Honda joins the documentary wave....in a great way.

I wrote about the Whopper Virgins "documentary" earlier on these pages - and continue to find that the trend of companies getting involved with producing documentary-style material about them and their products is exploding. However - although they seem to be creating a stir - they also raise a very interesting question...

A good documentary is by nature based on objective storytelling (discounting the brilliant, but very biased Michael Moore). Is it even possible for a company to comission a documentary about themselves - and expect the outcome to be weighted and neutral? Imagine a documentary about McDonald's - scripted, produced, directed and presented by Ronald McDonald. Would you believe it when he interviewed customers and caught reactions like "McDonald's salads have changed my life and feel much healthier for it" and the sorts? Hardly. So how are we, as consumers supposed to digest these new streams of content and know if what we are watching is a true representation of reality - or a biased, bought and tainted version of reality? A corporate truth?

I have posted one of Honda's "Power Of Dreams" mini-docs for you to enjoy - and help you make up your mind. It doesn't pretend to be unbiased - and after a short while you are in no doubt that you are watching a corporate version of the truth. But does that matter as long as you know? What Honda are offering the public here is a number of talented, insightful and innovatinve thinkers and doers perspective on subjects such as mobility, failure etc. And so long as I know who is behind it - I am happy to enjoy the free insights they provide. In fact - I am likely to share them if they add some value and knowledge to my life.

So here's to a future rid of crappy 30 second ads that interupt my viewing with glossy crap and hollow promises. Here's to a future where companies reward our loyalty by understanding that true value is built through nurturing consumer relationships and creating mutually enriching experiences. The Power of Dreams truly lyes in giving back to the people who helped you realize YOUR dreams in the first place.

Our dilemma...in 3,30 minutes!

Sorry for the delay in posting. Things have been crazy...and I've had the flu for 10 days! And to make matters worse - my trusty MacBook Pro died yesterday. Apparently the gfx-card is shot and I have to make do with my old G4 for another week.

Anyway - my trusted source for great content and campaigns, Emmanuel Vivier, posted this little gem recently - and it certainly rams home the point to all us traditional media people: We need to rethink our medium. This may come as a surprise to some....but maybe this internet thing is gonna take off!?

Anyway. Just thought I'd share. Hopefully have some more energy soon and get back to posting!

Just for shits and giggles....

Apple Introduces Revolutionary New Laptop With No Keyboard

You know Apple is a powerful company, when someone puts this much effort into taking the pis out of you ;-) Simple as that.

Just had to share this with you....

Happy New Year to you all. Kinda forgot that in the last post...apologiesfor that. How uncultured of me ;-)

Just had a link sent to me for this ad - and HAD to share it with you. From what I gather it's a new Dutch ad for Heineken. It's soooo traditional I want to cry.....but it works. I have shown it to all the guys here at the office - and it went down a charm. Why? Cause we men are simple folk. Sometimes there's just no need to make a super advanced web 4.5 campaign with 8 microsites sites and a whole communications platform to boot. Sometimes, simple mocking of the people you want to start a conversation with...is enough!

That's it. No more....no less.

Oh...and while I'm at it!

DDB should take UP golf....not OUT!



Someone also just sent me this ad from DDB London for the Golf from VW.

Errrr....

Normally I'm a big fan of their VW work. But this one is just no good! Not original, not funny, too long and the clever pun at the end....just kind of doesn't work. Please go back to making clever creative - and not just something for the directors showreel.

Nuff said.

If you pay peanuts...you get screwups!

Ever sat down and watched TV - and during the commercial break thought: "Hang on....what was THAT?". Now - as seems to be the trend and certainly is true for me - I hardly ever ACTUALLY watch the commercials, but the other day this little scheduling glitch caught my eye. And it should certainly be picked up and corrected immediately by the broadcaster as well as the media agency....cause it's a right porker.

In Denmark - a campaign entitled Hope Now is running a pretty eyecatching campaign about how to help stop the illegal dealing/kidnapping of women for use in the sex industry. The campaign asks: "How literal do we have to be in order for you to take action" and features a man shopping at the supermarket and putting a girl into his shopping cart after paying for her at the till.



Now - in itself it's a decent spot and certainly it makes it's point pretty clear. All is good up tp here. The problem occurs, when the commercial schedulers are not paying attention to the cretive in the commercials they schedule. So imagine how the HopeNow folks must feel, when Kanal 5 (an SBS-owned network in Denmark) managed to schedule this little Netto ad immediately following theirs:



Do I hear someone starting to type up their resumé?

Point being: TV ads are still a great way to reach your audience - even one of the best. But when you put your creative into the hands of the people who actuallya re going to broadcast it - make sure they know what it's about, the creative outline and where NOT to schedule it.

Had a similar incident when I was at Discovery with a Dove Soap ad with the tagline and tune "All You Gotta Have Is Skin" scheduled first in break - during the documentary "The Boy Whose Skin Fell Off". Errrrr...not great....is it!