Truth in Advertising

Further to the post below, a very funny - and brilliantly acted - account of what really goes on in the world of advertising:

Creatives Good. Clients Bad. Yes?

We've all heard the old adage: that advertising would be a great business to be in if it wasn't for the clients.

The little film below attempts to bring to life the constant frustations that creatives suffer at the hands of clients. You know, how clients always want the logo bigger, how they're never happy, how they like to interfere with the creative work etc.

You might expect us to be on the side of the creative person in this film. But we're not. And the reason for that is not once does that poor, beleagured Art Director challenge the client about any of their ludicrous decisions. He just sits there, like a dimwit, doing exactly what he's told to do. At no point does he flex his creative muscles or demonstrate his knowledge and expertise - the things that the client hired him for in the first place. So, as far as we're concerned, he gets what he deserves. Which is, presumably, not the response the filmmakers were hoping for.

Saying that though, the film is still pretty funny and well worth a watch:

As Good For You Today....

At last, Hovis lives up to its brand strengths with a great, nostalgic ad that covers the past 122 years in 122 seconds. Epic stuff. What's really good about it, however, is the little touches, the attention to detail. I particularly like the blink and you'll miss them nods to immigration in the 60s and 70s. And it's all done, essentially, from a working-class perspective (explicitly so with the miners' strike), which is where Hovis has always been best at placing itself. The only thing missing is Dvorak's Largo, the famous Hovis theme.

It's lovingly shot, it looks accurate (the street in the 70s is spot-on) and the kid's performance is superb.

Dead Man Walking

From Golden Gate Funeral Home in Dallas, a rather unique endorsement of their services:

You Could Eat Your Dinner Off It

Despite the fact that they're all over 50 and still earning minimum wage, there's never been a happier bunch of mop and broom pushers than the fellas appearing in this great McDonald's TV ad from 1971.

Saving Lives in Scotland

It's good to see that advertising not only works but can also work as a force for good. As was the case with this Scottish organ donor ad which was linked to an amazing 300% rise in donor numbers.

This hard-hitting ad can be seen on the BBC news site:



And you can sign up to donate your own organs here, on the NHS site.

Don La Fontaine RIP

Voiceover king Don La Fontaine has died at the relatively young age of 68. Best known for his deep-voiced "In a world where..." narrations for film trailers, he was also kept extremely busy working on thousands of TV and radio ads. As the BBC reports, he was probably the busiest ever actor in the history of the Screen Actors Guild.

To see him at work, there's a great Geico ad on this page (scroll down a bit). And to hear him at work, there's this Birdseye ad - proof that a great voice can turn something mundane into something quite special: