this one is one of manny pacquiao's numerous tv ads. it's one of the latest if not the latest. latest means the public and that is about the whole philippine population have been mesmerized with the pacman's latest heroic exploit as a world class boxer. pacquiao's greatness as a boxer has not escaped filipinos, their admiration of him overflowing and unprecedented for any sportsman in the country's history.
airing a cheap tv ad such as this one does not make sense to us at all. the ad has absolutely cheap and amateurish production values. the set looks real cheap, like an amateur set designer did it. the frontage of the bar and the inside obviously look like a set. it is as if it was intentional. the over-all look and quality of the set defies logic - sets not supposed to look like sets. walls are not supposed to look fake. sets are meant to give the sense of reality, that the characters are actually inside a real bar and the walls are real walls, the structures looking like real structures. in this ad no such effort was made.
the lighting of the tv ad did not help either. the lighting instead of hiding or masking the fakeness (yes, that is a new word) of the set was showing it off in all it's glory. the lighting designed seemed to have made an effort to show every detail of the fake and poorly done set. it did not help in building character for the set and the characters in the tv ad, it made a very strong effort to show its flaws.
and that is just on the set and lighting.
mount pinatubo erupts shooting ashes several kilometers high, then floating to blanket many other towns hundreds of kilometers away
Showing posts with label WAWAM. Show all posts
Showing posts with label WAWAM. Show all posts
Monday, February 21, 2011
Thursday, December 3, 2009
this was posted by "anonymous" here: http://the-wawam-file.blogspot.com/2009/08/magician-21st-philippine-advertising.html
no, i did not get that at all that the magician was imagining a full house. how did you even get all that from the tv ad? where is it in the ad that all that you said is shown or said? you must be writer of the ad to know all that.
that says to me that aside from the weakness in the copy-writing of this ad, there is a bigger weakness in the directorial treatment of the ad.
the director failed to execute that idea from a visual and movement standpoint. the directorial treatment failed in establishing the visuals being shown come from different perspectives. in the ad, it was just a flash of light that was supposed to signal the change in perspective. that is a very weak visual treatment.
the copy also did not help. it hardly had copy in the first place but the the change in perspective visual was shown just before the copy said "witness this death defying act". the story is about a magician making a woman disappear, it will confuse the audience- what is supposed to disappear, the woman or the audience.
because of the very bad directorial treatment, i don't think anyone will get there is a change in perspective but will rather stick to the story in the ad.
one of the thing i remember about effective ads is this - "what you see is what you get". in this ad that is what i got because that is what i saw and it was in fact what was given visually and copy-wise.
more on this later. it is a WAWAM!
The magician was imagining a full house because as a performer... that was what he wanted to see. *Every* performer longs to live in the limelight, to be acknowledged and cheered on by a crowd. The sad reality for him was, the 'standing ovation' was nothing more than an illusion, a thing he conjured up in his own mind OR it could have been a memory of his former glory days. Hence, with a flicker of the light, the hurrahs are replaced with yawns, from a less than ecstatic audience.
In this way, it is creatively intellectual, (as opposed to "just being creative for creativity's sake"), for its irony, for he, who gives illusions to please others, creates an illusion for himself, to keep his spirit alive. You may see this in Psychology books filed under the subject: "Coping Mechanism." You see, performers die a little inside every time they realize that nobody gives a crap about their "art". However, he also knows that the show must go on, and that he must prop up that smile because that is what 'professionals' do. How can you not get that?
no, i did not get that at all that the magician was imagining a full house. how did you even get all that from the tv ad? where is it in the ad that all that you said is shown or said? you must be writer of the ad to know all that.
that says to me that aside from the weakness in the copy-writing of this ad, there is a bigger weakness in the directorial treatment of the ad.
the director failed to execute that idea from a visual and movement standpoint. the directorial treatment failed in establishing the visuals being shown come from different perspectives. in the ad, it was just a flash of light that was supposed to signal the change in perspective. that is a very weak visual treatment.
the copy also did not help. it hardly had copy in the first place but the the change in perspective visual was shown just before the copy said "witness this death defying act". the story is about a magician making a woman disappear, it will confuse the audience- what is supposed to disappear, the woman or the audience.
because of the very bad directorial treatment, i don't think anyone will get there is a change in perspective but will rather stick to the story in the ad.
one of the thing i remember about effective ads is this - "what you see is what you get". in this ad that is what i got because that is what i saw and it was in fact what was given visually and copy-wise.
more on this later. it is a WAWAM!
Monday, August 24, 2009
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!
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!
Saturday, April 18, 2009
burger king's paris hilton spicy bbq burger tv ad - really hot but for all the wrong reasons
i'm struggling here, don't know what to call this ad is it a WAWAM!, one that has ADS Sindrome?
that is also the problem of this ad. is this ad a car ad? i was desperately waiting for the ad to show the brand name of the ad, peering through the legs of paris hilton trying to get glimpse of the insignia of the car on the hood or the grill of the car.
is this an ad for a car wash soap? those suds are big and abundant and they slide ever so slowly..... on the most important body parts..... of the car, great to clean the car.
or maybe the sponge? that sponge looked real fluffy, soft and oh so unyielding. press and squeeze and responds back to you, a tactile celebration of what is good and oh so awesome in a sponge.
then it occurred to me - this must be the latest paris hilton sex home made video. you know, the type that was taken by an ex-boyfriend that was kept inside that storage space rental that went unpaid, forcing the owners to sell the contents. didn't realize paris had long legs and fully formed with muscles on the best parts of her body. and those poses that hid the best parts of her body but telling us there is more to come under it. we were waiting for it to be shown.
but that did not happen. at the end, it's an ad for burger king's spicy bbq burger.
what the fuck was that?
on my first question - i got it figured out, this ad is both a WAWAM! and has ADS Sindrome. that's hot! not!
that is also the problem of this ad. is this ad a car ad? i was desperately waiting for the ad to show the brand name of the ad, peering through the legs of paris hilton trying to get glimpse of the insignia of the car on the hood or the grill of the car.
is this an ad for a car wash soap? those suds are big and abundant and they slide ever so slowly..... on the most important body parts..... of the car, great to clean the car.
or maybe the sponge? that sponge looked real fluffy, soft and oh so unyielding. press and squeeze and responds back to you, a tactile celebration of what is good and oh so awesome in a sponge.
then it occurred to me - this must be the latest paris hilton sex home made video. you know, the type that was taken by an ex-boyfriend that was kept inside that storage space rental that went unpaid, forcing the owners to sell the contents. didn't realize paris had long legs and fully formed with muscles on the best parts of her body. and those poses that hid the best parts of her body but telling us there is more to come under it. we were waiting for it to be shown.
but that did not happen. at the end, it's an ad for burger king's spicy bbq burger.
what the fuck was that?
on my first question - i got it figured out, this ad is both a WAWAM! and has ADS Sindrome. that's hot! not!
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
whisper sanitary pad's ewwww tv ad with kim chiu & gerard anderson
isper is a sanitary napkin that likes to talk superiority on their dryness claim. it was launched in the philippine market on the basis of claiming it's the sanitary pad that offers dryness. to consumers, that means the pad will not fail and will hold all the wetness the woman has even on heavy days when she is having her menstruation.
i bet they used the word "torture test" a lot in describing this ad when they developed it. that means subjecting the product in torture test situations and coming out as the winner, showing the ability to deliver the promise.
in this case, the promise is dryness even in a torture test situation of the woman who has menstruation agrees to saddle back her man, riding on the shoulders of her man, putting that part of her body where she puts the sanitary pad on.
the torture test situation puts that body part of hers where she wears the sanitary pad in actual physical contact on the guy's neck, being pressed and pushed and within a few inches of the man's nose. apparently, that body part of the woman where the sanitary pad is placed not only leaks but also smells.
kim chiu, a teen popular actress is so confident whisper sanitary pad will succeed in this torture test that gerard anderson another popular teen actor will not smell and will not see menstrual blood on his neck.
WTF was that????? its ewww, double ewww and triple ewww!
i don't think there is a filipina alive today who will EVER, EVER agree to do something like that in real life when she has her period. there is no way a woman will ever do that. even if she uses a dozen whisper sanitary pads on that body part of hers.
this whisper ad is over the edge of sanity and stupidity. i think it succeeds on the torture test idea only in the minds of the ad agency that created it. it fails on believability, empathy and definitely wins on the ewww and ewww factor.
this is a WAWAM!
i bet they used the word "torture test" a lot in describing this ad when they developed it. that means subjecting the product in torture test situations and coming out as the winner, showing the ability to deliver the promise.
in this case, the promise is dryness even in a torture test situation of the woman who has menstruation agrees to saddle back her man, riding on the shoulders of her man, putting that part of her body where she puts the sanitary pad on.
the torture test situation puts that body part of hers where she wears the sanitary pad in actual physical contact on the guy's neck, being pressed and pushed and within a few inches of the man's nose. apparently, that body part of the woman where the sanitary pad is placed not only leaks but also smells.
kim chiu, a teen popular actress is so confident whisper sanitary pad will succeed in this torture test that gerard anderson another popular teen actor will not smell and will not see menstrual blood on his neck.
WTF was that????? its ewww, double ewww and triple ewww!
i don't think there is a filipina alive today who will EVER, EVER agree to do something like that in real life when she has her period. there is no way a woman will ever do that. even if she uses a dozen whisper sanitary pads on that body part of hers.
this whisper ad is over the edge of sanity and stupidity. i think it succeeds on the torture test idea only in the minds of the ad agency that created it. it fails on believability, empathy and definitely wins on the ewww and ewww factor.
this is a WAWAM!
Monday, January 26, 2009
mea culpa : The 10 Most Embarassing Award Winners in Automotive History
this is a most interesting article not only for car lovers, but also for marketing practitioners. this is the first time i have read an article of this sort and it is quite refreshing to read something where an "authority" admits to being wrong. it's a great read for all of us, but it is stomach churning if you own any of these cars.
Dishonorable Mention: The 10 Most Embarrassing Award Winners in Automotive History
Don’t tell anyone, but we’re not always right. Neither are those other magazines.
By The CARandDRIVER.com Staff
Here and now, in vivid HTML, Car and Driver formally apologizes for naming the Renault Alliance to the 1983 10Best Cars list. For the last 26 years, it’s been gnawing at our collective gut like a shame-induced ulcer. The car was trash. We should have known that back then, and it’s taken us too long to confess our grievous mistake. Let this frank admission be the start of our penance.
It’s not the only blemish on our record, and we’re not the only publication to recognize a few stinkers with its highest honor. The history of automotive journalism has seen flaming piles of poo named “Car of the Year” even as they attract product liability lawsuits by the acre-foot and hunks of crud honored as “All-Stars” at the very moment buyers are seeking reimbursement under lemon laws.
It’s always a risk making judgments based on the initial exposure to a car, and sometimes a vehicle’s ultimate crappiness only reveals itself with the fullness of time. We’re all subject to hype for something that seems new, different, and maybe even better, and in this business, we all feel the crushing pressure to be timely, amusing, and authoritative. Being wrong is always a risk. Still, here are ten award winners for which somebody needs to apologize.
read article in full here: http://autos.yahoo.com/articles/autos_content_landing_pages/846/dishonorable-mention-the-10-most-embarrassing-award-winners-in-automotive-history
Sunday, January 11, 2009
smart telco's wrong send tv spot
this ad can be classified as a public service ad. it's supposed to educate cellphone users on how best to use the cellphone. in this ad, it's how not to get yourself in trouble with your boss.
while the ad is entertaining in some ways and communicates the point of the ad, it really does not do anything to the Smart brand. it's a story that is truly generic that it applies to any subscriber of any cellphone service provider. if it's too generic, why bother to produce and air the ad at all?
advertising money is very precious. you want every advertising money you have to work for your brand. it should either build an image or sell more. the best kind is the one that does both.
does this ad make smart more endearing to consumers? or do this ad make non-Smart subscribers want to switch to Smart? on both questions, we think the answer is no. so why bother?
we think it's a WAWAM!
english backtranslation of the SMS text sent by the employee:
Pilipino : "Kalbong ito!!! Gabi na! Wla na FX!"
English : "This bald man!!! It's already late in the evening! There won't be any FX (mode of public transportation like a taxi with a fixed route shared by other passengers) anymore!
while the ad is entertaining in some ways and communicates the point of the ad, it really does not do anything to the Smart brand. it's a story that is truly generic that it applies to any subscriber of any cellphone service provider. if it's too generic, why bother to produce and air the ad at all?
advertising money is very precious. you want every advertising money you have to work for your brand. it should either build an image or sell more. the best kind is the one that does both.
does this ad make smart more endearing to consumers? or do this ad make non-Smart subscribers want to switch to Smart? on both questions, we think the answer is no. so why bother?
we think it's a WAWAM!
english backtranslation of the SMS text sent by the employee:
Pilipino : "Kalbong ito!!! Gabi na! Wla na FX!"
English : "This bald man!!! It's already late in the evening! There won't be any FX (mode of public transportation like a taxi with a fixed route shared by other passengers) anymore!
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
political ads: small banners that think small a big waste of money
you can't miss it, every city has it. actually every city has lots of it - these ubiquitous small banners with the faces and names of current barangay (smallest town unit), city and provincial officials. depending on certain months, congressmen and senators get into the act. well, ok actually almost everyone in government does it.
but do they work? do they have a marketing and advertising value?
looking at these ads, you can say there is an advertising campaign being followed here, complete with a copy rotation plan and an annualized media plan. the copy rotation and media plans follow events during the year - christmas, new year, graduation, valentines (yes, even that), summer, fiestas and anniversaries just to name a few. on those alone, we are looking at minimum 7 executions in a year or an average of something new every two months.
that number does not yet include ad-hoc campaigns announcing the govt officials specific programs for his/her constituents, plus the occasional barangay hall repainting or free inoculation activities.
from 1 mayor, 1 vice-mayor, add half a dozen to a dozen councilmen, 1 or two congressmen and 1 barangay captain per barangay - we're talking of a gazillion (that's an exaggeration) officials releasing their own small banner ads on every other street corner and every other empty wall. whew!
looking at copy - these ads are no more than just name and face recall. they really don't contain much in terms of content. to say it positively, they are minimalist in messages. they are usually just the face of the local government official and copy that says "Happy Fiesta To All" if its fiesta time or "Happy Valentines To All".
given those, the ads do nothing more than generate just face and name recall. oh wait, it does more - it irritates us and it uglifies the city! we are of course assuming that people who live in the city actually look at any of these small banners. (i doubt it, though.) and also assuming, people who live in that city do not know the names of their local government officials and they do not know how they look like. that also assumes the local residents did not vote them in the last elections.
that's exactly the point - these ads are nothing more than just irritants. we doubt if these small banners with a minimalist message really do anything to endear these officials to the electorate. from an advertising standpoint, many of these ads just duplicate what is already existing. they were elected by the people, i'm sure all those who elected them into office know their names and their faces. come on now, do they really think voters will say anything like this - "Wow, Mayor de la Cruz greeted me "happy valentines", i'll re-elect him in the next election!"???
if these small banners don't do anything to the likability of the local officials, what do they achieve? one sentence - they uglify the city and a true blue WAWAM.
but do they work? do they have a marketing and advertising value?
looking at these ads, you can say there is an advertising campaign being followed here, complete with a copy rotation plan and an annualized media plan. the copy rotation and media plans follow events during the year - christmas, new year, graduation, valentines (yes, even that), summer, fiestas and anniversaries just to name a few. on those alone, we are looking at minimum 7 executions in a year or an average of something new every two months.
that number does not yet include ad-hoc campaigns announcing the govt officials specific programs for his/her constituents, plus the occasional barangay hall repainting or free inoculation activities.
from 1 mayor, 1 vice-mayor, add half a dozen to a dozen councilmen, 1 or two congressmen and 1 barangay captain per barangay - we're talking of a gazillion (that's an exaggeration) officials releasing their own small banner ads on every other street corner and every other empty wall. whew!
looking at copy - these ads are no more than just name and face recall. they really don't contain much in terms of content. to say it positively, they are minimalist in messages. they are usually just the face of the local government official and copy that says "Happy Fiesta To All" if its fiesta time or "Happy Valentines To All".
given those, the ads do nothing more than generate just face and name recall. oh wait, it does more - it irritates us and it uglifies the city! we are of course assuming that people who live in the city actually look at any of these small banners. (i doubt it, though.) and also assuming, people who live in that city do not know the names of their local government officials and they do not know how they look like. that also assumes the local residents did not vote them in the last elections.
that's exactly the point - these ads are nothing more than just irritants. we doubt if these small banners with a minimalist message really do anything to endear these officials to the electorate. from an advertising standpoint, many of these ads just duplicate what is already existing. they were elected by the people, i'm sure all those who elected them into office know their names and their faces. come on now, do they really think voters will say anything like this - "Wow, Mayor de la Cruz greeted me "happy valentines", i'll re-elect him in the next election!"???
if these small banners don't do anything to the likability of the local officials, what do they achieve? one sentence - they uglify the city and a true blue WAWAM.
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
add the Coke Zero ad, it will equal to a sum zero ad, plus ADS Sindrome
What is with Coke and other worldly characters in their ads?
This Coke Zero ad is the second time this marketing year that they have other worldly
characters in their ads. The first ones were the angel and the devil in their regular Coke thematic brandsell advertising.
In that ad, the angel in heaven got curious on the fizz that coke was making, flies down to earth to check it out, tries Coke, gets enamoured with it, then decides to become human to continue to enjoy Coke. Cute, interesting and straightforward story.
Except for one thing- they got carried away and added a devil character to the story where the angel turned human meets a handsome man who also enjoys Coke but turns out to be the devil as a last close up shot of the man reveals he has the horn impressions on his forehead, implying he is a devil turned human.
We did say a lot about this ad, things like the wings of the angel and the devil, etc. read all here in full : http://the-wawam-file.blogspot.com/search/label/coca%20cola
This new Coke Zero product introduces new characters to their line-up, most likely coming from Coke's large talent pool of other worldly characters- the mermaid and the centaur (ad featured here is the mermaid). We have to give 5 stars to Coke's talent casters for their stellar skills for finding such stellar pool of talents. They must travel far and wide to find such a wide range of talents. Up next will probably be Tinkerbell herself or the tikbalang.
This ad is about a male hunk in a swimming pool whose attention is caught by a hot lady drinking Coke Zero. It's unclear if the it's the hot lady in a swimsuit or the new Coke Zero product that she is drinking that caused him to move towards her. But the hunk uses Coke Zero banter as an opening line to strike a conversation with the hottie.
We all know that Coke is really just colored water with lots of sugar in it and that common knowledge the hunk uses to talk to the hottie, with a zinger line : "Impossible, right? Real Coke taste without sugar? Impossible!". The hottie says it is possible and he better believe it, saying that it is time the hunk believes in the impossible. The hottie dives into the water revealing her lower half, she revelas her tail, the hottie is a mermaid. And the mermaid that got away from the hunk as she swims back to sea.
The ad wants us to believe the impossible - the taste of regular Coke in Coke Zero even though it has zero sugar in it. We are the kind who are very skeptical and not prone to easily believe those that we know are not possible. Apparently for us, it takes a lot to make us believe in the impossible.
We are supposed to believe the impossible that Coke Zero was able to achieve because a mermaid says so. A mermaid who all of us know is not possible as mermaids don't exist in real life, except in fairy tales and cartoons which are all man-made.
That is like shooting themselves in the foot.
The ad wants us to change our mind about something that going in we think is not real and not possible. The ad wants us to think that a regular Coke taste is now made real and possible. And yet the character they used in the ad to convince us on that is a mermaid who we all know is not real and not possible. We are supposed to believe a fairy tale character, an unreal on something that is supposed to be true in real life.
The use of the mermaid can be cute but it defies the logic of what they want to achieve in the ad. The first question that popped in my mind was - what is it that Coke wants us to believe? Is this ad about the reality of Coke Zero tasting like regular Coke without the sugar or is it about the unreality of mermaids?
It's wierd that they are using an unreal character to make us believe reality.
This Coke Zero ad when you add the two key story elements of the ad do end up to a sum zero. In other words, it's a WAWAM! and has ADS Sindrome.
This Coke Zero ad is the second time this marketing year that they have other worldly
characters in their ads. The first ones were the angel and the devil in their regular Coke thematic brandsell advertising.In that ad, the angel in heaven got curious on the fizz that coke was making, flies down to earth to check it out, tries Coke, gets enamoured with it, then decides to become human to continue to enjoy Coke. Cute, interesting and straightforward story.
Except for one thing- they got carried away and added a devil character to the story where the angel turned human meets a handsome man who also enjoys Coke but turns out to be the devil as a last close up shot of the man reveals he has the horn impressions on his forehead, implying he is a devil turned human.
We did say a lot about this ad, things like the wings of the angel and the devil, etc. read all here in full : http://the-wawam-file.blogspot.com/search/label/coca%20cola
This new Coke Zero product introduces new characters to their line-up, most likely coming from Coke's large talent pool of other worldly characters- the mermaid and the centaur (ad featured here is the mermaid). We have to give 5 stars to Coke's talent casters for their stellar skills for finding such stellar pool of talents. They must travel far and wide to find such a wide range of talents. Up next will probably be Tinkerbell herself or the tikbalang.
This ad is about a male hunk in a swimming pool whose attention is caught by a hot lady drinking Coke Zero. It's unclear if the it's the hot lady in a swimsuit or the new Coke Zero product that she is drinking that caused him to move towards her. But the hunk uses Coke Zero banter as an opening line to strike a conversation with the hottie.
We all know that Coke is really just colored water with lots of sugar in it and that common knowledge the hunk uses to talk to the hottie, with a zinger line : "Impossible, right? Real Coke taste without sugar? Impossible!". The hottie says it is possible and he better believe it, saying that it is time the hunk believes in the impossible. The hottie dives into the water revealing her lower half, she revelas her tail, the hottie is a mermaid. And the mermaid that got away from the hunk as she swims back to sea.
The ad wants us to believe the impossible - the taste of regular Coke in Coke Zero even though it has zero sugar in it. We are the kind who are very skeptical and not prone to easily believe those that we know are not possible. Apparently for us, it takes a lot to make us believe in the impossible.
We are supposed to believe the impossible that Coke Zero was able to achieve because a mermaid says so. A mermaid who all of us know is not possible as mermaids don't exist in real life, except in fairy tales and cartoons which are all man-made.
That is like shooting themselves in the foot.
The ad wants us to change our mind about something that going in we think is not real and not possible. The ad wants us to think that a regular Coke taste is now made real and possible. And yet the character they used in the ad to convince us on that is a mermaid who we all know is not real and not possible. We are supposed to believe a fairy tale character, an unreal on something that is supposed to be true in real life.
The use of the mermaid can be cute but it defies the logic of what they want to achieve in the ad. The first question that popped in my mind was - what is it that Coke wants us to believe? Is this ad about the reality of Coke Zero tasting like regular Coke without the sugar or is it about the unreality of mermaids?
It's wierd that they are using an unreal character to make us believe reality.
This Coke Zero ad when you add the two key story elements of the ad do end up to a sum zero. In other words, it's a WAWAM! and has ADS Sindrome.
Monday, October 13, 2008
new Tang Iced Tea Ad - the need to break more than ice, need to break logic and story flow
tang of kraft foods recently launched a new juice drink, Tang Iced Tea and released an intro tv spot behind it's launch. ogilvy is the ad agency.
tag line : BRAKE THE ICE!
to understand this tv commercial is to break more than ice, you need to break your skull to get to your brains to get it.
they must have thought this is a great commercial - there's dancing, there's dance music and it uses a Dance Revolution type of video game that is very familiar to many, specially the young. everything looks and feels energetic, fun and happy. such a fun commercial won't miss, until you actually listen and pay attention to the copy.
visually, it's a story about a mom trying to keep up with her son on the dance video game. thick ice forms like a wall between mom and son to indicate she was unable to keep up. the son mixes tang iced tea, the son "breaks" the wall of ice with a tang iced tea drink, she drinks and she miraculously was able to keep up with her son.
just looking at the visual story, the first question you ask is --- where does the "breaking the ice" tagline fit in there? it is actually unclear what the answer is to that question. there was a literal thick block of ice that formed between mother and son like a wall that the son broke with tang iced tea, so i suppose that is where the connection is.
given the visual story, it meant tang iced tea is able to break the barrier between mother and son. and this barrier is not the psychological one, but of the physical and agility type between child and mother. the visuals of the commercial show that tang iced tea solves the problem of lack of energy and agility that the son had and the mother did not.
so, tang iced tea gives energy and agility? yes and no.
the visuals say yes but based on the copy, the answer is no. the visuals dramatize the problem and the benefit of energy and agility that tang iced tea solves, but the copy is not saying that at all. copy at the product middle said tang iced tea is a "refreshing blend of tea and fruit flavors and the goodness of nutrition". we can stretch the "nutrition" part to say that that us what gives the energy but that is really over stretching it.
refreshment and energy giving in advertising terms are two very different concepts. refreshment means relief or a cool down after expending energy. energy giving is more an active form of product benefit. one is relief, the other infusion.
the tagline "break the ice" is another mystery in this ad. taglines are supposed to be a brief, eloquent and memorable summary of the product promise or product benefit. from it also comes the brand's core positioning. but that was not how they used the tagline here. the "break the ice" tagline refer only to the literal breaking of the wall of ice by the son when he gave his mom tang iced tea.
here's a summary of this ad : this ad positions tang iced tea on a refreshment and nutrition platform in copy but dramatizes energy and agility in visuals. that is a very clear case of the worst kind of no audio-video lock. they are showing something they are saying.
it uses a tagline that does not summarize the brand's core positioning but refers only to the visual device of breaking the wall of ice that formed between mom and son. the use of the strategic tagline element on a very tactical component makes it weak and confusing.
this looks like a composite of 3 separate storyboards pasted together to form one. it's like they took the best parts form 3 separate storyboards and put them all into one, like a the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle. unfortunately, the end product is an ill-fitting jigsaw puzzle. it is a WAWAM!
ps: i found it very disconcerting that the dad and the daughter all of a sudden appeared from nowhere at the second half of the ad. they were not in the scene at the start of the commercial, we can see the sofa at the background at the start of the commercial and it was empty of people. its a very basic directorial treatment error. very amateurish directorial treatment.
tag line : BRAKE THE ICE!
to understand this tv commercial is to break more than ice, you need to break your skull to get to your brains to get it.
they must have thought this is a great commercial - there's dancing, there's dance music and it uses a Dance Revolution type of video game that is very familiar to many, specially the young. everything looks and feels energetic, fun and happy. such a fun commercial won't miss, until you actually listen and pay attention to the copy.visually, it's a story about a mom trying to keep up with her son on the dance video game. thick ice forms like a wall between mom and son to indicate she was unable to keep up. the son mixes tang iced tea, the son "breaks" the wall of ice with a tang iced tea drink, she drinks and she miraculously was able to keep up with her son.
just looking at the visual story, the first question you ask is --- where does the "breaking the ice" tagline fit in there? it is actually unclear what the answer is to that question. there was a literal thick block of ice that formed between mother and son like a wall that the son broke with tang iced tea, so i suppose that is where the connection is.
given the visual story, it meant tang iced tea is able to break the barrier between mother and son. and this barrier is not the psychological one, but of the physical and agility type between child and mother. the visuals of the commercial show that tang iced tea solves the problem of lack of energy and agility that the son had and the mother did not.
so, tang iced tea gives energy and agility? yes and no.
the visuals say yes but based on the copy, the answer is no. the visuals dramatize the problem and the benefit of energy and agility that tang iced tea solves, but the copy is not saying that at all. copy at the product middle said tang iced tea is a "refreshing blend of tea and fruit flavors and the goodness of nutrition". we can stretch the "nutrition" part to say that that us what gives the energy but that is really over stretching it.
refreshment and energy giving in advertising terms are two very different concepts. refreshment means relief or a cool down after expending energy. energy giving is more an active form of product benefit. one is relief, the other infusion.
the tagline "break the ice" is another mystery in this ad. taglines are supposed to be a brief, eloquent and memorable summary of the product promise or product benefit. from it also comes the brand's core positioning. but that was not how they used the tagline here. the "break the ice" tagline refer only to the literal breaking of the wall of ice by the son when he gave his mom tang iced tea.
here's a summary of this ad : this ad positions tang iced tea on a refreshment and nutrition platform in copy but dramatizes energy and agility in visuals. that is a very clear case of the worst kind of no audio-video lock. they are showing something they are saying.
it uses a tagline that does not summarize the brand's core positioning but refers only to the visual device of breaking the wall of ice that formed between mom and son. the use of the strategic tagline element on a very tactical component makes it weak and confusing.
this looks like a composite of 3 separate storyboards pasted together to form one. it's like they took the best parts form 3 separate storyboards and put them all into one, like a the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle. unfortunately, the end product is an ill-fitting jigsaw puzzle. it is a WAWAM!
ps: i found it very disconcerting that the dad and the daughter all of a sudden appeared from nowhere at the second half of the ad. they were not in the scene at the start of the commercial, we can see the sofa at the background at the start of the commercial and it was empty of people. its a very basic directorial treatment error. very amateurish directorial treatment.
Thursday, October 9, 2008
harry & paul tv show's filipina maid comedy sketch - a racial slur in intent and in actual form
"Harry & Paul is a post-watershed comedy sketch series and as such tackles many situations in a comedic way. Set in this context, the sketch in question is so far beyond the realms of reality as to be absurd _ and in no way is intended to demean or upset any viewer," the company said in a statement.
is it just comedy to the extreme or is it a racial slur?
looking at the BBC "Harry & Paul" comedy skit - what makes it racially insensitive is the fact that they identified the "maid" character in the skit as a Filipina. they could have avoided it without harming the humor, but the show chose not to.
within the context of the sketch, identifying the race or nationality of the maid would have not mattered at all.
within the context of the sketch, identifying the race or nationality of the maid would have not mattered at all. the maid character was in a stereo-type maid's uniform, there was no way the audience would have mis-identified the character in the sketch in any other role other than a maid.
given that the maid needed to be called out verbally, since one character was at a distance, they could have called her by any female name or referred to her as "maid". using any female name would have not resulted to any confusion since there were only two characters there - a male and female. and given the maid's uniform the woman was wearing, there is no way the audience will get confused about the plot of the sketch.
or they could have used a caucasian actress in that maid's role and the humor would have still been there. the story is just about this man unresponsive to everything, even to the seductive moves of a female. nationality nor race had nothing to do with that story. nationality or race wasn't what made that sketch funny, it was the situation it portrayed.
not using a caucasian actress and instead the use of an asian actress in that role and calling her out as a Filipina and not by any female name makes it very obvious that the writers did intend to make a statement on race and nationality.
they can argue that because most of the maids in the UK are Filipinas (assuming that is true) and calling out that character as one makes the sketch more realistic. but realism in this one is not at all important nor critical. it is to begin with a comedy show and this particular tv show is known for it's outlandish and extreme humor. the show thrives on unrealism, not realism.
given that the maid needed to be called out verbally, since one character was at a distance, they could have called her by any female name or referred to her as "maid". using any female name would have not resulted to any confusion since there were only two characters there - a male and female. and given the maid's uniform the woman was wearing, there is no way the audience will get confused about the plot of the sketch.
or they could have used a caucasian actress in that maid's role and the humor would have still been there. the story is just about this man unresponsive to everything, even to the seductive moves of a female. nationality nor race had nothing to do with that story. nationality or race wasn't what made that sketch funny, it was the situation it portrayed.
not using a caucasian actress and instead the use of an asian actress in that role and calling her out as a Filipina and not by any female name makes it very obvious that the writers did intend to make a statement on race and nationality.
they can argue that because most of the maids in the UK are Filipinas (assuming that is true) and calling out that character as one makes the sketch more realistic. but realism in this one is not at all important nor critical. it is to begin with a comedy show and this particular tv show is known for it's outlandish and extreme humor. the show thrives on unrealism, not realism.
the show being about unrealism and not realism is consistent with the show's statement, above at the start of this discussion.
looking at that official statement - " the sketch in question is so far beyond the realms of reality as to be absurd". if what they say is true, that it is "beyond the realms of reality", why then did they identify the maid with a very real name, "Filipina"? to be consistent with going "far beyond the reals of reality" would have lead them to give that maid a name of something like "R2D7000" or "celestial being".
it is doubly insulting that even their official explanation seeks to fool us and shows their thinking that we can be fooled. there is no question about it, this Harry & Paul's Filipina maid sketch in intent and in actual form makes a racial slur against filipinas.
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
zazoo condoms - what in the world is this?
i totally do not get this tv commercial.
it is actually an ad for a condom brand, zazoo. to encourage purchase of their
brand, this ad demonstrates the ill effects of not using a condom - having children! granted that the behavior of the child in this ad is something every parent do not want to happen, i don't understand how it's intended target market will feel encouraged to buy zazoo.
there simply is too much negativity in this ad that i think zazoo lost every amount of goodwill it has among its target audience. it does not build any affinity or sympathy for the brand. this ad is not for anything positive, it is for everything negative. simply put, it's an anti-child tv ad, not even a pro-condom ad.
this ad gives reproductive health a bad name. condoms are for responsible parenthood, responsible sexuality, respect and control of your own body and protection from STD. it is never anti-children.
a clear WAWAM!
it is actually an ad for a condom brand, zazoo. to encourage purchase of their
brand, this ad demonstrates the ill effects of not using a condom - having children! granted that the behavior of the child in this ad is something every parent do not want to happen, i don't understand how it's intended target market will feel encouraged to buy zazoo.there simply is too much negativity in this ad that i think zazoo lost every amount of goodwill it has among its target audience. it does not build any affinity or sympathy for the brand. this ad is not for anything positive, it is for everything negative. simply put, it's an anti-child tv ad, not even a pro-condom ad.
this ad gives reproductive health a bad name. condoms are for responsible parenthood, responsible sexuality, respect and control of your own body and protection from STD. it is never anti-children.
a clear WAWAM!
Sunday, September 14, 2008
microsoft's seinfeld pool out tv spot launched, i think...
tagline : perpetually connecting
i thought this was a joke, but it's for real, microsoft has launched the pool-out of their seinfeld tv spot. the one where they intend to spend $300M on. and the one that is supposed to address microsoft's weakening brand image.
we're posting it here for everyone to view it while we sit and watch this over and over again to try to understand the ad.
this ad was developed by an award winning ad agency, with a track record of success. it must be real good. will be back soon!
read more posts on this microsoft and apple ads here : http://the-wawam-file.blogspot.com/search/label/i%20am%20mac%20i%20am%20pc
read other posts on the jerry seinfeld microsoft tv spot : http://the-wawam-file.blogspot.com/search/label/jerry%20seinfeld
i thought this was a joke, but it's for real, microsoft has launched the pool-out of their seinfeld tv spot. the one where they intend to spend $300M on. and the one that is supposed to address microsoft's weakening brand image.we're posting it here for everyone to view it while we sit and watch this over and over again to try to understand the ad.
this ad was developed by an award winning ad agency, with a track record of success. it must be real good. will be back soon!
read more posts on this microsoft and apple ads here : http://the-wawam-file.blogspot.com/search/label/i%20am%20mac%20i%20am%20pc
read other posts on the jerry seinfeld microsoft tv spot : http://the-wawam-file.blogspot.com/search/label/jerry%20seinfeld
Monday, September 8, 2008
microsoft seinfeld ad's hidden meanings discovered!
ads are supposed to be self-explanatory, not to mention they are supposed to be interesting. advertising talks about ad clutter and the fight for the attention of the audience. ads don't just fight against invisible enemies like boredom and disinterest, they also fight against a very concrete and real enemy -the tv remote control unit and the dreaded "change channel" button.
you know an ad is in trouble, that you have done a lousy ad and it's a WAWAM! when you lose on all fronts, above. the first sign and this is an absolute disaster, is when you find yourself having to defend and explain the meaning of an ad you just launched.
and that is what micrsosoft has been doing on their seinfeld tv ad since they launched their tv spot last thursday.
WAWAM! is again posting a link to this ad so that readers of this blog can watch it again.
after being in the advertising industry for a long time, i normally have to see an ad only once and i can tell if it's a good ad or not. it comes with years of training and thousands of ads that i have viewed and analyzed. i only view an ad more than once, usually 3 at the most when i need to make a formal analysis of it, something written and there is something wrong with it and need to find exactly what went wrong. this microsoft tv spot, i had to view 6 times.
after becoming a veteran watcher of this tv spot, i think i have found the secret meaning of the ad. as i have said, the power and the meaning of this ad is not obvious. it's not at all self-explanatory and that is why i embarked on a self-exploration of the tv spot.
since the meaning of this ad is not self-explanatory, i am forcing myself to draw the meanings from it :
you know an ad is in trouble, that you have done a lousy ad and it's a WAWAM! when you lose on all fronts, above. the first sign and this is an absolute disaster, is when you find yourself having to defend and explain the meaning of an ad you just launched.
and that is what micrsosoft has been doing on their seinfeld tv ad since they launched their tv spot last thursday.
WAWAM! is again posting a link to this ad so that readers of this blog can watch it again.
after being in the advertising industry for a long time, i normally have to see an ad only once and i can tell if it's a good ad or not. it comes with years of training and thousands of ads that i have viewed and analyzed. i only view an ad more than once, usually 3 at the most when i need to make a formal analysis of it, something written and there is something wrong with it and need to find exactly what went wrong. this microsoft tv spot, i had to view 6 times.
after becoming a veteran watcher of this tv spot, i think i have found the secret meaning of the ad. as i have said, the power and the meaning of this ad is not obvious. it's not at all self-explanatory and that is why i embarked on a self-exploration of the tv spot.
since the meaning of this ad is not self-explanatory, i am forcing myself to draw the meanings from it :
- the ad is about the problems of vista -- if at first install, there's a problem with it, over
time, with hard work and lots of fixing, it becomes ok. that's what happened to the shoes bill gates bought. they didn't fit at first but with some stretching and a change in size, it turned out ok. - talks about value - with bill gates himself buying cheap shoes, it tells you that windows is good value on the long term. who would imagine bill gates buying cheap shoes? there is supposed to be humor in that. please, laugh.
- the everyday-ness of the ad talks about how we use windows on a daily basis. and that it holds promise for the future. that's the last part of the ad. really, it is.
- why bill gates wiggled his behind to fix his shorts is another story all together. don't ask me about that, i don't know everything. i guess there is also humor in that? laugh, please.
conclusion - yes, it's a boring ad. it suffers from a bad case of ADS! Sindrome. i had to firce myself to pick out those meanings from the ad.
the microsoft chief marketing officer said the ad was meant to start a conversation. first time i have heard of an ad like that and i honestly do not know what he means exactly by that.
aren't ads supposed to build brand equity? build brand image? persuade people? what happened to those? does that mean this ad is really not an ad? it's like a teaser for future ads?
it seems to me its all an excuse for coming up with a boring ad. if it's just talk or discussion that is their objective, they have achieved it. people are talking about it but unfortunately for the wrong reasons. most of the talk that has occurred centered on why they don''t like the ad and asking each other what the ad means. why spend money on ad that is not really an ad?
if this is just a teaser ad for future ads, i am totally scared to see the next ones! this ad is like a sample of what is to come, a track record established and it does not make me feel excited about the next ads. if the teaser ad is this boring, how can be next one do better?
no matter how you look at it, it's a WAWAM!
read more posts on this microsoft and apple ads here : http://the-wawam-file.blogspot.com/search/label/i%20am%20mac%20i%20am%20pc
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Microsoft tries to explain Seinfeld ad
Deborah Gage
Saturday, September 6, 2008
Did you "get" the new Microsoft commercial? Apparently, some people didn't, so Microsoft officials were calling reporters Friday to explain it.
---
Nevertheless, the Microsoft officials who phoned reporters Friday said it is indeed a campaign to brand Windows, "the start of a conversation ... easily the largest marketing campaign we've ever had."
article parsed, read in full here : http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/09/05/BU7Q12P30T.DTL
Saturday, September 6, 2008
microsoft's $300M seinfeld ad campaign has ADS? Sindrome
tagline : The Future. Delicious.
microsoft launched the much anticipated $300M ad campaign featuring jerry seinfeld last thursday. this ad campaign intends to shore up microsoft's sagging brand image due to problems on vista and as a reaction to the growing popularity of apple computers and its OS. apple has also been running ads that was chipping away on windows brand image highligthing the problems with vista.
we love jerry's seinfeld tv show because it is about "nothing". well, this microsoft ad seem to have followed the same concept from that tv show. microsoft's seinfeld tv ad is also about nothing, only it's quite literal and we don't find it funny at all. could it be because instead of having
seinfeld's 3 other friends in the tv show on the ad, we only have bill gates in it with seinfeld?
in line with the seinfeld storyline of "nothing", this is what this ad is all about - a day in the life of jerry seinfeld's walk in a mall and bill gate's purchase of a cheap pair of shoes. you know how it is, these multi-billionaires have the same lives as we do. as we cross paths with acquaintances in shopping malls, bill and jerry experience the same thing.
there is no mention of the word "w-i-n-d-o-w-s" in the tv ad, either spoken as a word or spelled as you read it here. and that makes sense. i take that to mean they recognize the fact that in our daily lives, we don't really say that word, specially when we are in a store buying for shoes. thank God for such brilliance.
i think what the ad seeks to do is to pull us in into the everyday life of bill gates as he buys cheap shoes. never mind that bill gates has enough money to buy anywhere from 217 to 2,170 shoe factories not only china but in every country in the world. you see, gates in his slightly untucked shirt is like everyone else.
somewhere in that ad is a consumer insight. with seinfeld in the ad, then bill gates himself and a $300M ad budget, we all expect this ad at minimum will have a brilliant consumer insight. bill and jerry, though in very different businesses, both built their fortunes and popularity on their uncanny skill at picking out consumer insights. i mean that in a most serious way.
seinfeld the tv show became the icon that it is because it was great in showing us who we are in our daily lives and make it incredibly funny. same thing with gates - he had the uncanny ability to extract what exactly we need in our current and future computer needs.
the consumer insight is there in this commercial. i will let you know as soon as i find it.
i wondered a lot when micrsosoft announced jerry seinfeld will appear in its commercials. we all know him from his tv show but the current audience know him from the re-runs of his shows. that is the biggest problem in choosing him for this ad project. on the other hand, jerry has great comedic timing, aside from being a great and funny writer. so i thought maybe seinfeld is not a bad choice. seinfeld's stand-up comedy revolves around ordinary, simple and everyday things that he somehow finds some great humor in them and we laugh with him when he says things like that. so, it could be a very interesting commercial.
then i saw this ad! i was giving myself the chance to accept jerry seinfeld in a microsoft commercial but i totally closed out when i saw the ad - i didn't expect that aside from seinfeld, they will actually use the storylines in the seinfeld tv show - all about nothing. what happened to interesting ads? smart ads? entertaining ads? if you have seinfeld in your ad, at minimum you expect him to be funny. but seinfeld was nowhere near funny in this ad. he was just nothing.
and why is bill gates in the ad? that's a separate discussion all together for another day.
by this time, you might be wondering already what is the point i am making in this post. WAWAM! is supposed to be about understanding tv ads, why they work and why they don't work.
and that is exactly it -- this is a post about nothing. the ad has nothing, what else can i say? wait a minute, it has something - it has ADS? Sindrome and that makes it a WAWAM!
read more posts on this microsoft and apple ads here : http://the-wawam-file.blogspot.com/search/label/i%20am%20mac%20i%20am%20pc
read posts in WAWAM! on microsoft's ad campaign here : http://the-wawam-file.blogspot.com/search/label/microsoft
read about ADS? Sindrome here : http://the-wawam-file.blogspot.com/2008/08/wawam-launches-ano-daw-sabi-ads.html
microsoft launched the much anticipated $300M ad campaign featuring jerry seinfeld last thursday. this ad campaign intends to shore up microsoft's sagging brand image due to problems on vista and as a reaction to the growing popularity of apple computers and its OS. apple has also been running ads that was chipping away on windows brand image highligthing the problems with vista.
we love jerry's seinfeld tv show because it is about "nothing". well, this microsoft ad seem to have followed the same concept from that tv show. microsoft's seinfeld tv ad is also about nothing, only it's quite literal and we don't find it funny at all. could it be because instead of having
seinfeld's 3 other friends in the tv show on the ad, we only have bill gates in it with seinfeld?in line with the seinfeld storyline of "nothing", this is what this ad is all about - a day in the life of jerry seinfeld's walk in a mall and bill gate's purchase of a cheap pair of shoes. you know how it is, these multi-billionaires have the same lives as we do. as we cross paths with acquaintances in shopping malls, bill and jerry experience the same thing.
there is no mention of the word "w-i-n-d-o-w-s" in the tv ad, either spoken as a word or spelled as you read it here. and that makes sense. i take that to mean they recognize the fact that in our daily lives, we don't really say that word, specially when we are in a store buying for shoes. thank God for such brilliance.
i think what the ad seeks to do is to pull us in into the everyday life of bill gates as he buys cheap shoes. never mind that bill gates has enough money to buy anywhere from 217 to 2,170 shoe factories not only china but in every country in the world. you see, gates in his slightly untucked shirt is like everyone else.
somewhere in that ad is a consumer insight. with seinfeld in the ad, then bill gates himself and a $300M ad budget, we all expect this ad at minimum will have a brilliant consumer insight. bill and jerry, though in very different businesses, both built their fortunes and popularity on their uncanny skill at picking out consumer insights. i mean that in a most serious way.
seinfeld the tv show became the icon that it is because it was great in showing us who we are in our daily lives and make it incredibly funny. same thing with gates - he had the uncanny ability to extract what exactly we need in our current and future computer needs.
the consumer insight is there in this commercial. i will let you know as soon as i find it.
i wondered a lot when micrsosoft announced jerry seinfeld will appear in its commercials. we all know him from his tv show but the current audience know him from the re-runs of his shows. that is the biggest problem in choosing him for this ad project. on the other hand, jerry has great comedic timing, aside from being a great and funny writer. so i thought maybe seinfeld is not a bad choice. seinfeld's stand-up comedy revolves around ordinary, simple and everyday things that he somehow finds some great humor in them and we laugh with him when he says things like that. so, it could be a very interesting commercial.
then i saw this ad! i was giving myself the chance to accept jerry seinfeld in a microsoft commercial but i totally closed out when i saw the ad - i didn't expect that aside from seinfeld, they will actually use the storylines in the seinfeld tv show - all about nothing. what happened to interesting ads? smart ads? entertaining ads? if you have seinfeld in your ad, at minimum you expect him to be funny. but seinfeld was nowhere near funny in this ad. he was just nothing.
and why is bill gates in the ad? that's a separate discussion all together for another day.
by this time, you might be wondering already what is the point i am making in this post. WAWAM! is supposed to be about understanding tv ads, why they work and why they don't work.
and that is exactly it -- this is a post about nothing. the ad has nothing, what else can i say? wait a minute, it has something - it has ADS? Sindrome and that makes it a WAWAM!
read more posts on this microsoft and apple ads here : http://the-wawam-file.blogspot.com/search/label/i%20am%20mac%20i%20am%20pc
read posts in WAWAM! on microsoft's ad campaign here : http://the-wawam-file.blogspot.com/search/label/microsoft
read about ADS? Sindrome here : http://the-wawam-file.blogspot.com/2008/08/wawam-launches-ano-daw-sabi-ads.html
Friday, September 5, 2008
toshiba laptop promo suffers from ADS? Sindrome!
it is obvious that the computer market in the philippines is growing. it's easy to see - an ever increasing number of brands being sold and the large increase in number of ads for computers and other related products.one print ad is for this toshiba laptop on the left (double click image to enlarge). major retailers together with BPI credit card recently had a huge sales effort at the ayala center mall. a few of the laptop brands released print ads to generate interest, one of which is the toshiba print ad.
it's a captive market, so this toshiba print ad is actually a consumer promotion print ad. that's a very good idea. people who will go to the booths at the ayala center are already pre-disposed to buy laptops, so it's a smart idea to come up with a consumer promotion.
you do consumer promotions to attract buyers to your brand. the idea behind a promo is offer consumers something extra like a premium item or a discount on the regular price. the main idea is that a promo is a MOTIVATOR to purchase your brand and not others. the bigger the promo offer, the more attractive. a 20% discount on the price is much better than a 10% discount and definitely much better than no discount at all. same thing with prizes to be won or given away - a house and lot as promo price is definitely much better than a ballpen. the bigger the prize or discount, the more it will attract buyers to your brand.
below is an enlarged portion of the the toshiba promo print ad. now, make sure you are seated, don't want you to faint. get this - this print ad is enticing consumers to buy a toshiba laptop which based on the print ad cost P36,000.00 to P60,000.00, by offering consumers, hold your breathe....
FREE 2 MOVIE TICKETS!
wow! isn't that such an amazing consumer promo?!! it's an amazing incentive -- can you imagine, you pay P36,000 or P60,000 for a laptop and you get for FREE - 2 movie tickers which cost no more than P300.00 for two tickets! now, that's an effective discount of 0.83% or 0.5%! wow!
the headline says it all, it's a BLOCKBUSTER BARGAINS!
i don't get this ad at all! this is one hell of a Ano Daw Sabi? (ADS) Sindrome! did the toshiba brand management team actually write up a recommendation, maybe some powerpoint presentation for this brilliant consumer promotion? did they bother to do one?
if you have P36,000 or P60,000 to spend on a laptop, you can certainly buy for yourself two tickets to see a movie! how in the world did they even think this kind of consumer promo will ever in their wildest dreams entice consumers to buy toshiba laptops over others when they are offering such a puny, inconsequential and i might say most likely insulting incentive to their prospective buyers?
when thinking of a consumer promo, the first thing that a brand manager thinks about is what kind of fabulous prize can he think of to make an offer the consumer cannot refuse. the brand manager came up with 2 movie tickets!??
to add insult to injury, the ad even describes the effort as "blockbuster bargains", "absolute madness", "absolute-good-value" promotion! there are other premium items, like an ipod shuffle and a canon printer, but what drives me crazy is that they chose to highlight the 2 free movie tickets rather than the ipod and the printer. where is the logic in that?
this is a WAWAM!
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
part 5 : globe's iphone launch strategy : double the price, take a pass on the chance to market leadership
here is the bottom line for globe on the iphone launch - it has missed the boat on many things in their marketing launch plan for the iphone.
what a shame and what a waste - globe passing up the chance to take market leadership from smart. globe's very high and out of reach pricing strategy on the iphone shows globe is treating
the iphone just like any other other new cellphone model. globe has totally missed the point on the true power of the iphone and what it can do to it's market share.
globe decided to take a marketing strategy of taking short term profits on the sale of the iphone handsets over long term market share growth, user base expansion and market leadership. they preferred profits on cell phone unit sales over increase in number of subscribers.
the true value of the iphone is it is an irresistible magnet to consumers. and if we are going to read the marketing strategies behind the iphone's world domination marketing plan, we will most likely read these statements:
this was nurtured for the iphone from day 1. the iphone was launched just a year ago - it had industry leading features and in fact took the whole market into a whole new different playing field. it's price was very stiff but it continued to sell just the same and to wow consumers and the industry.
the net effect of the iphone's year one was --- superior product and superior brand image. while the iphone achieved it's year one cell phone unit sales objective, everyone knew the only barrier to world domination was it's price.
what a shame and what a waste - globe passing up the chance to take market leadership from smart. globe's very high and out of reach pricing strategy on the iphone shows globe is treating
the iphone just like any other other new cellphone model. globe has totally missed the point on the true power of the iphone and what it can do to it's market share.globe decided to take a marketing strategy of taking short term profits on the sale of the iphone handsets over long term market share growth, user base expansion and market leadership. they preferred profits on cell phone unit sales over increase in number of subscribers.
the true value of the iphone is it is an irresistible magnet to consumers. and if we are going to read the marketing strategies behind the iphone's world domination marketing plan, we will most likely read these statements:
- superior product features and capabilities, bar none
- superior brand image, bar none
- superior pricing, if not highly competitive pricing
this was nurtured for the iphone from day 1. the iphone was launched just a year ago - it had industry leading features and in fact took the whole market into a whole new different playing field. it's price was very stiff but it continued to sell just the same and to wow consumers and the industry.
the net effect of the iphone's year one was --- superior product and superior brand image. while the iphone achieved it's year one cell phone unit sales objective, everyone knew the only barrier to world domination was it's price.
that is what they fixed on year 2 with the launch of the iphone 3G this year. the highly aggressive 50% off $199 pricing was meant to silence all other competitors. here you had industry leading features, industry leading brand image and what did they do? added 3G and dropped the price like hell. in marketing terms, that's a very clear signal that the iphone is on it's way to world dominance. that kind of pricing is meant to close down all competition. it has been successful so far. it has now sold more than 3 million handsets.
we are talking here of only year 2 for the iphone! think of what will come next on it's year 3! the iphone juggernaut has only just began. we all know what apple is capable of, specially on technology, innovation and design. if we are all wowed by the iphone now, we will be blown away on year 3.
think what the ipod has achieved! the scale of success and numbers that the ipod has achieved is what the iphone intends to do. and globe did not see that?
this is the other part that globe has failed to see. we think globe can easily take market leadership away from smart with the iphone in a very short two year's time. it's amazing how globe can choose profits on a few handset sales versus 15 to 20 million new subscribers by next year! the numbers that globe is missing on their current iphone marketing strategy is staggering!
we think the marketing strategy that globe has decided on the iphone is a monumental failure of missed opportunities.
we are talking of monumental missed business opportunity just on their mobile service business. the other huge missed opportunity is on their wifi internet business. pldt dominates this segment of the market. globe has launched their own internet service but it is nowhere near what pldt has done.
the iphone 3G, together with it's wifi capabilities could have trampolined globe into becoming a real threat to pldt on internet services. use of the iphone for internet browsing is of course very different and inferior versus using a laptop or a desktop but they could have used their internet use through the iphone as a consumer base to convert them into subscribers to their telephone based laptop/desktop internet subscribers at home.
it's really hard to understand how globe's plans for the iphone misses many of the facts about the iphone and how it has failed to see the long term view.
read WAWAM! posts on globe's iphone launch : http://the-wawam-file.blogspot.com/search/label/globe
read WAWAM! posts on the iphone here :http://the-wawam-file.blogspot.com/search/label/iphone
Monday, August 18, 2008
part 4 : iphone 3G philippine launch - globe gives up chance to market leadership
WAWAM! is of the opinion that with the 3G iphone, globe has an excellent chance in gaining market leadership over smart in the philippine mobile service market. the iphone has all the right ingredients - a pedigree of success in other markets, a hands down "it" cell 
phone image, no debating it is the must-have cell phone today.
it's features and capabilities are unmatched by its competitors. more importantly, it has been priced in the US at $199.00. at today's peso - US$ exchange rate of P45.39, that's just P9,032.61. with its features and brand image, that is dirt cheap.
the iphone was launched in the US a year ago at double the price. the price cut apple did when they launched the 3G ("twice as fast, half the price") was meant to achieve market leadership.
and that is exactly where the problem is in globe's planned launch of the iphone - it's pricing. globe has originally announced a very high price on the iphone but just last friday announced a new lower pricing. but the new lower pricing is still way too much compared to the US price and the iphone's implied pricing strategy.
the lowest plan is at P15,100, that is a +67% versus the iphone pricing strategy equivalent peso of P9.032 at the lowest post-paid monthly fee of P1,599 here at globe.
for existing post-paid subscribers, subs of the lowest monthly rate will need to pay P29,000 for the iphone or equivalent US$638.90 or +220% versus the pricing strategy of US$199 in the US.
these pricing structure tell you globe's marketing strategy in their launch of the 3G iphone is not to gain market leadership but to make a huge profit on the iphone sales. it looks like they do not believe the iphone is capable of pushing globe to market leadership.
this is short sighted marketing and i think a fatal mistake. this is a one time chance to gain market leadership for them but they passed it up for short term profit. what a shame and a WAWAM!
read WAWAM! posts on globe's iphone launch : http://the-wawam-file.blogspot.com/search/label/globe
read WAWAM! posts on the iphone here :
http://the-wawam-file.blogspot.com/search/label/iphone
read more about globe's iphone pricing here:
http://blogs.inquirer.net/m-ph/2008/08/18/globe-rolls-back-3g-iphone-prices/
http://www.mukamo.com/globe-sell-iphone-3g-philippines-august-22-price-41899-pesos/
phone image, no debating it is the must-have cell phone today.it's features and capabilities are unmatched by its competitors. more importantly, it has been priced in the US at $199.00. at today's peso - US$ exchange rate of P45.39, that's just P9,032.61. with its features and brand image, that is dirt cheap.
the iphone was launched in the US a year ago at double the price. the price cut apple did when they launched the 3G ("twice as fast, half the price") was meant to achieve market leadership.
and that is exactly where the problem is in globe's planned launch of the iphone - it's pricing. globe has originally announced a very high price on the iphone but just last friday announced a new lower pricing. but the new lower pricing is still way too much compared to the US price and the iphone's implied pricing strategy.
the lowest plan is at P15,100, that is a +67% versus the iphone pricing strategy equivalent peso of P9.032 at the lowest post-paid monthly fee of P1,599 here at globe.
for existing post-paid subscribers, subs of the lowest monthly rate will need to pay P29,000 for the iphone or equivalent US$638.90 or +220% versus the pricing strategy of US$199 in the US.
these pricing structure tell you globe's marketing strategy in their launch of the 3G iphone is not to gain market leadership but to make a huge profit on the iphone sales. it looks like they do not believe the iphone is capable of pushing globe to market leadership.
this is short sighted marketing and i think a fatal mistake. this is a one time chance to gain market leadership for them but they passed it up for short term profit. what a shame and a WAWAM!
read WAWAM! posts on globe's iphone launch : http://the-wawam-file.blogspot.com/search/label/globe
read WAWAM! posts on the iphone here :
http://the-wawam-file.blogspot.com/search/label/iphone
read more about globe's iphone pricing here:
http://blogs.inquirer.net/m-ph/2008/08/18/globe-rolls-back-3g-iphone-prices/
http://www.mukamo.com/globe-sell-iphone-3g-philippines-august-22-price-41899-pesos/
slimmers world discovers the miracle of white space!
that rehab session has done wonders for slimmers world! look at what white spaces have done to their latest print ad:
the new slimmers world print ad and the miracle of white spacesit's not the ideal print ad layout yet, but more white spaces has done a miraculous job at improving the layout of the print ad. more white spaces forced the layout into a 1/3 kind of layout where the image of the girl dominates the ad and the other elements reduced significantly. the whole thing gave the ad a little more focus and easier to the eyes. the headline now calls attention to itself much better than before.
compare the above, newest layout to the layout before, below:
the palengkera ad where all the white spaces were disrespected
there is a big difference in look, feel and the point i was saying - brand character between the two print ads. the above ad is the quintessential "palengkera" ad. your eyes and brain get so confused with the above ad that you refuse to read any of it.
just to drive home the point, here is the latest layout with more white spaces if seen wrong side up. in this one, you know its the wrong side up.
again, it's not the ideal layout yet. but as shown here, more white spaces in the ads go a long way in forcing a little more discipline into the layout resulting to a better print ad. they have tweaked the layout very often already and yet the improvements have just been baby steps, really.
why just baby steps? the weakness of the ad is not really just the layout, it runs much deeper than that. the weakness of the ad is really at it's core - the ad concept itself. and that is next here in WAWAM!
just the same - congrats to slimmers world for discovering the white spaces! a few more giant leaps and soon you will get out of WAWAM!
read all the posts on slimmers world here : http://the-wawam-file.blogspot.com/search/label/slimmers%20world
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
buying philippine stocks online - making up your mind on what stocks to buy is the hardest thing to do, even in print ads
anyone who is into stock trading will tell you that one of the hardest if not the hardest thing to do when you invest in stocks is - making a decision on what stocks to buy. you can have all the facts, all the data and the analysis at hand but making up your mind what to buy is a tough one.
and that i think is one of the things they grappled with on that citiseconline print ad. they had a difficult time making up their mind on what they want to do in the ad.
the most fundamental confusion and this has affected the whole ad in a very major way is - is it a "program" or a "investment product" like a mutual fund?
this is not an executional issue, it is a strategic one. and it's possible it goes deeper than an advertising strategic issue but all the way to the root, that of a product strategy issue.
the question citiseconline need to answer is -- what is the product they want to advertise? is it a learning program or is it an investment product? there are very major differences in the way you will advertise something that is a product versus one that is a program.
unless that is clarified clearly, the confusion will always be there.
this confusion shows in the ad - both are talked about in the ad. the headline, footer and the name of the product talks of a program. the body copy and subhead talks about an investment product. that confusion effectively weakened the ad. lack of focus wastes space and does not make for any strong sale on anything.
this confusion has affected another element in the ad - the lack of a strong reason why. this is the second weakness of the ad.
the use of barredo is the "reason why" but it is meaningless to most of the target audience because most of the audience are non-citiseconline clients and therefore do not know who barredo is. barredo is known only to citiseconline clients and in fact even among citiseconline clients, only a few know who he is.
depending on the chosen strategy, they can use as reason why one of the two: (a) why they have a proven way to minimize risks and maximize earnings or (b) how their system teaches clients to become smart and therefor profitable investors.
i do not know exactly what the product they want to advertise, but to me, its obvious the whole ad needs a major rethink. they need to start from square 1 - the product.
as an investor myself, new investment products is a very good thing for the market. there are many people who want to invest into the stock market but do not do so because they find it too daunting and complicated. whatever it is that citiseconline is selling will be good for investors and the market. hopefully it will expand the philippine stock market's user base. and thats good for all investors and the philippine stock market.
now, if only they can fix that ad......
and that i think is one of the things they grappled with on that citiseconline print ad. they had a difficult time making up their mind on what they want to do in the ad.
the most fundamental confusion and this has affected the whole ad in a very major way is - is it a "program" or a "investment product" like a mutual fund?this is not an executional issue, it is a strategic one. and it's possible it goes deeper than an advertising strategic issue but all the way to the root, that of a product strategy issue.
the question citiseconline need to answer is -- what is the product they want to advertise? is it a learning program or is it an investment product? there are very major differences in the way you will advertise something that is a product versus one that is a program.
unless that is clarified clearly, the confusion will always be there.
this confusion shows in the ad - both are talked about in the ad. the headline, footer and the name of the product talks of a program. the body copy and subhead talks about an investment product. that confusion effectively weakened the ad. lack of focus wastes space and does not make for any strong sale on anything.
this confusion has affected another element in the ad - the lack of a strong reason why. this is the second weakness of the ad.
the use of barredo is the "reason why" but it is meaningless to most of the target audience because most of the audience are non-citiseconline clients and therefore do not know who barredo is. barredo is known only to citiseconline clients and in fact even among citiseconline clients, only a few know who he is.
depending on the chosen strategy, they can use as reason why one of the two: (a) why they have a proven way to minimize risks and maximize earnings or (b) how their system teaches clients to become smart and therefor profitable investors.
i do not know exactly what the product they want to advertise, but to me, its obvious the whole ad needs a major rethink. they need to start from square 1 - the product.
as an investor myself, new investment products is a very good thing for the market. there are many people who want to invest into the stock market but do not do so because they find it too daunting and complicated. whatever it is that citiseconline is selling will be good for investors and the market. hopefully it will expand the philippine stock market's user base. and thats good for all investors and the philippine stock market.
now, if only they can fix that ad......
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