Showing posts with label Mountain View. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Mountain View. Show all posts
Ramadan 2014 - Post 1 - CocaCola a7la ma3....?
Hello friends,
Ramadan Karim
Ramadan Karim
Welcome back, I long to connect virtually with all of you
kol sana, your feedback is what keeps me coming back every year with more
passion and drive to give you some useful timekillers for your reading
pleasures…
If this is your first time reading this, enjoy the ride
(this is an advertising critique blog btw)! J
It’s no secret that Ramadan is becoming of less intensity
since 2011.. With the current country conditions, economy slowdown, high inflation
of advertising prices as well as a horrible business year in 2013 that affected
nearly all marketing budgets of 2014.. making advertisers more cautious about
where they’ll deploy their monies, thus making Ramadan a bit of a question mark
rather than a non-missable advertising festival.. fa yeegi el marketer men dol
y2ollak tab mana afokk Ramadan b 3 normal months and still generate the same
viewership.. so its a trade off really..
So instead of advertisers fighting over who gets the first
spot after Iftar, willing to pay up to double price for a premium position ad;
we now see merely 3-4 ads in a 6 hour post-Iftar viewership period in the first
day of Ramadan.
See, Ramadan is a game of muscle, so it doesn’t just stop on
who can make a good ad... It’s also about who has the weight to keep airing
that ad for a full month.. So they literally put their money where their mouth
is… Add to that some mandate of advance payments from media suppliers so you
find yourself paying millions of pounds in advance vs paying in 60-75 days post
airing..
All these reasons combined make us see less ads than we did in years before, and
that is why a lot of advertisers are now moving into other high impact
alternatives that are relatively cheaper than TV; such as Digital Media, Youtube, On Ground Activations…etc
So I’ll quickly recap on the ads that actually did make it to TV screens in
the first day of Ramadan
Mountain View:
Since last year and these guys have been doing impressive
ads.. This time taking a bit over the edge with the Hulk Ads.. An exaggerated manifestation
of how frustrating it could be to live in our wonderful Cairo..
I mean, who wouldn’t relate to such situations, being stuck
in traffic for longer than you’d want, trying to sleep but the ruckus of good
old Cairo just wouldn’t let you.
On a serious note though, I’m getting a bit tired of the
extremism in all real estate ads lately (including those of Moussa Coast TVC 1 TVC 2 ) in showing how unbearable
the country is; when you want to break free from the bourgeoisie status and
live the American dream of a garden, dog and nice little white mailbox with a
red flag..
Keep doing this a couple of years more and these compounds will get raided by the underprivileged who think it’s heaven on the other side of the fence… just saying
Keep doing this a couple of years more and these compounds will get raided by the underprivileged who think it’s heaven on the other side of the fence… just saying
You can show how great your real estate project is without blaspheming
the everyday life of an average Cairene.
Grade: B
Nestle - Mega Cookies:
Ever since Maxibon launch in 2012, Nestle IceCream have
taken the route of retro Instagrammish colors, fused in with some black
comedy..
A strategy that worked nicely in 2012, less in 2013 (KhodFeshar) and now this..
I’m not too sure what to make out of it, but my initial
feeling was “eww”..
Although it literally list out the product attributes and
what it does to you (functionally and emotionally), but I still feel a big
disconnect between the context of the situation and the consumption moment.
There isn’t a lot of science behind why I don’t like it.. so
I’ll have to go with gut feeling..
Not my cup of tea honestly..
Not my cup of tea honestly..
Grade: C
Misr El Kheir:
A very cool visual transformation from laborer to school
student, or from student to astronaut.. A mellow ad of how little things can
make a big difference.. my only issue with it; The Cairokee overkill.. exhausted
is an understatement.
While the song is actually not bad, but I’m not much in favor of اللي تغلب به, إلعب به theory.
While the song is actually not bad, but I’m not much in favor of اللي تغلب به, إلعب به theory.
The point about using
celebrities in the ad is relevance, association and novelty.. It was a poor
choice to recruit a talent that people have heard a million times in a million
ads before, and who were much strongly associated with another brand.. Maybe if
they would have went for more of an underground band and brought to stardom, it
maybe would have played well in their favor.
Grade: B
Coca Cola – a7la ma3:
Saving best for last… obviously
It’s no secret that CocaCola Egypt has raised the bar of
their ideation and advertising to a whole new level. So instead of advertising
functionally saying how great the product is; they’re giving you reasons to
fall in love with it more with every copy they produce… Thus working to be - as
per Saatchi & Saatchi’s jargon - a Lovemark.
In this campaign, Coke have used a mix of being both a
global and a local brand.. while getting the best of both worlds.
So while the name-on-Coke initiative is not a new idea (it
was actually applied in a nationwide campaign in Australia 2012 ,
and awarded a Gold Lion in Cannes for the Best use of Outdoor); the way they executed the campaign locally
however was very smart.
Instead of paying a gazillion dollars for sponsorship of one
mega star.. they got a gazillion local stars/ mini-celebrities; each in his own
field.. To make sure that no matter who is watching the copy; they would still relate
by seeing a fellow friend/workmate on the TVC..
Below are only the ones I was able to identify... Feel free
to add on to those if I missed out on any..
Abla Fahita, Mohamed M7asseb (DJ), Tameem Youness (Creative
Director and known for Rasseeni video blog), Aly Mazhar (Personal trainer - Be
Fit), Bibo w Beshir, Sayed Abu 7afiza, Hadrass & Fazza3 (Al Kabeer), 2ar2ar
Sandood (Internet sensation of 2009 Valentine’s Day),
Hossam Hosni, Mostafa Talaat aka Moos (Like Jelly Band), Cairokee Band, Omar Taher (Writer), Amina
Khalil (Actress)
While being a global adaptation, the idea itself is a
marvellous platform of sharing and multiplying sales… Imagine going into a
3ozooma and finding each and every person’s name on his custom-made bottle/can.. I have my
reasons to love it of course J
While this was a nice campaign reveal, it would be very
interesting to see how they use the learnings they got from their friends in
Australia to translate a nice-to-see TV copy into a solid business case, so its not just about the TVC, its about how they stretch it further…
Australia grew sales by 7% in 3 months.. will witness another record from Egypt this year?
We’ll have to wait and see
Nevertheless, Coke gave us a highly loved and shareable copy
that we’d definitely love to see over and over again..
One dare though… can you make me this can? ;)
Grade: A
See u when I see you..
3omdaz
Ramadan 2013 - Post 2 - The Rise of the Blue Giant
Good day friends,
NOW WHAT THE F*** WAS THAT?????
haha... I guess that was everyone's reaction upon seeing the Pepsi ad.. wasn't it?
As mentioned on the previous post, Chipsy and Pepsi were cooking something, something BIG.. something that none of them could carry on their own or sustain with their individuals budgets.. and guess what, it is not only Pepsi & Chipsy Egypt.. They actually had to tie in with Pepsi and Lays Arabia to put all their coins and creative assets in one pot... and the below was the result... and it was BIG alright!
So apparently Pepsi as we know it back... EXTREMELY Emotional ad... Very moving and touches the heart in a jiffy.. Personally I got goosebumps upon seeing the late Fouad El Mohandes (my personal favorite actor of all time).. Very high production value (explaining the merger of Chipsy, Pepsi, 7-Up and Quaker to come up with this. Took more than just money apparently, when Pepsi asked for a beef-up in the creative talent on the BBDO (Pepsi's ad agency) roster, which saw a move of 3 of Leo Burnett's creative talents to the BBDO Team.. Yes, e7na el kar bta3na da 3amel zay la3eebet el kora, but we don't have a transfer season, its all year long :)
There was also quite a collaboration between BBDO Cairo, BBDO Dubai and the post production team, brought specially to the Middle East to resurrect 3ammo Fouad.. so chapeau bas for the team work there, especially on such a big project.
The wave of emotion that followed this was just outstanding, woke up on the morning of the 14th and found my Facebook newsfeed flooded with shares (as with everyone else I guess).. Obviously no need to reiterate how big the social wave was as it is something we all noticed and even took part of.
But enough speaking of how amazing the ad is... This is a critique at the end of the day, so I'll do my best trying to dissect that for points that not necessarily provoked me, but at least intrigued me to think:
- With all the greatness of the ad, the high production and the great memories it brings, I'm not seeing where Pepsi/Chipsy/7Up/Quaker fit there. There is no brand role in the ad.. If I take out the Pepsi Truck and put a Vodafone store, it will still work.. Or take out the Vodafone store and put in a huge Juhayna yoguhrt tub, it'll still work (at least its even more relevant for Ramadan)
- The ad depicts the most popular Ramadan icons of all time; all who ended their Ramadan careers by the mid 1990s (if not before kaman)
Fattoota (last season aired 1986)
Bougy w Tamtam (ceased around the early 90s)
Nelly & 3ammo Fouad (last Fawazeer aired around 1995)
Last time I checked, Pepsi's core target audience is 16-24 (aw da elli khadnah fel madares at least).. with the bull's eye at 18 y/o... so this means eno by the time 3ammo Fouad stopped airing, that given person from the Pepsi core audience was still in his mom's womb... aw mama w baba makanoosh lessa 2ablo ba3d.
And its not just me, below is just a snapshot of what people of that target audience think of the ad... they dont even have a clue!
So this makes me wonder, is Pepsi trying to win back the hearts of mawaleed el 70s and 80s (who are probably twice as old as the core target audience), where the scene was much less cluttered and Pepsi dominated the communication game? Or is it just a one off and we're back to the Nikki Minaj copy (elli ana personally lessa ma3rafsh heya meen aw beteshtaghal eh).. Fahhemoona bas w e7na m3ako - So after all the journey, w el fanoos, w el truck, w el sellem... Khado mel wad Tarek el makana el Amici om 15 alf gneh w eddolo taba2 konafa b 50 gneh w rawwa7 gary... just cz he met 3ammo Fouad?
If you ask me, its a cheap price to pay to stand toe-to-toe with the greatest comedian of all time.
To sum this up, i'll put my critical/over-analytical hat aside and still go with my gut feeling and initial reaction upon seeing this.. Its a great copy that brings back lots of memories, an ad that drew more than just a smile on my face (probably a dropped jaw with some tears too) and I'd definitely love to see it over and over again..
It didnt score well with everyone though.. Some people think its a hollow idea with massive funds of production, but that will always be the case... Some ppl love u, some poeple dont.. below are samples of both poles..
Love the ad or hate it; Pepsi has always been an advertising giant, so please stay this way... don't fade away as you did the past couple of years.. This raises the bar high, very high so make sure you're up to it in ads to come!
Grade: Can't give anything with Fouad El Mohandes in it anything less than an A... Thank you Pepsi
Uff... that was hectic.. I think I should stop the post here.. But there are still some ads to look into.. So I'll take on 7agat khafeefa hena then keep the rest for a future post.
Mountain View:
An OK set of ads, that will get you to talk about it once with your friends, maybe, then gone and forgotten.. Overly exaggerated but gets the message across..
I just LOVE the barbecue copy... Stereotypical as hell.. but still very funny.. gets to me everytime.. Batt eh ya 3am, ba2ollak tarb.. haha
Grade: B
I already gave my feedback about the below campaigns in the previous post (check it our here), the below copies are just an extension of the same campaign; for your reference if you haven't seen them yet.
Labanita:
Birell:
Aquarius:
Libra:
Sagittarius:
Anyhow, Pepsi's ad was the main theme of today... So I don't want to steal from its thunder much, nor make the post too long.. So i'll leave you in peace now and I'll see you next time..
One thing before I close this one off.. I write because I enjoy it, but I could have kept it to myself.. I post my writings however because apparently you guys enjoy reading them. I got around 1000 hits on the first article this year, in 48 hours (a number I got in the whole month of Ramadan in 2010), so I'd like to thank each and every one of you for coming over and reading my scribbles here.. Truly humbled and flattered!
For any questions or further debates, hashtag #3omdazblog or just mention @3omdaz.. I'll be happy to answer :)
One important thank you goes out to my good friend, Medhat Amin.. The whole blog thing was his idea in the first place :)
Stay tuned..
Cheerio
3omdaz
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
