There are some really good ads on TV at the moment, but my favourite is the one for Heineken. I wish I knew who shot it and where it was shot, but it’s terrific and one of those commercials that, as a creative person in the advertising industry, you say ”Now I wish I had done that”
As easy as it to fault ads these days, this one is flawless. The acting is great, the music is pacy and uptempo, the art directing is good and it succeeds in terms of making the brand the hero (surely the objective of all advertising, no?). Too many advertisements these days entertain but ask people ten minutes later what the ad was advertising and you’re meant with a blank stare.
Now that’s not to imply that people are stupid…it’s just that we’re overloaded with advertising messages almost every minute of the day. So if an ad doesn’t stand out and talk to you, it’s not going to be remembered. These days, information overload is a real killer. We’re expected to absorb everything and it’s just not possible.
This is what makes the Heineken ad great. It’s memorable. It positions the brand wonderfully. It’s fun. It’s different. In fact, even though I’m a Castle Lager fan, I’ll maybe try a Heineken next time.
New ads hitting the screen are TV commercials for Frisco coffee, Reebok shoes, Wimpy, Virgin Money and Pepsi, amongts others. Whilst they’re reasonable in my opinion, they don’t fall into the “really special” category.
Producing a TV commercial that truly stands out is not easy. I’ve been a copywriter in advertising for nearly twenty seven years, and whilst I’ve been able to put my name to a number of commercials (two of them having won awards in New York and London), I can’t honestly say they were great (as in GREAT). If you want to see GREAT, have a look at Cannes showreels of years gone by. The 1970s and 1980s produced some of the best television advertising ever – TV ads that bring a smile or raise a tear to this day.
If asked, I would rate commercials in that era far superior to those of today. These days, we make too much use of technology. What’s missing – sometimes, not all the time – are the BIG IDEAS behind commercials. The ideas that get ads noticed and talked about.
Today we watch ads on TV and think, yup, that’s nicely shot. That’s a nice ad. But is it great? Is it memorable? Does it make us want to go out and buy the product NOW?
Obviously scripting award-winning commercials is not easy. But as copywriters or scriptwriters, we should always aim for the differentiating factor because it starts with us. The best TV producers and directors in the world cannot do much without a mediocre script. (And yes, we have fantastic talent in South Africa). The product we’re briefed to market may be as boring as anything. It’s the task of advertising to make it exciting.
I often think back to those wonderful Peter Stuyvesant ads. Selling cigarettes, they showed a lifestyle of glitz and glamour packaged as The wonderful world of Peter Stuyvesant. They were TV and cinema commercials that made you want to go out and buy a pack of twenty righty then and there. (Healthwise it would have clearly been a mistake to do so, but that’s an issue for another day…).
Ditto the Marlboro ads. And the commercial for Mainstay. Who can forget the line “You can stay as you are for the rest of your life or you can change to Mainstay”. What a great line, what a promise…I could go on, but maybe I’m starting to give my age away.
The point is, it is up to copywriters to script great commercials. Too many TV ads these day are just OK. And as the old advertising saying goes, “OK is not OK”. Hats off to the makers of the Heineken commercial in the meantime. Awesome stuff.
DSTV Subscription Options.
What is the reason that DSTV cannot provide subscribers with
selected channel options? I cannot see why I have to pay full subscription fees
if I only enjoy watching about 10 different channels.
I am sure other subscribers will agree that DSTV is
providing more channels with less substance!
I assume the greedy monopoly is only interested in milking
the subscribers instead of providing a customized affordable individual
package. I certainly hope that DSTV loose 50% subscribers during the next 6 months,
because it is unaffordable for most South African households. I know that I
will be one of the subscribers cancelling.
DSTV is advertising the PVR’s with all the great recording
features and misleading the viewers, no where during the advertising do the
mention the recording facility is only available if you pay the additional
R70.00 fee.
I believe that we as subscribers must demand more options
with the selection of channels, instead of been bullied by the monopoly!
DSTV is making far too much money from the +/- 20 Million
subscribers & all the advertising that they must be able to provide us with
better options!
The board of directors and management of NASPER is a bunch
of old fat fucks from the old regime with no fucking clue of what the
subscribers want, as long as that they can increase the shareholders profits!