The Ick Factor

So far I've written about ads and brands that I really like and that I take inspiration from - a mood board if you will. When you're designing something new I think it's equally important to know what you don't like so that you can make sure you can show to your fellow creatives what you don't want present in your ad or brand design. For instance, my absolute least favorite thing in any ad is cheese, which is a big part of what I like to call the 'ick factor': anything cringe worthy, stupid, absolutely not funny when trying to be funny, perverse, or annoying. Unfortunately for viewers, the ick factor is very real and present in far too many ads. But that's what I don't understand - why? Was it the agency? Did the client make them do it? Whose idea was that? Who was it sitting in a room watching the painfully bad ad full of ick factor and decided it was perfect? This is why people hate advertisements. As I've said before, watching ads doesn't have to be like visiting the dentist so let's try not to make it so.

As a strategist I should say that sometimes it's ok to incorporate some aspect of the above if it addresses the brief. If you're tasked with creating an ad that will stick in the heads of audience members for life so that they remember to pay their taxes on time, design a tune as catchy and irritating as Barney - guaranteed to stick. An annoying but helpful ad. As a strategist, I should say that's ok...but I'm not going to. Virgin America proved that you can create something memorable out of something boring without the ick factor so really there's no excuse! Even now, I'm bopping along to "cause tonight, we're ready to fly cause we're gonna live it on up in the sky. Virgin America knows all the places you wanna be. Fly away with me fly away with me yeahh!" That's just from memory - I also have the tune in my head right now and I'm actually happy about it.

So here are some ads that I really can't stand and I'll tell you why:

Get a WOW a day at www.wowcher.co.uk.

I don't know if it's just the brand name, the cheesy sound effects or the acting but I've never seen a 'Wowcher' ad that I liked. If anything the ick factor here works to make me think the only vouchers they have on their website are the ones you'd never use because they're shit (like their ads).

Subscribe now to JUST EAT: http://www.youtube.com/user/TVjusteat Chicken madras anyone? Get that mini-fist-pump feeling with JUST-EAT.co.uk Order takeaway: http://www.JUST-EAT.co.uk Like us on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/justeat Follow us on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/justeatuk Follow us on Instagram: http://instagram.com/justeatuk The new alternative all-singing, all-dancing JUST EAT advert is here... mini-fist-pump!

The ick factor is extreme here. Cheesy costumes, accents and song and dance with a bit of weirdness...no thank you.

The Brit Awards are coming, and there's nowhere Cortana would Rather Be. And if she can help Grammy-winning Clean Bandit, then she can help you too. After all, she truly gets to know you and offers you personal recommendations based on your interests. Any challenge you want to take on, there's a way for Cortana to help.

Ugh. I find this ad so disappointing. First of all, I really like this band and I love this song. Why make me associate it with something awful like this super awkward ad? The acting is so bad. They look like they're cringing themselves at the incredibly cheesy script. Asking the phone what she's wearing?? Come on now. 

George the salesman gets stuck awkwardly in the middle of a bickering couple, discovering himself as their counsellor, surrogate child and eventually...lover. Which car will the couple pick? The i20 or the Coupe? or perhaps both... Find out more about the New Generation i20 and Coupe. http://www.hyundai.co.uk/new-cars/i20 http://www.hyundai.co.uk/new-cars/new-generation-i20-coupe

Where to begin. It's annoying, badly acted, poor script, unbelievable and way too long. Also, just gross. So much cringe. I just wanted it to end and it feels like it never did.

There are so many other ways to get people excited about your product and/or brand. Being annoyingly memorable will never garner the same reaction as something that is enjoyably memorable and for that reason I just don't understand why so many companies still make such terrible ads. Even companies with low advertising budgets have no excuse. As someone who works often with startups and limited budgets, it's never impossible to create something great with little amounts of money. Sure, it makes it more challenging but then that's why they hired an agency - to come up with an engaging solution. How about we all start doing our jobs properly.

#endtheick

 

 

 

Girl Power

I've been spending a lot of time recently researching sports ads featuring women and I have to say, I'm very impressed. In the last few years there's been a real trend of releasing 'girl power' ads where brands have used their support of women to advertise their brand. You've seen them, the classic Dove love yourself the way you are variations, Pantene's Sorry Not Sorry, Always' Like a Girl, etc.. They're no longer specifically advertising a product but support of a movement and while they're not terrible ads, they're not great either because for the most part they're just not that realistic. Particularly because they're coming from the beauty industry which has spent years convincing women they needed their products in order to be strong and wonderful and beautiful. Here's a thought: How about instead of an ad, why don't these companies make sure there's equal pay and paid leave? How about 50% women on boards and in leadership positions? How about instead of paying for a fancy, expensive ad, why not just send out a press release about how they're showing support for women by making themselves examples of how women should be treated professionally. Like I said, just not that realistic. But I digress, back to sports brands. 

Sports brands in many ways are similar to beauty ads - they make you think you're capable of becoming a star. And maybe you are! Generally speaking, sports ads have an air of inspiration, which makes you want to get up off that sofa and go for a run you know you'll never finish. But we love them anyway because they also often tell us a story of hardship about some of our favorite athletes who we love as if they were our own skin and blood. And man, do they look cool. But that's just it - they look so cool. The reality is that 99% of people in the world will never amount to be even a fraction of the athlete these people are for a number of reasons, the first being that fame and success never happens overnight (it's a common misconception). Being a professional athlete takes years of practice, hardship, blood, sweat and tears and that's just the beginning. Once you're good you then have to be better than all the other really good people and prove that you're the best. And what if you get injured? Try beating those odds when you're pushing your body to limits that shouldn't be humanly possible. So basically you have to be a unicorn.

If I were a sports brand company, I probably wouldn't promise them that they'd turn into Serena Williams (my personal fav) but I would promise them that if they get up off of their asses every now and again that they might improve their health and overall well-being. Maybe that way they would buy more than just the one pair of running shoes that they wore one time and proceeded to leave at the back of the closet unused for several more years. Maybe instead, they might need to buy several pairs of shoes and several workout outfits because they use them so frequently. Being fit takes time, and that's just the plain old truth - and that's real. 

You know what else is real? These women:

Under Armour and Droga5! You're killing it! And finally! I see a campaign promoting women in a way that doesn't talk about them looking confident or telling them to believe in yourself because that's the way you're going to succeed. No! No one ever got famous because they wished it. These women made it happen for themselves because they worked at it and worked really hard by the looks of it. I love also the way these are filmed - so stark. They are beautiful and so so real. And I have to say it...they're better than Nike's women sport ad...Yeah, I SAID IT. Their ad goes along with how I would approach it except I think the execution is still too pretty. Those girls ARE the pretty girls at the gym. See what you think:

Here's the approach that I like best (and I think you'll agree):

That has got to be one of my favorite ads of 2015. Ugh, so good. So believable! So inspiring. I just want to get in there and sweat like a pig right there with them. And there's your winning reaction so thank you FCB Inferno. Let's talk results:

Under Armour  

  • Improved their standing of top selling sports brand to be #2 behind Nike (if they keep going like this they might get to #1)
  • In the 12 months after the release of the first I Will What I Want video, Under Armour increased revenue at three times Nike's pace
  • North American women's apparel sales is on pace to reach $1.8 billion by 2019, up from 410 million in 2014 

Sport England

  • Has inspired 2.8 million women to do more exercise (its objective)
  • The number of women ages 14-40 who now play sports and keep active at least once a week every week is up by 148,700

Nailed it.

We need to talk about Volvo

If you had asked me what I thought about Volvo a year ago I would have automatically said mom-mobile boring never ever going to own one, potentially even offering up a 'ugh' for dramatic effect. And while I still don't love the design of their cars (I'm more of a sports car type of gal), I do have very different thoughts about their brand as a whole. I now think Volvo wins hands down for most creative brand of 2015, improving their 'cool factor' by about 100%. 

In the last 2-3 years, Volvo has managed to completely change its public image through two separate campaigns that cost them next to nothing. How? This seems to becoming a trend...you guessed it, using viral campaigns.

Exhibit A

We know from my first blog post that people try avoiding boring ads like the plague. However, this is not the case during Super Bowl Sunday. I don't mind football and actually quite enjoy it if it's an exciting game, but like millions of others I watch this particular game for the ads and the halftime show. This means the already large audience of football fans just got bigger and now also includes families, sport haters, business executives, the young, the middle aged and the old, males and females - pretty much Byron Sharp's wet dream. This also means that if you're a company trying to expand your market base (every company in the world who wants to succeed) this is the best day of the entire year to buy an ad spot. The only drawback is that a 30 second spot costs about $5 million. OK. So maybe you can't afford a spot but dammit you're accessing that audience if it kills you. So how do you do it? You highjack all of the other ads in your category for free, obviously. Watch the video - hats off to Grey New York for hiring the legend who thought up this campaign and the team of people who pulled it off.

Uploaded by StarterDaily on 2015-06-22.

So that was a B2C (business to consumer for my family members reading this) campaign and a wildly successful one at that. Round of applause.

Now, let's look at another challenge Volvo took on - making a B2B (business to business) campaign fun and appealing to people who not only work in the industry of trucking but also those who sit behind their computers all day getting into heated political debates in the comments section of YouTube. 

Exhibit B

Volvo knew they had a great product. In this case they're talking about their new FH truck. And yet sales weren't as great as they should have been and they didn't have the budget to advertise in the same way their winning competitors were. Their first move was to hire a creative agency specializing in B2C work. I guess it took a while to convince Forsman & Bodenfors to take on the job (they turned it down 4 times before finally accepting) since they kept telling Volvo they didn't do B2B campaigns. But like most romantic comedies, once they gave in something beautiful happened. 

The idea was to try to create a series of viral videos showing live tests of the new truck. Each video demonstrated a different feature of the FH in extreme circumstances.

It all started with a tightrope...  

Record-holding highliner Faith Dickey battles to cross the line between two speeding trucks. Will she make it? Please like, share and comment! Explore the top 10 stories http://volvotrucks.com/fh The stunt was set up to show the precise handling of the new Volvo FH.

Next came The Hook:

The president of Volvo Trucks puts his neck on the line in his own exciting stunt. No trick filming. Just Claes Nilsson, testing the new Volvo FMX. Would you dare? Please comment and like. Check out the top 10 stories on the new Volvo FMX: http://fmx.volvotrucks.com Next film coming soon.

Then the potential beheading of their technician:

Roland Svensson's head measures 275 mm. The new Volvo FMX has 300 mm of ground clearance. See what a few centimetres more space can do. Please like and comment! Check out the top 10 stories on the new Volvo FMX: http://volvotrucks.com/fmx Next film coming soon.

And the talented hamster:

Can a hamster drive a 15-tonne truck? Watch cute little Charlie steer a brand new Volvo FMX in a rough quarry. Will he make it to the top? Please like, share and comment! This is a daring test of the latest steering system.

Then an exciting car chase like something out of The Italian Job:

A red truck being chased by a herd of bulls through the streets of a Spanish city. The ultimate manoeuvrability test, right?

All leading up to this moment. The Epic Split:

Watch Jean-Claude Van Damme carry out his famous split between two reversing trucks. Never done before, JCVD says it's the most epic of splits -- what do you think? Please share & comment! This live test was set up to demonstrate the precision and directional stability of Volvo Dynamic Steering -- a world first technology that makes the new Volvo FM easier to drive.

These videos have shown through extraordinary circumstances that Volvo basically makes really good trucks. Like really, really, really good trucks. And, as far as companies go, they're pretty likable. 

I have to say, this one is my favorite so far (their latest - December 2015). The little girl is adorable and totally unaware that she might be wrecking a $100,000+ truck. Or maybe she is and she loves it - a girl after my own heart.

A full-size truck. A little girl with a remote control. A gravel pit filled with obstacles. Is our toughest truck tough enough to survive Sophie? Find out, share and comment. Watch a demo of features in Look Who's Driving: https://youtu.be/7kx67NnuSd0 More on Automatic Traction Control: https://youtu.be/CNC8W1ODdAg This live test was set up to demonstrate the sturdiness and mobility of the Volvo FMX.

These ads have been extremely popular, raising awareness of Volvo's trucks generally and especially their new one. Just based on ROI, since the initial budget was so low, they were practically guaranteed to be in the black. Apparently sales numbers haven't been discussed with the public but Volvo's PR director has shared some of the results from their recent survey of 2,200 commercial truck owners and buyers and made certain comments:

  • Nearly half who saw the "Live Test" videos, said they are now more likely to choose Volvo the next time they make a truck purchase.
  • 1/3 of respondents had contacted a dealer or visited a Volvo Trucks website to learn more.
  • The survey showed "a very positive impact on the perception of Volvo Trucks as an innovative and modern truck brand."
  • "If we talk to our salespeople in our 140 markets all over the world, they tell us very often one of the first things prospective customers bring up in conversation is the viral firm." 

All in a day's work (said no one who works in advertising).