Woods Gets Even

Mediate Stands Between Him and 3rd Open Title


SAN DIEGO, June 15 -- It was 12 feet. It was
Tiger Woods. And Rocco Mediate had no doubt it was inevitable that the greatest player in the game would convert one last birdie putt Sunday to force a thoroughly improbable 18-hole Monday playoff in the 108th U.S. Open.


"Unbelievable," Mediate said seconds after watching on a TV monitor in the scoring area as Woods somehow cobbled together a birdie for the ages after a poor drive into a bunker and a dreadful second shot from the sand at the 527-yard finishing hole. He made up for both transgressions with that one final pressure-packed 12-foot putt that bounced all the way toward the hole before diving down to force the first Open playoff since 2001.


"I knew he'd make it," Mediate said. "That's what he does."