Advertising doesn't sell stuff...

I was looking at the Brand Republic site and came across a blog post by a man called Dave Trott. I thought it had been written really well and was pretty much true for myself! ...

I always loved Bill Berbach’s advertising for the VW Beetle.
But I never bought one.
I loved John Webster’s Honey Monster advertising.
But I never ate Sugar Puffs.
I also loved John’s advertising the Guardian.
But I never bought it.
I loved David Abbott’s advertising for The Economist.
But I never read it.
I loved Saatchi’s advertising for The Conservatives.
But I never voted for them.
I loved Trevor Beattie’s ad for Wonderbra.
But I never wore one.
I loved Terry Lovelock’s ads for Heineken.
But I never drank it.
I liked Alex Taylor’s ads for The Army.
But I never joined it.
I like VCCP’s ads for Compare The Meerkat.
But I’ve never visited the site.
I loved BBH’s ads for Paddy Power.
But I’ve never been in their betting shops.
I liked Barbara Noakes’s ads for Dr. White’s tampons.
But I’ve never used any.
I liked Paul Arden’s ads for Silk Cut.
But I’ve never smoked them.
I liked Fallon’s Drumming Gorilla.
But I’ve never bought a bar of Cadburys Dairy Milk.
In fact there are loads of ads I love.
But often, I don’t buy the product
So where does that leave advertising?
Does that mean it doesn’t work?
Well it depends on what you think advertising’s job is.
If you think its job is to sell products to people who don’t want them then no, it doesn’t work.
If you define a great ad as making people rush out and buy something they could never imagine buying, then no, it doesn’t do that either.
So how do you define advertising?
I’ll tell you what it is to me.
It gives my client an edge over their competitor.
But that’s all it is, an edge.
And an edge can’t do the whole job on its own.
If you’re in the market for a car, maybe I can make you buy my brand.
But you’ve got to be in the market for a car in the first place.
If you’d never even consider a car, I can’t make you want one.
I can’t turn a core non-user into a core user.
Because advertising is just one of many factors involved in the process.
Factors like product quality, is it any good?
Factors like distribution, do they sell it near me?
Factors like cost, is it more expensive?
Factors like personal taste, is it available in a colour I like?
Advertising isn’t the be-all and end-all of selling something.
True, in a parity situation, advertising can give you an unfair advantage.
But advertising is just one of the factors that will influence selling.
That’s why many products sell despite bad advertising.
Because they’re good products.
Or they’re widely available.
Or they’re cheap.
Or consumers like them.
All advertising can do is influence a consumer.
But only influence.
All other things being equal, it can tip the balance.
But it can’t do the whole job on its own.
If you’ve got a good pitch for your product, advertising can get someone to listen.
It can get their attention and get your case heard.
At best it can create a ‘propensity to purchase’.
A willingness to buy, a curiosity to try.
If, it’s available where I shop.
If, the price is right.
If, it’s in my size.
If, it’s in a colour I like.
If, I like the taste.
If, I’m in the mood.
If, it’s the right time of year.
If, I’m the right age, sex, religious persuasion.
If, I have the right interest, habits, predilections.
If I tick all those boxes good advertising will work.
But most advertising doesn’t work.

Because most advertising is done by people who don’t understand that.

Waitrose by Kitcatt Nohr Alexander Shaw

I've been aware of the Waitrose advertising campaign with Delia Smith and Heston Blumenthal for a while now. Using two of the countries best known chefs, particularly two from such a middle classed background, was a clever take on the Sainsburys campaign which used Jamie Oliver. Great way to personify a brand through a cook. 

Kitcatt Nohr Alexander Shaw worked with Waitrose on the release of this campaign after the MyWaitrose website had been launched. This site focused on the closest Waitrose customers, the most active members of MyWaitrose and the most influential food bloggers. The idea was that the best advertising isn't simply just heard, its talked about. This lead the design agency to come up with a food box containing all the ingredients for Delia's first TV advert recipe and to deliver it to the most active MyWaitrose members so they could make the recipe themselves. 

The outcome was a great success and over half of the receivers wrote about it on their blogs. What had been achieved was the customers had launched the campaign for Waitrose themselves. 

Looking at more designs from Kitcatt Nohr Alexander Shaw, I really liked the way that they had put their work under the title 'how to', such as 'how to get your customer's talking', 'how to rebrand 15 million people' and 'how to sell hope'. It really looks like they know exactly what they're doing meaning clients will be encouraged to use them.

Cadburys Chocolate Fingers

Not quite Christmas

When moving my stuff up to Leeds during the summer, I popped into Sainsburys only to be confronted with a selection of Christmas cakes. Christmas definitely is getting earlier and earlier each year....

And now the Christmas adverts have started, primarily with the new Argos advert which is for their new catalogue and features a beat boxing (to White Christmas) Bing Crosby. Very clever, however I still think it's too early to begin preparing for festivities. I do however like the way that they have taken something that many people will automatically recognise and be familiar with and have slightly changed it. I can imagine it getting a lot of criticism however for 'ruining a classic'.

Adverts getting into the Music

Just a couple of adverts that seem to be following a similar style with music that have been aired over the past few days, IKEA and YeoValley. Definitely prefer the YeoValley milk one, mainly because the lyrics are so clever!

The IKEA Kitchen Party



Yeo Valley

Mr Happy for Specsavers

This advert for Specsavers made me laugh when I saw it mentioned on the Brand Republic newsletter. Specsavers really stand out to me as a company that is interested in being quite innovative in it's advertising campaigns, especially as each is based around the 'Should have gone to Specsavers'.

This new one containing the Mr Men is by far my favourite. Not only does it give most people a sense of nostalgia through the animation, but it also is incredibly humourous whilst talking about the advantages to being a Specsavers customer.

Mr Happy is not happy as his glasses have broken, and he didn't get given a second pair free, or any of the other offers that Specsavers gives their customers.

'Looks like someone should have gone to Specsavers.'

Guardian/Observer - Guess the Film.

Now I'm not the best at films. I haven't watched the Matrix, nor all of the James Bond's. I'm pretty sure I haven't even watched Edward Scissorhands.

So apologies that I was unable to guess even half of the 26 films referenced in this advert by Wieden + Kennedy for the Guardian/Observer, which promotes their film season.

The illustrations and designs behind the advert are really simple, with clear colour palettes and easy-to-the-eye graphics. The only qualm I have about it is that for an advert it takes a lot of concentration. I'm sure many people would happily go online to guess the 26 films, however even though I've seen it on television it wasn't until I happened to come across it online that I chose to look further into it. Aside from that it's an interesting piece of film, which combines some of the worlds best loved cinematography into a short snappy ad that would probably get film buffs jiggling about in their seats.

Current Issues

South African agency TBWAHuntLascaris has created a really clever piece of ambient advertising to draw attention to human trafficking in South Africa. Created on behalf of the Southern African Counter-Trafficking Assistance Programme, it is aimed at potential victims of trafficking.


“We realised that human trafficking relies on the fact that potential victims will be uninformed," say the creatives, Miguel Nunes and Charles Pantland. "So we needed to talk to the community directly, the way human traffickers do. Like the recruiters, we targeted children near schools or just walking the streets of poverty stricken townships and dense urban slums where unemployment and forced prostitution are common. And like the criminals, we employed an element of deception: we created tunnels with false walls which precisely matched the walls behind them, so that when people walked through, they disappeared – leaving onlookers wondering what had happened to them. By forcing people to imagine the unimaginable, the potential victims actually became the message." (copied from the Creative Review blog post)


Having taken part in projects where we had to create ambient advertising, I know how hard it can be to come up with an effective idea which still makes people look at it and say ‘why didn’t I think of that?’ This campaign not only targets the appropriate audience but manages to blend into the surroundings though it’s simple design effectively.

Agency: TBWAHuntLascaris
Art director: Miguel Nunes
Copywriter: Charles Pantland
Creative director: Vanessa Gibson
Executive creative director: Damon Stapleton
Photographer: Des Ellis
Director: Rob Wilson