by DK Badenhorst (@BrandCultureSA) Tapping into little pockets of pop culture is a tricky and fascinating business. If the goal is to create culturally interesting advertising or any mainstream piece of communication, it’s even trickier. You need to find something that is relatively niche but still recognisable (Red Bull films). If you don’t, you end up with people not knowing what they’re looking at (SquareSpace’s Jeff Bridges ad).
Author archives: Simone Puterman
Shelf Life: New on the outside, dry on the inside
Cheryl Hunter’s weekly pick of recent product, packaging, design and food launches: new look for Savanna; World Whisky Day inspires new single malt; bubbly breaks new barriers; and SAA innovating.
Beyond Borders: What’s shaping the future of our industry — Advertising Week Europe 2015
by Craig Page-Lee (@cpl_ignite) I recently had the privilege of attending Advertising Week Europe 2015 — London. A number of key themes emerged and, as expected, some of these were incredibly controversial, especially what the agency of the future will look like.
Ad of the Week: I’ll be waiting for you, oh-oh-oh!
by Oresti Patricios (@orestaki) The minute I heard the music for the new Tafel Lager adverts, I wanted to get up and dance. I wanted to dance on the table. I wanted to dance on the chairs.
Media Redefined: The fallacy of engagement
by Martin MacGregor (@MartMacG) Is the hashtag in fashion or what? It has been building momentum since the launch of Twitter, but in 2015 we seem to be drowning in a constant stream of #weare’s, #noto’s and #mustfall’s.
The Word: Uzzi unceremoniously meets “Arfica”
by Mongezi Mtati (@Mongezi) Two brands recently took centre stage to add some unintentional yet much-needed humour to South Africa’s social web. The reactions (or lack thereof) of Uzzi and Cricket South Africa (CSA) made conversations spread through social media timelines — with different outcomes for both brands.
The Switch: Less adrenalin, more inspiration
by Alistair Mokoena (@AlistairMokoena) One of the biggest myths that clients believe about creativity is that adrenalin is the secret ingredient behind great work. In other words, they believe that great work is produced when the artist, composer or the writer is under time pressure. This influences the amount of time clients allocate to agencies to respond to briefs.
Ad Feature: Does this colour look good on us?
by MarkLives (@marklives) In the latest Ad Feature, branding expert Andy Rice is joined by digital entrepreneur Kali Ilunga and EWN’s Aki Anastasiou, who chats to Kerry Ogundana, L’Oreal Paris senior product manager, about its popular makeup app which has finally made it to South Africa, Makeup Genius.
Homegrown: Reinventing reasons to believe
by Lynne Gordon (@lynne_gordon) The ‘Reason to Believe’ — that building block of classical marketing concepts — has long been a topic of debate among brand-builders. Does my brand need one? What’s the most convincing choice of Reason to Believe (RTB)? And how should I communicate it in a compelling way?
#SouthAfricanTVratings: 4–10 May 2015 (week 19)
by MarkLives (@marklives) See which were the most popular shows on South African TV for the week of 4–10 May 2015! We reveal the best-watched shows of the week before, where they ran and how many South Africans tuned in to watch.