It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

Pretty much all the (Christmas) cards are on the table, so over the next few weeks, we’ll be giving our comment and feedback on the efforts of some of the nation’s biggest retailers' Christmas advertising - remember it’s our thoughts that count ;)

#PureXmasAdWatch

So, let’s kick off with the big budget TV ad extravaganzas that have launched over the past week or so.

John Lewis’ bear is out of the cave to huge social and media acclaim. The #bearandhare ad has already amassed over 6.8 Million views on YouTube in just over 7 days.

M&S now stands for ‘Magic and Sparkle’ (apparently) and Sainsbury’s has wrapped Christmas Day up into a 3 and a half minute tearjerker.

Once we’ve digested these chunky ads, there’s Tesco, Boots, Morrisons, Debenham's, ASDA, Waitrose and plenty of others to get through….by which time we are well and truly stuffed like the proverbial turkey.

These big budget Xmas ads appear to have become the UK equivalent of the Superbowl advertising in America - and whilst incomparable in cost to the coveted Superbowl final ad break, one thing for certain is that the costs of the TV ads will be at an all-time high in the UK when considering the premium space. As announced recently, the X Factor final ad breaks will cost £200,000 per 30 seconds. This could net ITV somewhere in the region of £16 million. A nice present for their shareholders.

We will focus on the way advertisers are using press and the social media world in more depth in future blogs, but at this stage we are concentrating on TV, and rather than take the traditional powerhouse John Lewis as our primary candidate, we’re kicking off by taking a look at Sainsbury’s attempt at shaking things up slightly by promoting their TV ad as a film.

The ‘Taste the Difference’ brand waited until after the others had pulled their TV crackers and then started to promote the first airing of the ad in the press by directing newspaper readers to tune in and watch the ad.

The full film is reminiscent of Tinsel Town - 45 minutes long and due to have a premier as well as a release-date on YouTube. The campaign was launched in a 3 ½ minute trailer during Coronation Street. The length and exceptional nature of this media execution should ensure that it becomes a vanguard aspect of their campaign.

Repeating this ad length is clearly not sustainable or indeed possible to accommodate on Mainstream TV - so 40” and 60” spots based on different edits and themes will continue to run until 21^st December to follow on from the very strong groundwork already laid. 

M&S has a 150 second fantasy-story mash-up and the story-telling of John Lewis lasts a beefy 2 minutes but both pale in comparison to the size of this ad-break behemoth. Whether it proves a success is yet to be determined, as the multimedia element required for a successful Christmas campaign is becoming more important than ever before.

The Sainsbury’s ad delivers on  its highly successful pursuit of a ‘values-driven’ brand strategy, rather than focusing on product display, which is visible in the M&S effort and – more subtly – in the John Lewis version of Watership Down (I wonder how many alarm clocks they’ll sell this year..?).

It’s interesting how so many advertisers are choosing to focus on our emotions (trust, love, desire, greed, etc) as much as they are the cost or reliability in order to sell. ‘Value vs Values’ is a theme to keep an eye on as we head into the season of goodwill.

Jaw dropping, show stopping launch

We launched a DOOH campaign for Gossard this week on some high impact digital sites in key locations, and in order to amplify the launch and achieve further stand out and incremental value, we had the added benefit of their latest brand ambassador Sophie Anderton going the extra mile to demonstrate what the Glossies range being advertised looked like in the flesh.

 

This resulted in delivering massive impact and generating an enormous amount of PR across National, regional and trade media, both.on and offline.

 

 

 

 

#PureAdOfTheWeek

Smug UGG: These Boots are Made for Talking

We continue to monitor the negative effects of over-inked coverwraps and the effectiveness of well executed coverwraps ... and today is a perfect example of the latter.

The bin at the station - our reliable measuring stick - only had one cover in it this morning vs the usual overflow on an over inked day:

Well done to the UGG creative team for producing artwork fit for a newspaper cover and for ensuring the ad stayed intact and went some way to delivering the media value the client paid for.

#PurePoint

Negative Context

Not so clever contextual targeting on the Mailonline at the weekend for Kuoni, advertising 'Magical Kenya' given the ads were served against the headline story of the Kenyan Mall massacre in Nairobi.

It's important to consider the negative impact of contextual targeting as well as the smart targeting benefits.

#PurePoint

Cover Wraps ... An expensive load of rubbish?

Despite the creative impact that advertising coverwraps have when attached to the paper, more often than not the bins on mainline commuter stations are littered with them, detatched from the main paper due to 'over inking'.

Today was no exception, with the NatWest ad consigned to the bin (as per the image above on the right), and another for TLC a few weeks ago (as per image above on the left).

 

Taking in to account the fact this is a high ticket item when it comes to media costs - surely the creative team and media agency should be aware of the effect of adding too much solid colour and over inking the covers. It seems to be a very expensive and avoidable mistake.

 

The example above for TESCO is a good example of a cover that survived ultimate consignment to the bin, where as the ones below for Adidas and Nike didn't make it across the finishing line. 

 

  

 

#PurePoint

 

BT Sport: Positive start to the season

For almost 20 years Sky Sports has maintained the ownership of sport viewers, but could this be the season that the ownership is contested? BT Sport's first televised Premier League football match at the weekend, Liverpool versus Stoke City, attracted a peak audience of 764,000 viewers, beating ESPN's opening game last season.

Although the audience figure is far less than Sky Sports 3.1 million viewers, Sky Sports first game last season only raked in 843,000; BT Sport should be considered as serious competition!

In a recent press release BT Sport claims to have acquired 1 million subscribers due to the new sports package offering, indicating that 76% of all subscribers tuned into the game - pretty impressive! That being said, the cost per acquisition is still painful given the £100m+ marketing campaign.

We've been following the campaign since the first day it was executed, commenting on the different creatives, messaging and tactic's used by both brands and early signs appear to be positive for BT Sport. But, there's still a long way to go before seeing a positive ROI.

We have a feeling this will go the full 12 rounds!

#PurePoint

Round 6!

So, it’s time for it to end. Finally.

The posturing, the bad-natured bravado, the poorly disguised dislike and the testosterone-fuelled, territorial circling has swamped our daily lives for the past couple of months.

The ink used in the print ads would have filled the Great Lakes. They’ve had more TV time than Lord Sugar. They’ve even spent more than the entire Premier League combined (yes, including Manchester City)

The two behemoths of British sports broadcasting, Sky Sports and BT Sport, have been obsessed with the quest to become the one that has eaten a bigger slice of the Premiership Pie.

As we have documented, despite the initially considered nature of the rivalry, the contest has descended in to a bare-knuckle brawl. Targeted placements have given way to ubiquity and refreshing messaging has devolved into tale-telling and seemingly contradictory claims.

The season starts tomorrow.

In a final, desperate lunge that reeks of burnt rate cards and smashed sales targets, BT Sport have literally blanketed today's media, with Sky Sports remaining comparatively calm. We've included the examples at the end of the blog - you've no doubt seen them several hundred times in the last two months!

We shall have to see whether the Evening Standard is equally as battered by this crusade (campaign doesn’t seem to do it justice).

The biggest test will be the figures that are recorded over the next few weeks.

Let the chips fall as they may.

All we know is, we’re finally glad that there will be a little more content on the tellybox.

It’s time for it to end. Hopefully….

Let the games begin.

#PurePoint

Pure Quest ... Outdoor Art Bingo

 What do David Hockney, Lucian Freud, John Constable, LS Lowry, Tracey Emin, Sir Christopher Blake and many more artists have in common??

Their works are among over 50 pieces of British art selected by the general public to feature in the World's largest outdoor media 'Art everywhere' campaign that launches today.

The artwork will be shown on 22,000 digital outdoor poster sites across the UK - in a joint collaboration between the art world and the advertising and media industries....with sites donated by major outdoor contractors including CBS Outdoor, ClearChannel UK, JCDecaux, Ocean Outdoor & Primesight....no hidden agenda, just the opportunity to celebrate 'Art'.

 

At Pure we are always on the look out for interesting outdoor campaigns - as well as a challenge amongst the team, so we have taken it upon ourselves to try and spot all 50+ pieces of artwork in situ.

Our last quest was to capture the 150 names that Coke claimed to have used in personalised products and ads earlier this year, only to have seen very few of them in the outdoor ad campaign due to the fact the reality of the production budget clearly outweighed the creativity of the multi executional delivery.

Dabbers to the ready .... we're hoping the digital nature of this campaign and the promise of over 50 creative exections will enable us to get a collaborative 'full house' over the coming weeks.

 BINGO!!

#PurePoint #PureChallenge #PureAdOfTheWeek

Love it or Hate it??

We're 50:50 here in the office with regards to the latest Marmite 'neglect / rescue' TV ad ... and it seems we are not the only ones.

The commercial went on air c. 24 hours ago and the ASA has already received over 250 complaints.

The campaign uses the well-known Love/Hate strapline, urging users to "Love it. Hate it. Just don't Forget it."


One thing we can say is the ad is true to it's word, like Marmite, you really will either Love it or Hate it.

 

Contender for #PureAdOfTheWeek ... maybe, but not necessarily for all the right reasons?

BT Sport and SKY Sports: Round 4

The plot thickens; wires are crossed in the form of mixed messages, BT and SKY Sports competitors become allies and then competitors again in the same day. At the same time Virgin Media is dragged into the ongoing sports-package rivalry bout...WHAT IS GOING ON?!

Round 1: The battle for TV sports customers started on May 9th when BT Sport launched a £100m+ campaign, executing 1,132 press ads within 33 days.

Round 2: SKY Sports then hit back with a series of direct competition ads and big budgets to boot.

Round 3: David Beckham is brought in as the trump card to endorse SKY Sports.

Now, we're into round 4 and the ad battle has escalated to the point of confusion. SKY has fired a broadside across the BT's bows, by guaranteeing the best price for both packages, whereas BT has countered stating you can only get BT Sport through BT:

Who to believe?!

Furthermore, Virgin Media and ESPN have unwillingly been thrown into the ring too with another message contradictory to that of the previous SKY Sports ad:

Very confusing for potential customers and it seems the only beneficiaries are the media owners.

At least SKY and BT can't be criticised for rolling out the same creative throughout the whole campaign. 

Lets see what happens next!

#PurePoint

Be More Dog

This highly impactful 48-sheet from o2, executed by our sister agency VCCP has a simple message but hides a complex and engaging campaign running across multi media.

We are impressed by the depth of this fantastic engaging campaign, with the digital execution integrating some smart technology encouraging us all to "Be More Dog".


Once you log on the website http://bemoredog.o2.co.uk/ you are greeted with a short intro from the (wannabe dog) cat featuring throughout the campaign:

After you've been told you his bio, you are given a unique code to log onto the website on your mobile. This in turn loads up a mobile optimised frisbee for you to throw towards the cat/dog on the PC screen:

Amazing integration, slightly indulgent, and so much fun!

The campaign also involves a twitter hashtag; #BeMoreDog, which is causing a lot of online conversation:

And the TV campaign is also very loveable:

o2 said the campaign aims to "spread positivity, excitement and inquisitiveness ... to rid the UK of cynicism" by getting people to "embrace their inner dog".

We think this has been absolutely achieved that, and whether you're a cat or a dog lover, the campaign is extremely impressive!

#BeMoreDog

This weeks leading contender for  #PureAdOfTheWeek

Our Royal Baby Media Snapshot

The Royal Baby has finally arrived!

And as to be expected, the media are all over it like a rash .........

We've picked out a handful of our favourite, tactical press ads and custom made print media offerings. Starting with the front page of The Sun today:

They have published possibly the most momentous front page adaptation of all the dailies; no plugs, no ads and no editorial. The issue has gained huge traction within social media and other top media platforms: 

Our weird, little friend #BrianTheRobot is also making the most of the birth with a unique creative execution in the papers this morning. Often associated with creating awkward situations, here Brian harmlessly holds a "Baby on Board" placard and a patriotic flag and asks in regal speak - How he might save us pounds?

No controversy caused this time as another footnote in the Life of Brian is executed. Just a simple tactical ad idea, planned to feature in print in a very timely fashion.

The flexibility of the #ShareACoke campaign enables Coke to adapt the names on the bottles shown to take advantage of situations. 

We have seen Coke execute similar tactical ads a number of times since the #ShareACoke campaign started and each time it works incredibly well! Let's see how quickly they publish another tactical ad (or produce a limited edition bottle) featuring the name of the 3rd in line to the throne.

We love Jelly. We really love clever, sweet and thoughtful Jelly!

Over the past few weeks Bassetts Jelly Babies have been executing a series of small fractionals within newspapers, eagerly awaiting the arrival of the Royal newborn.

This was finally topped off with a larger page dominant fractional ad this morning - Celebrating the new arrival.

A great example of how a bespoke smaller budget campaign can be created to deliver tactical associated messaging and make the most of positive news events!

Plenty more examples running online ... where the flexibility of the digital space allows for quicker turnarounds and greater opportunties for multiple executions and updated creative.

From the team here at Pure Media, congratulations to the Royal Family!

#PurePoint

Supermouse and Rory: Unfortunate Ads

It is extremely difficult to predict negative PR, especially as daily papers such as The Metro and The Telegraph give advertisers little or no time to react to issues. Added to this is the issue of avoiding placing ads near brand-deterring features, which in itself is a challenging feat.

Here at Pure we’re massive ad geeks; we don’t miss a thing! And every now and then we’ll empathise with advertisers who have been incredibly unfortunate with their ad placements.

Today there has been two cringe-worthy mis-haps:

1) Supermouse vs. Picnic Club

On page 9 of today's Metro reads an article about Tesco's apparent "Supermouse" issue with the headline: Tesco failed to clean up droppings, grease and filth after failing three inspections.

With a Tesco “Picnic” ad on the following page:

Ouch! A perfect example of why it is important to liaise with editors around current issues to avoid this situation.

2) Terrible round...Great watch nonetheless!

Poor Rory McIlroy had a "miserable" opening round at the Open yesterday, finishing 13 shots behind the lead. The Telegraph did not let him off lightly with a series of unflattering photographs and write-up which evokes a cringe of sympathy:

To add insult to injury, an abject post-feature Omega ad endorsed by, you guessed it, Rory McIlroy.

It is incredibly unfortunate to have an ad placed so closely to a feature which achieves the absolute opposite to the brand goals. Using celebrities as brand ambassadors increases the risk, another example is our Sharapova-Evian #PurePoint. 

It's just one of those things all of us in the industry have nightmares about!

Round 3....

...Ding Ding!! .....There is seemingly no end to the exhaustive budgets and sporting rivalry between BT Sport and SKY Sports ... with SKY producing a power punch in the latest round by introducing David Beckham to front their current advertising campaign.

Probably the most recognisable British sportsman, certainly in the world of football, a mass ad campaign launched this week across Sky and terrestrial TV channels as well as outdoor, print and digital activity.

WPP agencies Maxus and MediaCom must be loving the ongoing battle as the budgets continue to get ploughed in to multi media campaigns.... Just how many rounds can they afford to go??

Initial contender for #PureAdOfTheWeek

A Kick in the Teethgate

As a direct, competitive reaction to Colgate's "brush hour" at Waterloo Station this week which saw thousands of angry commuters causing mayhem with old toothbrushes in hand expecting a direct free swap for a newer model, Philips decided to capitalise on the situation with the following full-page ad in yesterday's Evening Standard:

The idea was generated, the ad produced, media space bought, ad was signed off by the client and supplied to publication in less than 24 hours after inception - not a bad turnaround at all! Especially considering that Philips usually have a long-term brand vision as opposed to the quick-turnaround, tactical approach.

The tagline; "the best things in life aren't free" adds insult to injury and something else for Colgate to worry about after dealing with the dirty-mouthed comments from customers and recovering from the embarrassing  fiasco.

#PureAdOfTheWeek

Brimful of Ashes

The recent KIA campaign has grabbed our attention with the execution of a small series of neat and tactical tongue-in-cheek ads running in the build up towards the Ashes.

 

These three print ads ran on consecutive pages in Sport magazine last week around an exclusive feature about Matt Prior. This implies an impressive level of attention to detail towards media planning with the placements in a highly relevant creatively synergistic editorial feature, which can often be overlooked with big budget campaigns.

An outdoor campaign is also running, where multi format activity can be seen dominating Vauxhall Station - the home of  'The KIA Oval' which will be hosting the final test of the series next month.

Whilst the placement of activity is timely and is highly relevant in terms of targeting and proximity, it would appear that the cretive team have made an uncharacteristic wrong-turn by including the name of one of KIA's main competitors "SEAT" in the creative.

 

 

 

 

Which 'SEAT' is it ??

 

 

 

Apart from this apparent creative slip-up, the campaign's timing and execution has been very well thought-out.   #PurePoint

Whose Sponsor is it Anyway?

Following the Sharapova/Evian sporting blunder another supposed brand ambassador who hasn’t quite lived up to expectation is Mario Götze, who completed his £31.5 million transfer from Borussia Dortmund to Bayern Munich today.

Unfortunately, he didn’t really think through his outfit, given that his new employers are sponsored by Adidas and indeed hold a 9% stake in the club.

#PurePoint

Live Young With Ageing Creative

Evian’s offering in the annual Wimbledon tactical ad-fest is a neat iteration of the Baby and Me campaign, seeking to highlight the rejuvenating effects of water by showing the delightful Maria Sharapova and an infant version of herself, as seen in the following half-page DPS in the latest issue of Time Out mag:

The media strategy has been executed nicely, with impact being achieved through strong OOH placements (**London Bridge posters**) and some neat 1/2 DPS strips in Metro and the Standard, but the fact that Maria literally tumbled out of the tournament in the second round surely evaporates the impact? Surely just securing the ad space with one creative execution is letting the brand down in this instance as they haven’t covered the eventuality of her being knocked out so early.

The APP they have produced, where you can take a headshot on your camera-phone/ tablet and see what your infant equivalent looks like, would probably have greater uptake if Sharapova was still grunting and screaming her way through the tournament at SW19.

We’ll take a large PIMM's with some strawberries and cream – they never get old!