Category: What I Think

Holeproof launched their new non-slip socks this week with a cute little TVC featuring a dog slipping and sliding on polished floor boards. The little mutt then enters a bedroom to see all the family wearing the new socks. A simple little product dmonstration with cute little doggy. Not a Gold Lion, but it did make me smile.

This is the only ad I have seen recently that made me want to talk to people about it. The new strap line is “We love dirt”. Just a brilliant ad. The first great ad in this category since the one where the guy in a nightclub gets the girl to write her number on his t-shirt. Next morning the guys flat mate has washed the t-shirt, clean. And that was 10 years ago.

Oh no, the Libs (NSW opposition) just played the first ad in their campaign. The extremely witty and original ‘rat on a wheel running and running’ theme. Do you think the guys who came up with that think they had something new for an election ad? Probably. My question is this; did the rat come from the opposition’s front bench or back bench?

So my car needs a service – there is no fucking way that bunch of dancing fools from Lubemobile are going anywhere near it. That stupid song is crap.

… is getting closer. George Betis, principal of VCD, agreed to be my first victim/guest and was, as usual, just fantastic. I on the other hand proved that my abilty at writing ads was far superior to my probing journalist skills.
However, the meat from this interview resulted in two very big things; a change of direction for this blog and podcast, and a new business idea…stay tuned, or rather stay online…

I was walking back to my studio yesterday past SO&M’s HO on Sussex St. A JC Decauex (?) guy was just finishing putting up a new poster in the back of a phone kiosk. The ad was for Singo’s themselves. Now ads for agencies in trade press is one thing, but this was mainstream outdoor.
The ad was nothing more than a shot from a Qantas ad with a headline that escapes me (I will take a pic and post it later – must get a camera/phone) and the SO&M logo. My first thought, “Qantas is reviewing their business and Singo wants them to see this ad when they walk in the building.” Not so much interesting as curious.

Nice work. Like the honesty theme. I think Ric Herbert (http://www.rmk.com.au/ric/) does a sterling job as the mechanic. And the family version has lots of nice little gags throughout.

Peter Phelps and Tony Martin are two of Australia’s better stage and TV actors. And now star front and centre in TV ads. Peter has replaced ‘Beau’ in the Beaurepair Tyre ads and Tony is staying in character as the broading detective for the launch campaign of Madison magazine.
Neither ad stands out so much as anything special but could the use of medium grade talent be a new trend to save creatives the pain of coming up with an idea? It’s more like sponsorship or personal recomendation than an ad.

I’ve just been looking at a forum for Mac geeks on Whirlpool. There’s a thread where one guy (or girl, can’t tell) wants to know how to edit the TV ads out of the shows he is recording using the EyeTV box so his girlfriend doesn’t have to watch them. Woo. There goes the neghbourhood. Because 50 people gave him 20 different ideas to do it, simply and quickly. Now if that catches on do you think advertisers are going to be so willing to spend big on TV air time. I don’t.