Robert Röling, PhD student at the University van Amsterdam (economic geography), wrote an article about his research on Amsterdam’s success in attracting international agencies and creative talent. The article is titled “Small Town, Big Campaign: The Rise and Growth of an International Advertising Industry” – it is published in the academic journal Regional Studies. Röling’s thorough article starts with describing the history of international advertising. In this context scholars nowadays speak of four big waves of international advertising, Röling explains. And Amsterdam is the centre of the fourth wave. (more…)
Archive for the ‘Column’ Category
Riding the fourth wave of international advertising
Friday, September 3rd, 2010Hold the Mayo, Thanks
Monday, July 19th, 2010The World Cup has given me the opportunity to see far more Dutch TV than usual, and this is how I caught this advertising gem made by Dutch mayonnaise brand, Calvé. It says “if we knew where our food came from, would we make better choices?” Then continues with a rewind sequence culminating in this choice shot. I get that the brief is to tout the eggs coming from free-range chickens. The execution has farm all over it. Though I doubt the chickens actually live like this as free-range generally means there is a tiny door at the end of a massive chicken coop housing thousands of animals and a one meter square patch of dirt on the other side. Anyway, Calvé – a Unilever brand – is getting with it and making strides toward rubbing themselves in sustainability. And three cheers for getting my attention with rewinding chickens in a decidedly low interest category for me. (more…)
Shell and ‘clean’ don’t match in advertising
Tuesday, June 29th, 2010While BP pollutes the Gulf of Mexico with around 100.000 barrels of oil per day, British-Dutch oil company Shell is broadcasting a very sober corporate commercial on Dutch television at the moment. In the commercial a Japanese kid plays his electrical guitar in his bedroom. His parents are annoyed by the noise and turn off the power – in Japan you have a switch that allows you to turn of an individual power socket. The message; Shell sells clean gas in Japan, so the people can enjoy clean energy. At the end, a voice-over adds with some tongue in cheek: “as long as Mr. Yukotami [or a similar name] allows his son to do so”. (more…)
The Commute
Wednesday, April 21st, 2010In the US, commuting to work generally consists of sitting in your car in traffic. There are a handful of cities where you might take the subway or a bus. But you’re still looking at 30 minutes or more of unpleasantness. At my last two jobs, I managed to live within walking distance. I did this partly because I do a lot of research into the psychology of happiness, and two of the things that we can never get used to, unlike a nice new car that loses it’s happiness boost pretty fast, are noise and commuting. (more…)
The iPhone. For Everybody.
Friday, February 19th, 2010How Apple closed the technology gap between older en younger generations by making user friendly software
Recently I came across this ancient ad for Remington typewriters. How old fashioned, I thought; “For young. For Old. For everybody”. When it comes down to today’s digital ‘typewriters’ the gap between grey bearded men and their grand children has never been bigger. My dad for example can only use – let’s say – 5% of all the functions that I use on my computer. This problem did not exist in the time of the mechanical typewriter. (more…)
Sense and Simplicity?
Tuesday, January 19th, 2010How Philips confirmed my preconception about LED and shed a whole new light on its tagline
In 2004 Philips launched the tagline ‘Sense and Simplicity’. I clearly remember that I liked this small phrase straight away – though it wasn’t hard to improve the previous one: ‘Let’s make things better’. Sense and simplicity communicated exactly what I wanted to see in consumer electronics; made by intelligent engineers and translated into a simple product that I can intuitively use. Just like the iPhone; loved for its sense and simplicity. But last weekend I saw a Philips ad that gave sense and simplicity a whole new meaning. (more…)
Dutch friends for beginners
Tuesday, December 8th, 2009Here are two easy words to learn in Dutch: vriend and collega. I’m betting all you non-Dutchies get those right away, but if not, those are the words for friend and colleague. What was interesting and frustrating to me upon arriving here in Amsterdam was the difference in implication of those words in English vs Dutch.
Let me explain. When I started working in Miami, Winsy Dunwoody, a new fellow planner immediately invited me over to dinner at her house with her fiancé. I could have been a psycho killer or a total bore but she was willing to find out, open her home to someone new in town and make them feel welcome. I’ve been in Amsterdam for 13 months now and have never been invited to a Dutch colleagues’ home. (more…)
How I ended up in Amsterdam
Friday, October 30th, 2009Even now, a year after moving, everyone I meet asks me why I left CP+B to move to Amsterdam. Before this move, every other job interview, offer and acceptance had followed essentially the same pattern. A day trip from Boston to Richmond. Or Richmond to Boulder. Eight to ten meetings with planners, heads of client service, creative directors. Hurried lunches with three people trying to get a little food in your face. Scurrying off to the airport and back to the current job. Then a call a week or so later, always from an HR person with no authority to negotiate, pretending they do. (more…)
