ad of the week • Tags • Page 22 of 24 •

Ad of the Week with Oresti Patricios – when anything is possible

Humour is often used to great effect in advertising. The youth market is particularly open to a good laugh, and six years ago Opel raised eyebrows by making a series of wacky, crudely animated ads that focussed on the ‘fun’ aspects of owning a car. In fact, many of them didn’t even talk about the car – they were just silly, funny or weird.

The CorsaLite ads featured the ridiculous, absurd and wonderfully funny Raj Brothers, and the commercials that were produced over a decade ago still live on in our memories and YouTube because they were so distinctive and hilarious.

In the stuffy old days of advertising, car commercials were largely targeted at adults, and focussed strongly on benefits – like safety, fuel efficiency, power… the stuff that interests ‘Dad’. Fortunately advertisers came to their senses, and part of the big changes in automobile advertising was the idea that humour could feature in a car ad. Ten years ago the Raj Bros TV spots for CorsaLite were some of the most talked about ads of the time, because they were so unusual, and because they worked.

VW’s entry-level product, the Polo Vivo, is definitely aimed at the youth market, and although its sticker price is not the lowest on the market, it has the VW brand and sleek looks that set it apart from its peers. And then there’s the commercial campaign. The idea central to this clever and comedic campaign: “Wouldn’t it be awesome if the unlikely and improbable could come true? Well if Volkswagen can make Polo Vivos available for such a crazy price, then who knows what other crazy things might happen…”

This ad takes place in the world of students: university. A dreamy looking young man is falling asleep in a class – which looks a lot like Advanced Calculus, given the cryptic scrawling on the board. The professor announces that this is an unsolvable equation. Our hero is woken by the prof, and blurts out what is clearly a guess: “Eleven”.

Ad of the Week with Oresti Patricios – the Robot with a Taste for Tea

Back in the ancient history of the internet (we’re talking 1982 here), four students at Carnegie Mellon University designed the first ‘internet appliance’ – an internet-accessible vending machine. The story goes that these computer science students were working quite far from the departmental cold-drink vending machine, and would have to deal with frustration and disappointment when, having made the trek across the campus to get a cold beverage, they would find either an empty machine or one that was filled with warm drinks.

So the people others would say were ‘geeks’, but whom I’d call pure genius, got together and hacked a solution. They installed sensors in the vending machine that interfaced with their departmental mainframe, a DEC PDP-10. From then on, these four students could be anywhere in the world and by merely using a program called Finger they could to get the vending machine to tell them exactly how many drinks were available, and how cold they were. To appreciate the marvel of this, we’re talking a time when most people had faxes.

The very first internet-accessible vending machine spawned many successors, making it—in effect—the first ‘internet meme’: vending machines in campuses across America, coffee pots being watched by webcams, a toilet being watched by a webcam (a gag – this was just a single pic, so nobody’s privacy was invaded) . Oh, the fun that was had in the days of the Arpanet (aka the pre-Internet).

Well, times have moved on and the internet has changed. Now we have Twitter. And yes, vending machines have evolved too: they have LED displays, soft lighting and wonderful clear-glass fronts, so we can watch the robot arm as it reaches up to the correct place and collects our desired beverage (or snack) for us.

In our modern era, we also have clever marketers who don’t miss a trick, like BOS’ digital agency Cow Africa, who were asked to come up with an original marketing tool to persuade people to try the product out.

Ad of the Week with Oresti Patricios – How’s it Hangin’?

Sex. The fact is, most teenagers do it, and varsity is the place where most people leaving their teens can first be open about experimenting, discussing and learning about sex and relationships. As young adults, varsity students are able to express their sexuality more openly amongst their peers.

That’s why Durex actively targets this segment, using ‘youth media’ like MTV, YouTube, and Facebook, and sponsoring youth events whilst also engaging in sample campaigns on campuses. Early adoption means a better chance of brand loyalty and of committing to safe sex.

Durex is an acknowledged masterbrand, and the name is a generic term for the condoms in much of Europe, the UK, Japan and SA. In the US and Canada the condom market is still dominated by Trojan, although Durex has been chipping away at this market share over the years.

Despite everything we know about safe sex today, selling condoms to youngsters is still a hard sell (if you’ll forgive the obvious pun).

Ad of the Week with Oresti Patricios – switch off the lights

The big switch off is part of The Earth Hour campaign, which has been running since 2007 and was conceived by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) with the help of the Leo Burnett Company. Aimed at creating awareness of the impact the consumption of power by human beings is having on all the other inhabitants of this planet; this WWF inspired campaign encourages homes and businesses to switch off non-essentials and to think about the need for all of us to take action on climate change.

Held on March 23, 2013 from 20h30 to 21h30 during the local time of participating countries, the first event in Sydney saw some 2.2 million locals down under switching off non-essential lights.

Under the slogan “Uniting people to protect the planet”, this year Earth Hour began in Uganda, a state where 6000 hectare of forest is destroyed each month. The WWF in that country pegged 2,700 hectares of degraded land that it challenged government, business and citizens to repopulate with about 500,000 trees. In Botswana the country’s former president, Festus Mogae took up the challenge by promising to plant 100,000 trees in a local region where land has been compromised, called Goodhope.

Earth Hour 2013 CEO and Co-Founder Andy Ridley said acts like this were by no way extraordinary: “People from all walks of life, from all nations around the world, are the lifeblood of the Earth Hour interconnected global community. They have proven time and time again that if you believe in something strongly enough, you can achieve amazing things. These stories aren’t unique, this is happening all over the world.”

Ad of the Week with Oresti Patricios – When a brand invests in the human spirit

When we think of the exemplars of the human spirit, it’s easy to think of sporting heroes, artists and other remarkable people who have truly excelled. One’s mind easily turns to extraordinary South Africans like multi-award winning paralympic swimmer Natalie du Toit; or the internationally acclaimed singer Miriam Makeba; or renowned author and anti-apartheid activist, Alan Paton. Then there’s the man who suffered greatly but overcame to lead a nation and in the process became a global icon – Nelson Mandela.

All these people have something in common: a spirit of determination to persevere, to overcome and to triumph. These are the kinds of role models we hope our children will emulate. But there are other, more everyday heroes, whose successes don’t always play out on a public stage.

Recently I heard a story from a friend who stopped at a garage near Estcourt, and happened to pull up alongside a KZN hospital outpatient bus. Whilst filling her tank, she watched as the emergency worker helped an old man with Parkinson’s up the bus’s narrow stairs. One slow step at a time, the man painstakingly climbed the vehicle’s stairs to take his seat.

All the other pensioners in the bus were grumbling and impatient, waiting to be taken to the local hospital timeously for their check-ups and medical visits. It must have taken at least 15 minutes for the man to board, but not once did the medical employee show any sign of impatience. He just calmly and compassionately supported the old man, as they worked to achieve a common objective.

Ad of the week with Oresti Patricios – For Doctors’ Ears Only

This week I want to tell you about an ad that cuts straight through the clutter to reach a niche group with an elegantly simple message. And the target audience is perhaps one of the hardest, most stressed, hard-working and difficult people to reach – doctors.

As everyone knows, South Africa’s public health system is not quite what it should be. For marginalised and rural communities, access to health services is (unfortunately) hopelessly inadequate. This is desperately sad because of the government’s good intentions and the fact that this country has a very competent minister of health. But despite good intentions and excellent policies, and fair budgets being in place, this country is missing a key ingredient to assuring better health care across the country – qualified healthcare professionals.

Approximately 35% of posts in public health are vacant. While equipment and buildings are often well-equipped, because of the lack of personnel, patients are under-serviced, outpatient facilities are crowded and long waiting lists are the norm. Conditions like these often put healthcare professionals off working for the public sector, so growing human resources within the public health sector becomes a bit of a Catch-22.

South Africa’s medical schools are world class, but of the 1200 doctors that graduate each year, half emigrate at some stage in their career. 75% of qualified doctors elect to work in the private sector, and of those who choose the public sector, the vast majority prefer to work and live in urban centres. Less than 3% end up serving rural communities.

Ad of the week with Oresti Patricios – A ‘lekker’ local campaign with wings

Kulula continues its tradition of cheeky, humorous and thoroughly South African commercials, this time with a print ad that introduces the livery on the airline’s new fleet of Boeing 737-800s (and takes an indirect swipe at the national carrier).

The full colour print ad, launched on Sunday 03 March 2013 in the Sunday Times, shows a new Boeing , with livery proudly displaying the South African flag on the tail, and the bold new slogan “The Most South African Airways” on the side. Kulula has been careful not to mimic the font or the exact tail design of SAA planes, thus avoiding any potential legal trademark issues.

Known for their irreverent, comedic approach to marketing and getting their customers to chortle at the airline’s whacky in-flight announcements and edgy viral marketing, kulula.com succeeds in resonating with locals by being as South African as braaivleis, Shosholoza and vuvuzelas. The latest ad (which uses ‘South Africanisms’ like ‘super-stoked’ and ‘awesome’) which introduces the airline’s new slogan underscores Kulula’s patriotic brand positioning.

“We thought long and hard about a slogan that truly represents who we are as an airline and communicates our passion for South African travel, and this was the most fitting. We are proud of it and are sure it will be well received by our fans,” said Nadine Damen, Marketing Manager of kulula.com.

I’m not so sure it will be that well received by SAA, who are currently facing a High Court challenge from Comair (kulula.com’s parent company), against a proposed R5bn ‘bail out’ by the government. But then the green airline with the great sense of humour are not shy of controversy.

Ad of the week with Oresti Patricios – State of the Nation #brothersunite

Near the Eastern Cape in town of Gcuwa, which used to be known as Butterworth, a 110-year-old, partially-sighted woman is struggling to come to terms with a brutal attack that was perpetrated against her on the night of Saturday 09 February 2013.

Daily Dispatch reported recently that the aged grandmother was alone, sleeping in her mud home in the village of Jojweni when she was raped. “I was sleeping when the man entered my house,” said the granny. “He did not say a word. I just felt his hand reach over my left leg and he pulled me from my bed to the floor. I hit my head against the cement and I started screaming and asked him what he was doing. By then he was on top of me and he put his left hand on my mouth as he used his other hand to undress me,” the grandmother to 21 children, and great-grandmother to six more told Daily Dispatch journalist Zwanga Mukhuthu.

The attacker fled when the grandmother’s family came home. Upon finding her the family told the newspaper that the elderly woman was trembling with fear and shock. “I have lost my appetite, my heart is heavy and I constantly feel like throwing up,” the granny told Mukhuthu. “The medication from the hospital makes me sick,” she added.

The terrible story which featured in Daily Dispatch last week is no anomaly. If you follow the news closely, as I do, your heart is likely to be broken daily with stories of rape committed against our sisters, our mothers, our children; and at times even our brothers or fathers.

Ad of the week with Oresti Patricios – when the product becomes the artwork

MarkLives Ad of the Week with Oresti Patricios – when the product becomes the artwork

This week’s Ad of the Week is once again about a campaign that moves outside of the mainstream, and engages with the community, using art and social media.

For anyone growing up in SA in the past six decades, there are several brands that have come to symbolise our very ‘South African-ness’ and which are as much a part of our fabric as braaivleis, Soweto, ‘koeksusters’ or Mandela. To get a sense of what I mean, think of Springbok Radio, Marmite, Sunlight, Mrs Ball’s, Marie biscuits… and of course Chappies bubblegum.

When I was young, there was only one flavour of Chappies, and that was the juicy gum that was a sort of fruity pink. And yes, I mean pink as a flavour. You got four for a cent, and they came in a wrapper with an inspired gimmick – one that has endured for generations.

Ad of the week with Oresti Patricios – AbsolutZA

For most people there is probably one vodka brand that is top of mind: Absolut Vodka. I don’t even drink vodka, but I love this brand. It has a personality – it is fun, quirky, sometimes sexy, often outrageous. It has noticeability, talk-ability. You’ll stop and look at an Absolut ad or billboard, because you know there’s something – a hidden message, a play on words, a design trick… and the execution is always intelligent.

Absolut Vodka is produced only in Åhus, in southern Sweden. Since its launch in 1979, Absolut Vodka has achieved worldwide sales growth from 10,000 nine-litre cases (90,000 litres) to 11.0 million nine-litre cases in 2010 (99.0 millions of litres). That has made it the third or fourth best-selling refined spirit in the world.

Heck, there are even fans with fan-pages – not only on Facebook – try www.absolutad.com, or www.absolutads.com. There have been spoofs and parodies, of course, which – as we know – is the sincerest form of flattery. It also underscores the brand’s impact on pop culture.

Instead of spending fortunes on logo design, the product, with its distinctive bottle shape, is the star. We all know the familiar spotlight-design pack-shot, along with a simple, two-word headline, using ‘Absolut’ as an adjective. Print ads are carefully placed in publications that are consistent with class, quality and style. Apart from the distinctive single page ads, Absolut has also experimented with ‘Collections’ – like the Seven Sins: separate pages throughout the publication, with the distinctive bottle artfully portraying Lust, Sloth, Gluttony, Greed, Envy, Wrath and Pride, and an eighth with a halo over the bottle, labelled “Absolut Seven”.