Achtung! launched yet another interactive car-introduction-site. ‘Interactive’ with a capital ‘I’ this time, cause the new Skoda Octavia has been displayed (offline) in different big cities, while online you can operate them. On the dedicated website the passers-by with a WTF-expression on their face are shown, while the empty car is blinking its lights, sounding its horn and even talking to them – Michael Knight was way ahead of his time. It’s funny how Skoda used to be this eastern European, indistinctive, crappy car. But since Volkswagen bought it, it’s pretty o.k. to drive a Skoda – unless you work in advertising, of course. Apart from the fact that Skodas nowadays are basically Volkswagens (that is, the bases are identical), the advertising agencies also deserve credit for the stronger image. Selmore already won the account in 2005 and introduced the spot-on pay-off ‘Follow the Skoda driver’. Spot-on, because it was not too cocky for a brand that had to come a long way, but at the same time carried enough aspiration – the Skoda driver is simply clever. And as we’re used from Selmore, the commercial and pay-off seamlessly fit together.
Archive for January, 2009
Achtung! launches new Skoda Octavia
Friday, January 30th, 2009The big bank theory
Tuesday, January 27th, 2009This state-of-the-art example of great story-telling, was made by Dawn. With all our big banks in trouble these days, the timing for introducing the ‘Big Bank Theory’ couldn’t be better. Interesting is that Alex seems to have borrowed its ‘small bank’ brand positioning from its parent company, Binck Bank. After all, it was Binck who introduced ‘big bank bashing’. Either way, we love the sympathetic tone of voice of this animation (“Once upon a time…”). Hopefully this new advertising property will not prove too successful though; before you know it Alex will grow BIG!
Protest gets you there
Monday, January 26th, 2009Protest – the Dutch (!) snowboard brand – asked KesselsKramer to help them with a new communication strategy, corporate identity and advertising campaign. Daniel Eskils, a Swedish filmmaker, was responsible for the commercial. We like the distinctive style and the idea that Protest helps you to escape boredom. We’re not sure though if the ad speaks the edgy language of the typical snowboarder - the tone of voice might be a little too friendly. However, there’s more to come (Eskils shot several videos) so the campaign still has time to grow on us.
Nothing Ventured, Nothing Gained
Wednesday, January 21st, 2009
Our last Shoptalk reported about a brand new Amsterdam agency: Nothing. In last week’s Adformatie the founders, Bas Korsten and Michael Jansen, announced yet another label; Nothing Ventured. With this parallel proposition they want to introduce new products and services for existing and potential clients, to prove that the essence of their added value is creative power. The idea is not entirely new; agency John Doe already introduced ‘From The Supermarket’ products (“Buy it and it’s yours”) and Rotterdam agency ARA Cardinal Condoms (“The safest way to heaven”). However, Jansen assured us that it’s not about quasi humoristic one-offs, but about serious, relevant product propositions. We like the idea very much and suspect it could even be a future trend in the world of advertising. After all, online is dramatically changing the way many companies do business; the medium is their product, which makes it harder to seperate business development from advertising.
I believe in dialogue
Sunday, January 4th, 2009
In the Netherlands the discussion about integration of the Dutch and the Dutch-with-a-non-Dutch-background – often referred to as ‘allochtoon’ – started at the beginning of this millennium. After 9/11 and the bestial murder of Dutch film maker Theo van Gogh in 2004, the debate became more spiteful and moved into the direction of the ‘Dutch’ versus the Muslims. Today the storm seems to have calmed down somewhat and especially this ad shows that fortunately there are still people that believe that a mixture of cultures can also enrich a country – and for that matter forms a strong basis for creativity. It shows a henna-died hand (a tradition from Arabic, African and Indian countries) in the typical Dutch colours and style of Delft blue pottery. Simple & strong. On a dedicated website one can submit a message to underwrite the point this ad tries to make. Initiated and created by RadeMakkers.
