Wow! Really excited to have been offered my second interview – this time with AMV BBDO. Really excited. Bye… got so much preparation to do. So much!

After 10 years using the campaign slogan “Good Things Come to Those Who Wait”, Guinness has broken from tradition to introduce their new campaign, “Bring It To Life”.

The ad here debuted in the UK on Sky Sports 2, not sure yet if we’ll see this in the US. Regardless the video is shot beautifully, with quite a cool concept. It was created by AMV BBDO , here’s what Paul Blazier, executive creative director had to say,

“It was important that the film looked real, so we shot as much as possible in camera, in a number of locations – New Zealand, Fiji and Canada. The director was Johnny Green and the directors of photography were Wally Pfister  (Batman Begins, The Dark Knight) in the Southern hemisphere and Joost Van Gelder in the Northern.”

Have a watch below.

” Bring it to life “ voici la nouvelle signature de la célèbre marque de bière irlandaise Guiness. On la découvre dans le tout nouveau spot de la marque intitulé ” World “. Réalisé par l’agence AMV BBDO, ce spot a demandé des mois de tournages à travers quatre pays différents pour un résultat bluffant.

Booooooom… A rocket causes crap to rain down on the unformed earth. Derren Brown is trapped under the sea. Thieves stealing turf. Pigeon fanciers. Dam builders. All this and more as Guinness ‘Bring it to Life’. But what is ‘it’? What the hell am I talking about?

Presumably ‘it’ is the world… as we don’t know it. From my East Ham smog hole I can’t see much of the natural beauty being shown here but of course that’s not the point. The point is that God was pissed on Guinness when he made the world and just look at what a fucking mess it has turned into.

According to Campaign, the new strap line (Bring It To Life) “has been created to embrace off-trade sales and the growth in home drinking, which Guinness believes the former line (Good Things Come To Those Who Wait) didn’t.” Perhaps not but neither does the new one. I can’t really see how those things are embraced with the new line or the content of the ad – perhaps ‘Bring It To The Living Room’ might have been better with the film featuring a few drunks building a house.

No doubt there will be a lot of ‘best advert ever’ talk on the internet but is it really? Compare it to some of their previous ads – groundbreaking, poetic, iconic – and it doesn’t really match up. Guinness famously spend lots of money on their ads (remember the £10 million domino village?) and no doubt this one is no different. Three months of prep, big name directors and designers, assistance from New Zealand’s army and a big Sky HD launch mustn’t have come cheap. But the outcome of the hard spending is a bit too blokey and earthy for me – it makes me want to steer clear of the black stuff whereas previous ads had an air of mystery and artistry that made the brand feel edgy, subversive and cool (and to my mind, more desirable).

And here’s where my steaming ignorance shows – what is the modern thinking on an ad being talked about a lot even if it is a bit crap? Are phrases like Oscar Wilde’s “there is only one thing worse than being talked about and that is not being talked about” and Brendan Behan’s “there’s no such thing as bad publicity” still used in marketing and advertising circles today? When I get that elusive graduate job I’ll find out and let you know.

EDIT: So, here is some insight into the ad’s rationale from Paul Brazier who is AMV’s Executive Creative Director. What he says certainly sheds some light on the thinking behind the ad and does make me feel like I might have been a little hasty in some of what I said but I’m still not really a fan of the new campaign.

EDIT 2: Behind the scenes…

I spent yesterday evening at JWT’s rather smart office in Knightsbridge and this morning I was in Marylebone paying the cool cats of AMV BBDO a visit. Unfortunately it’s not because I have become an overnight-advertising-hot-dog but because they were holding open days to tell people like me about their graduate schemes.

So, what did I think? Was one better than the other? Am I worried by the competition? Perhaps a list will help me to make sense of it all.

• JWT presented us with a little more detail and had a more formal structure to their presentation of information. I came away knowing more about JWT as a company, i.e. their history, strengths and approach.
• AMV’s more informal ‘have a personal chat with us’ attitude allowed us to get more answers to our questions than JWT’s Q&A session.
• JWT showed us their current showreel, AMV didn’t. The showreel was a great idea.
• The AMV crowd were younger than the JWTers. I’m not sure what conclusion I draw from this, if any, as both sets of people were enthusiastic and full of information that I wanted to hear. Perhaps having the more senior JWT members giving their input made the open day seem more professional. Perhaps.
• The schemes have very different structures. I like AMV’s idea of ten weeks rotating between departments but JWT get you looking at all areas too. Either would be great as there is a lot on offer.
• The JWT tour took us past a trolley of empty champagne bottles and cake crumbs. Was this a cleverly placed prop?
• It’s going to be a hard slog. 1000 applicants for 5 to 10 jobs. Phew! The people I spoke to were all intelligent, had stories to tell and could easily hold their own. That means that the responses to the application questions will have to be exceptional. But seeing as ‘exceptional’ is my middle name….

This is a new video from environmental organisation 10:10 produced by AMV BBDO.  I worked on the video so any negative comments will be taken with incredulity and hyper-sensitivity.

Guinness has always had some of the best advertising. Below is a collection of different print ads and television spots that they have produced over the years. While their print work has been good, it’s the quality of their television advertising that really sets them apart. They have produced some of the most memorable and award-winning advertising of all time.

Of course, having a very big advertising budget helps too. See for yourself.

Print ads:

Good Things Come To Those Who Wait
Client: Guinness Beer
Agency: Abbott Mead Vickers BBDO London

Surfer

noitulovE

Tipping Point

I love the Tipping Point spot. Just for the fun of it. It’s not a very original idea, but I just think it is cool. The Surfer spot is more about the character of the brand, which I think is pulled off incredibly well. And of course, the noitulovE (Evolution, reversed) spot, winner of the Grand Prix at the Cannes Lions Advertising Festival in 2006 and countless other advertising awards really does show that good things do come to those who wait.

Got any favourites?

Vous vous souvenez tous de la vidéo Black Berry vs iPhone qui a généré un énorme buzz cet hiver. Un peu avant venait de sortir un film de l’agence AMV BBDO pour l’annonceur Choice FM.

La stratégie pour cette campagne de marketing non-profit était de sensibiliser les minorités londoniennes à l’horreur de la violence “armée”.

AMV BBDO est la première agence à utiliser une caméra ‘Phantom’ (qui capte 10.000 images par seconde vs. 25 pour les caméras classiques)pour un film publicitaire. Le concept était de montrer les effets d’une balle sur des objets du quotidien.

Cette vidéo a reçu un vive enthousiasme de la presse qui l’a largement relayé, ce qui a contribué à son succès avec plus de 100 000 V.U dès la première semaine sur le site dédié à l’opération.

via youtube

I have been working alongside Initials on a really exciting campaign to support the launch of Doritos iD3: a limited edition mystery flavour. The alphanumeric name and mysterious black packaging invites consumers to guess the mystery flavour at www.doritos.co.uk/iD3 for the chance to win a chuffing £20K reward.

But guessing the flavour is just the beginning…

iD3 is not only an original product launch. It is also a three-part episodic online adventure for Doritos fans which uniquely blends film and gaming (starring Layer Cake’s Tamer Hassan). The iD3 adventure allows fans to become the hero in their very own ‘choose your own adventure’. Set in London’s shady underworld, the player goes undercover to help unlock the truth behind a mysterious case of mistaken identity, with huge prizes to be won along the way. Check out our thrilling trailer…

Doritos is no stranger to inviting consumers to play with the brand, and the iD3 advergame delivers just this by putting consumers in the driving seat of their very own personalised adventure. And the mystery flavour is a unique product innovation which will no doubt get consumers talking and engaging with the brand on a deeper level.

The adventure itself pushes the boundaries of technology. Each adrenalin-filled episode blends slick live action footage with 3D interaction, giving the whole experience a distinct high-production cinematic feel. The advergame is uniquely integrated with Facebook Connect, which enables a more personalised experience for Doritos fans by dynamically inserting content from your Facebook profile into the film. It also pushes c0ntent out to Facebook, as a result making the game more social.

We’ve created a number of secret levels and experiences (including the Konami Code) for experienced gamers (not me then…).

Even the support for the campaign is shrouded in mystery – with grassroots seeding and an exclusive blogger outreach programme. A live Twitter feed and Facebook fan page will keep Doritos fans up-to-date with the adventure.

The campaign has only recently launched, and yet Doritos iD3 is already gaining attention on blogs, forums, reviews, and of course Twitter. What’s more, there is high engagement on our Facebook fan page, with hundreds of fans guessing the mystery flavour. It just goes to show that the best ideas are the simple ones, and like Walkers ‘Do us a Flavour‘, they come across as somewhat obvious. Although in reality finding and creating them takes great understanding and insights.  And the activation of the idea has to be engaging and involving.

To guess the mystery flavour and play the game, you’ll need to pick up a special pack of Doritos iD3 – each pack code gives you 6 lives. Seeing as I’m a part of this little project, I do have a few free player codes I’m willing to give away to my readers  (though you can’t win prizes with my dummy codes).

Comments and feedback encouraged as always…

It’s not too often I take the time to blog about my own projects here at AMV BDDO, but for me this has to be the most ambitious digital project I’ve ever taken on. That feeling of ‘are we really doing this?!’ hasn’t really left me yet. But I’m goddam excited!

The Doritos Dodgeball Challenge is our unique way of launching Doritos brand new flavour – Flamin’ Cheeseball. The Challenge gives people (that’s you!) the chance to aim and fire real dodgeballs – LIVE - from six purposely engineered dodgeball canons, each controlled by a member of the public online – here at the Doritos website. That’s right, via the Internet everyone will be able to fire real dodgeballs at real people with pinpoint accuracy. Sweet! We’re seeding this video (via Unruly) to get the word out…

Facing the canons will be a selection of the UK and Ireland’s leading Dodgeball teams, each competing to be crowned the Doritos Dodgeball Champions. The winning team will then be invited to a one-off ‘world-series’ dodgeball match against the reigning US National Dodgeball League champions, the San Diego Crossfire.

During the hours of play when the professional dodgeball teams are not competing in the competition proper, a variety of celebrities, including Timmy Mallett and Jodie Marsh, will make a special appearance in ‘the cage’.

The site itself was produced in partnership with the amazingly-talented Shoreditch based creative production company, Unit 9.

This project really has been a labour of love for the whole cross-agency Doritos team. I hope you enjoy playing it as much as we’ve enjoyed making it!

p.s. I’ll probably be facing the canons a couple of times in May, so if you’ve ever wanted to fire a ball at me, now’s your chance!

I was 23 years old before I found out I was Irish. That’s 23 wasted years of not celebrating one of the best days on the calendar year!

In honor of Lá ’le Pádraig I will not be posting today, but instead savouring a few of Ireland’s finest pints.

Out of respect for you my fine reader I have constructed this Guinness retrospective. Let’s take a look back at a one of the strongest marketing campaigns ever and one so  synonymous with a holiday that not even all of Coke’s money can match it.

In 65 years of advertising, only 5 agencies have ever held this prestigious account – SH Benson, J Walter Thompson, Allen Brady and Marsh, Ogilvy & Mather and currently Abbott Mead Vickers

Guinness: Tipping Point (2007) AMV BBDO

Guinness: Hands (2006) AMV BBDO

Guinness: Evolution(2005) AMV BBDO

Guinness: A Story of Dark and Light (2004) AMV BBDO

Guinness: Surfer (1999) AMV BBDO

Guinness: Swimblack (1998) AMV BBDO

Guinness: Anticipation (1994) Arks Ltd. (maybe?)

Guinness: Chain (1994) Ogilvy & Mather

Guinness: Dolphin (1988) Ogilvy & Mather

Guinness: Evolution (1985) Ogilvy & Mather

Guinness: Bottle Supporters Club (1981) JWT

SH Benson Classic John M Gilroy Ads (1929 – 1960’s)

(30+  years, 100+ posters)

It has taken me over two hours to track down the names and agencies of these spots. I’m still not 100% sure on some of them. If you would like to take a moment out and add a spot to this time line, simply leave a comment below.

For further reading on the advertising history of this amazing beer check out this article from The Independent.

Oh and Happy St. Paddy’s.

I don’t care who you are, you can’t help but love some Mr. T! Gosh as of late we’ve seen him make a comeback in commercials for World of Warcraft, Snickers and many others. It wasn’t too long ago Mr. T was battling for his life fighting against cancer. Its good to see you can’t keep a good man down… go get’em Mr. T!

Agency: AMV BBDO, London
Creative Team: Mike Sutherland, Anthony Nelson
Agency Producer: Carol Powel

Muito legal este trabalho feito pela Tiptoe UK nas janelas da AMV BBDO.

Pizza Hut is throwing 100 million at a relaunch in the attempt to capture the high streets conscious eaters. The change of name comes with 8 new pasta dishes across 700 restaurants. AMV BBDO, will head a multi-million pound marketing campaign highlighting the change to air 7th October.

‘Doritos Collisions’ is the first new product launch from Doritos in years. This unique concept sees two great tasting flavours in just one bag.

It may sound bizarre, but it’s the latest, and possibly quirkiest, campaign from Doritos yet. In an era where viewer interest in watching 30-second ads is waning, Doritos is fighting back with non-traditional branded content. Or in this case, a wrestling match between mascots representing the four Doritos Collisions flavours.

Great branded content doesn’t come across as advertising and in doing so, stands a much better chance of getting passed along among peers. People only have so much time on their hands, and technology means they have more and more power to only watch what they want. Doritos seeks to engage people by providing them with digital and real-world brand experiences that are fun, memorable, and utlimately possess great talkability.

In the inaugural battle for your tastebuds, the characters (who are currently in training) are (drum roll please)…

He’s crazy for Chicken Sizzler flavour, it’s the Feathered Fury. Look closely, and you may spot Mr. Pearman himself! (MD of AMV BBDO)

Keeping it real for the Grilled Pepper flavour – The Griller.

Representing T-Bone Steak flavour – Tenacious T.

And last but certainly not least…carrying the hopes of Zesty Salsa flavour, all the way from Mexico, it’s El Zesto.

I hope you enjoy watching these, as much as we all enjoyed making them!

The driving platform for Doritos Collisions is through ‘The Gap Year’ reality web series – in collaboration with Bebo, the global social media network, and leading entertainment producer Endemol. ‘The Gap Year’ follows on from the phenomenal success of Sofia’s Diary and Kate Modern.

Doritos Collisions will be uniquely integrated into ‘The Gap Year’ experience which follows six lucky Bebo users from the UK, Ireland, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the US on a dream gap year visiting exotic locations across the globe. The Gap Year is the perfect platform for Doritos, who as a brand are continually looking to use new media in innovative campaigns to really engage and develop long term relationships with their 18-24 year old audience.

Digital is at the heart of the campaign, but the story unfolds across multiple platforms. A launch event is taking place at the SE1 club in London Bridge on 7th August, which sees the four flavours go head to head. Following the event, Doritos Collisions will go on a regional tour across six major cities in the UK. More info over at www.bebo.com/doritos.

Tickets anyone?

If you (plus 1) are interested in coming to the London launch event (7th August at SE1), just drop me an email with your full name and friends name, confirmation you’re 18+, and blog (if you have one – and there’s no obligation to blog about it). Places are limited so get in there fast! Also, the event is being filmed for Internet broadcast, so by attending this event you are consenting to potentially feature in the footage (no guarantees of Internet stardom sorry!).

El icónico, original y todavía malencarado Mr. T nos da un consejo que ahora viene sin el ya conocido final buena onda que nos tenía acostumbrados en la época de los 90´s a manera de tip, y en esta ocasión fungiendo como un embajador de Snickers con un mensaje más claro que el aire que respiramos: Get some nuts.

Lo que la gente de Abbot Mead Vickers BBDO en Inglaterra hizo con Mr. T es sensacional y digno de una “marca” cómo claramente es él, incluso le dejaron dar tres golpes sensacionales, primero con un teaser para que la gente se pusiera atenta y luego dos fulminantes golpes, uno por cada comercial, que le hacen subirse al trono de las marcas más exitosas con uno de los mejores comerciales a Mars, para uno de sus productos estrella y mucho cacahuate, (o nuts) llamado Snickers.

Aquí el teaser:

Y sin escatimar en la producción ni en las ideas perfectamente aterrizadas, nos presentan este par de maravillosos comerciales que alguna vez esperamos ver en otras pantallas alrededor del mundo, y que no sólo se queden en UK:

Uyyy, fantásticos anuncios y todo un honor para Mr. T al que también le acompaña la brillante página Get Some Nuts, con contenido para descargar desde íconos para el messenger o wallpapers, entre otros.

Ya hasta me siento con ánimos de alguna vez ver un comercial con el buen Chuck Norris, a ver si de pronto se me hace.

Ik vond deze spot echt té grappig in beeld gebracht, daarom deel ik het gaarne met u mee.

• Agency: AMV BBDO

Zie ook *Mr T en World of Warcraft*

Voor de vorige spot, klik

I’m torn.

I have mixed views about the news that the Mars-owned Revels is to hold a Big Brother-style eviction, voted by the public, for one of the six flavours of sweets.

On the one hand I can see it is an imaginative campaign from agency AMV BBDO, making good use of popular culture and social media to capture imaginations.

It will also raise brand awareness for one of those packets of sweets that has been around for ages, but often get bought as an after-thought if they catch our eye on the shop counter or vending machine.

But, to be honest, I wouldn’t want to see any of the six flavours – chocolate, raisin, coffee, Malteser, caramel and orange – evicted from my packet of Revels.

I know most will have one flavour they dislike, but I genuinely enjoy all six. 

It might be time to start hoarding packets of Revels.

After only one week of airtime, Heinz have pulled the plug on their latest TV advert in an apparent move to appease the sensibilities of a vocal homophobic minority. When I first watched the ad I couldn’t quite believe that people could feel so strongly about a short peck on the lips. I was truly expecting tongues and all sorts.

The ad, by London-based agency AMV BBDO (now there’s a catchy name), revolves around the central concept that Heinz Deli Mayo tastes so good “it’s as if you have your own New York deli man in your kitchen”. At the end of the ad, as the father prepares to leave the house with his sandwiches, the two men share a brief kiss.

According to the Guardian, viewers have complained that it is “offensive” and “inappropriate to see two men kissing”. What exactly is inappropriate about this, in an age where same-sex relationships are perfectly accepted and same-sex marriages legal? Other parents complained that the ads would require parents to discuss the issue of same-sex relationships with their children. I can’t see how this can possibly be justified.

As reported in the Independent, Ben Summerskill, the chief executive of the gay rights group Stonewall, has urged its supporters to stop buying Heinz products. Whether this will be carried out to the point where it actually harms Heinz remains to be seen.

I personally don’t feel as angry with Heinz as I do with the idiot viewers who took it upon themselves to complain. As someone in the office pointed out, the Heinz brand is centered around the idea of the family, and a protracted fight over this issue may go against the overall interest of the brand.

As the debate spreads across the Internet it seems that despite being withdrawn, the ad will find an audience on YouTube and other video sharing sites.

I think that Sarah Britten, a blogger from the South African newspaper The Times, sums it up well:

“Heinz showed even less spine than Thabo Mbeki on Zimbabwe.”

“Never underestimate the wilful stupidity of the viewing public”

Everyone thinks it, don’t they?

We all believe we are the best driver on the roads and any problems we encounter along the way are always the result of other motorists, bikers, cyclists and pedestrians.

So here’s a quick challenge to see just how aware you are behind the wheel.

It comes courtesy of Nicola Davies, part of the WordPress Marketing Bloggers Network, and is an excellent way of making us think about road safety.

It is also an impressive use of viral techniques – I’ve already sent it to most of the drivers I know.

The challenge forms part of the Think! road safety campaign run by the Department for Transport.

Just for the record, I failed the test…quite badly.

There’s a lot of great digital work coming out of AMV BBDO at the moment, but I’m especially proud of the Driving Challenge viral we have just launched for Think! Road Safety – a remarkable project I have been involved in since my very first day here.

Just over a year on from the introduction of the tough new penalty of three penalty points and a £60 fine for using a mobile phone whilst driving, the Driving Challenge directly builds upon a film made by the University of Illinois 10 years ago which demonstrates the psychological principle of ‘inattentional blindness’. Essentially, the interactive game uses this concept to demonstrate that your driving is impaired when talking on a mobile phone, either hand held or hands free. In fact, the game reveals that if you use your mobile phone whilst driving, you are four times more likely to crash! Its whole aim is to encourage drivers to be more vigilant. If you haven’t come across this phenomenon before, I can’t tell you too much without giving it all away, so I encourage you to take the test here.

Some of you more industry savvy readers will probably have come across WCRS’ similar ad for TFL – www.dothetest.co.uk. This is aimed at protecting cyclists rather than mobile phone safety, but essentially both ideas are based on the same psychological phenomenon. There is a fair bit of controversy surrounding this ad within our industry – a glimpse of this debate is over at Scamp blog here. Its not all too surprising that there are two creative ideas about road safety based on this same principle: all road safety communications boil down in some shape or form to mental focus and to paying more attention to the road, and this is also what underpins the psychological phenomena at the heart of the strategy for both pieces of communication.

The gorilla / basketball video is one piece of stimulus illustrating what is the best-known study on inattentional blindness, conducted by Daniel Simons of the University of Illinois, and Chris Chabris of Union College, whilst at Harvard in the late 1990s. The video is now widely used in interventions for traffic offenders and other training roles where it is important that people appreciate the limitations of the human brain. For more information and to see other videos relating to Professor Simons’ research, please visit this link. We worked closely with Dr. Burgess throughout this project, consulting him at each stage of development. His support was crucial in enabling us to develop the most effective and therefore behaviour-changing piece of communication possible. If the Driving Challenge and Do The Test even saves one life, then it’s worth the fury of the blogosphere.

Love it or loathe it, please share your thoughts here…

Oh yeah, should probably mention again – all the views expressed here are solely those of my own, and do not necessarily reflect those of AMV BBDO and/or our clients.

]]> http://offshootblog.wordpress.com/2008/03/17/tipping-pot/ Mon, 17 Mar 2008 00:16:44 +0000 Gaby http://offshootblog.wordpress.com/2008/03/17/tipping-pot/

Apologies for yet another embedded video but this is awesome. Even better than the original. And I suspect it cost a lot less than £10 million…