Battle Of The Broadsheets

I was sitting on the Tube just over a week ago, when I got distracted by a series of ads without any branding. On my carriage, six different images appeared on a black background in place of the usual train advertising. These included Barack Obama standing in front of 10 Downing Street, a boy in swimming trunks, a golden football and the image above of a portrait of Winston Churchill looking over David Cameron. Unbranded ads are something you never see, so being a curious cat, I tried to get a closer look to get any hints as to what these mystery images were. But nothing gave them away.


Only last Friday, it was revealed that it was the new campaign for The Times. All the same images were re-posted sitting behind "The Times". The campaign has been a big viral hit, with lots of other confused bloggers, like me, questionning what it was for. The Times said,

"The purpose of the campaign has been to encourage readers to question and challenge, to think again about our times and to think again about The Times. The same rationale was behind the decision to drop the end line, Join The Debate. The paper wants its readers to make up their own minds about what the paper means to them."


The campaign has been a big success and getting people talking is what all brand want. However, the same day the campaign was revealed, The Times got out-trumped by it's competitor, The Independent. Using the same format The Times had used, with three images on black backgrounds, a copy line reads "Ahead Of The Times", using the same typeface as The Times. The idea was to represent "The Independent's reputation for tackling news stories ahead of the pack". Ha!



The Independent ran the billboards for 24 hours, in order to counteract The Times' campaign. The editor in chief of The Independent said, "The Independent has always had a reputation for innovation and quick thinking and these adverts are another example of that."
There's nothing better than a media cat fight to get us all talking. Miaow!

Advertising Is Dead. Long Live Advertising!

This is an amazing book for anyone into ambient media. It's full of cool alternative advertising campaigns that have made people stop and take notice of brands. We're so overwhelmed with above the line communication messages that it's got to the point where people stop taking them in. Brands need something fresh, clever and witty to stand out from the crowd. Ambient media campaigns often allow brands to get closer to consumers and target them more specifically. And by catching them off guard, they're less likely to block out the messages as people do with traditional advertising. I could go on about the perks of ambient media but it'll take a while. If you want to learn more about it and see some amazing ideas, take a look at the book. It's a great source of inspiration.

Brand Spanking New Banking

A trip to the bank is usually a pretty dull affair. But if my local branch of the Abbey looked like this, I'd defintely be making excuses to open every type of account they had. This is one of the new CheBanca! banks in Milan. CheBanca! means 'What a bank!' and the design reflects their whole concept of simplicity, transparency and innovation. I'm surprised more places haven't done something like this. Good design doesn't just look nice, but is essential in giving a good impression of a brand's values. By putting this much time and thought into the decor of their branches, you'd assume that they'd treat their customers with even more care and efficiency. With the rise of online banking, banks need to be pulling out all the stops to get customers into their branches. I say they get off their bottoms and take a leaf out of this banks book.

Quirky Korea part 3: Metro Advertising

Seoul is a commercial paradise- it's an advertisers dream! You can't escape from advertising wherever you go. In the metro stations alone, you're bombarded with different types of media.

There's TV screens on the tracks playing ads...


...while at the same time, there's different ads being shown on the platform screens. And they're not silent either, so you'll be listening to one while the other's playing a different jingle. Someone obviously didn't think that one through very well.

On the trains themselves, there's your typical posters, plus TV ads on loop...

...and walking through the stations there's adverts winking at you everywhere you look.

And when you think you can't face any more messages, you discover a tranquil framed painting to lift your spirits. How pleasant! Then you look up close and realise it's an advert for a holiday company. Ha!
Although I'm someone who's fascinated by advertising, overkill can defeat the point as all the communication becomes one big blur. It's not until you come across a fresh idea like the one above that your attention is really captured.

Foot Pedalled Mini Coopers

OK, so the Olympics might be over, but I came across this great little piece of branding used in Beijing. As one of its sponsors, Mini Cooper transformed traditional Chinese rickshaws into

contemporary bike powered Minis. I love the golden dragon embellishment and dangling ornaments. These little touches have kept the vehicle in tune with the culture. The brand doesn't over dominate the tradition, but works with it in a light hearted tone.