AD OF THE WEEK

This week's chosen advert is simply head and shoulders above the other television adverts that I have seen in awhile. It is for Coronation Fund Managers.

Coronation Fund Managers is a company that focuses on creating long-term wealth for their clients and FoxP2 was tasked with enhancing its reputation with their investors and to build on their outstanding track record.

Quoted on the website South African TV Ads FoxP2 Creative Director, Andrew Whitehouse says: "For the past seventeen years Coronation Fund Managers have worked hard to earn their clients’ trust, which has been supported by the strength of their long-term investment track record. We felt the thought that trust can only be earned was an extremely relevant one and when the team found the true-life story of Christian the Lion, we knew we had something special to work with," continues Whitehouse.

According to my dear friend, Wikipedia "Christian was a lion originally purchased by Australians John Rendall and Anthony "Ace" Bourke from Harrods department store in London in 1969 and ultimately reintroduced to the African wild by conservationist George Adamson. One year after George Adamson released Christian to the wild, his former owners decided to go looking for him to see whether Christian would remember them. Surprisingly, he did, and with him were two lionesses who accepted the men as well".

This television advertisement brings to life the ethos of "Trust Is Earned". I love how this advert recreates this moving story that begins in London and ends in Africa .

To watch the advert, click here - Mart

Credits:
Advertising Agency: FoxP2, Cape Town, South Africa
Creative Director: Justin Gomes, Andrew Whitehouse
Art Director: Ryan Barkhuizen
Copywriter: Mimi Cooper
Director: Mike Middleton
Released: 19th September 2010

AD OF THE WEEK

This week I decided that I would go back in time and share with you one of my all time favourite adverts. It was for Cell C. It is a pity that their new advertising does not match up to this - Mart

HEITA!

For a few weeks now there as been an advertising campaign for, well, I actually didn't know. All over town and on my TV screens were adverts for Heita! I wanted to know more but couldn't find anything. Finally after much speculation, Heita! has been unveiled to be the Telkom’s new mobile business.

What I particular like about the branding is the colour scheme used. It is black and white with a prominent pink dot. I am hoping that this dot has more significance. As the trend nowadays, social media is going to make up a large part of launching this brand.

According to TechCentral, Telkom is set to launch consumer mobile services under the “Heita!” branding on 14 October .

Heita is township slang and means hello or howzit - Mart

AD OF THE WEEK

This week's pick is for the series of print adverts for Pictionary. I chose these adverts for two reasons: firstly it shows that no matter what age you are, you can still enjoy playing Pictionary and secondly the combination of photography and illustration is fantastic. It is a real attention grabbing technique. My personal favourite from the series is Henry's illustration of Miss Universe - Mart

The brains behind the ads
Creative Director: Chris Garbutt
Agency: Ogilvy & Mather, France

ADVERTISING THAT MAKES A DIFFERENCE

South Africa has one of the highest rates of HIV/AIDS infection in the world. There is a stigma attached to this disease: It's a poor, uneducated person's sickness and it could never happen to me. But HIV/Aids doesn't discriminate and it is great to see adverts like these promoting safe sex and debunking myths around HIV/AIDS - Mart

AD OF THE WEEK

So maybe my taste in clever advertising has gone to the dogs as this week's pick for 'Ad of the Week' goes to another dog inspired advert. This time it is for Master Dog Light dog food. I had good chuckle when I came across these woofing good adverts with the tagline: Life’s hard when you’re a fat dog. I guess that the notion of sex sells was the basis for these adverts. - Mart

About the advert
Creative Director: Tony Sarroca
Agency: Young & Rubicam, Chile

AD OF THE WEEK

This week's winning advert goes to Mars pet food. The print adverts for Mars dog biscuits, Frolic are brilliant. I love the idea that these beautiful female dogs are gold diggers.

These highly styled tongue-in-check adverts caught my attention and it is this very reason that I choose them for this week's worthy winner - Mart

Ad info
Creative Director
Gilles Fichteberg
Agency
BBDO France
Client
Mars

OLD SCHOOL

I think that these retro adverts for social networking are great - Mart

AD OF THE WEEK

The out-of-home advertising for the Copenhagen Zoo gets my nod this week for ad of the week. The bus wrap features a giant constrictor snake squeezing a Copenhagen citybus and is sure to get a reaction from onlookers.

Out-of-home advertising is a favourite of mine as this platform lends itself to bigger ideas - one is not confined to 30 second adverts, standard magazine and newspaper formats or multiple digital formats - Mart

About the advert
Creative Director: Ib Borup
Agency: Bates Y&R
Client: Copenhagen Zoo
Location: Denmark

PUN A DAY

I love a good pun and by far this is the most entertaining shop window advert that I have seen in a long time - Mart

AD OF THE WEEK

Since my need for clever advertising is increasing, I am going to be bringing you my favourite adverts that I have came across during the week.

This week's pick is the print campaign for Ergo, an insurance company in Lithuania. The use of a grand interior of an igloo and a tepee drives home that no matter what your home looks like, if you insure with Ergo you stand a chance to completely redo your home. I think these adverts are clever and sure beats the insurance adverts that South Africans are subjected to - Mart

About the advert
Creative Director: Rimantas Stanevicius
Agency: Milk
Client: Ergo
Location: Lithuania

FLYING HIGH CREATIVE

kulula's advertising have always made me smile. I have grown to enjoy the attack of green on my TV screen and on the pages of my favourite magazines and newspapers.

I had a very good chuckle over what has become known as the 'kulula's FIFA campaign'. The advert was a beautifully hand drawn illustration with a tongue-in-check response to FIFA's advertising rules and regulations: UNOFFICIAL CARRIER OF THE 'YOU-KNOW-WHAT'. Unfortunately this advert was not FIFA full proof and kulula landed in hot water. After an apology and pulled media placement, kulula altered the offending advert and the new advert indirectly highlighted the overwhelming impact that FIFA had on South Africa.

Writing for The Media magazine, Heidi Brauer, executive manager, group marketing for kulula.com had this to say about the advert: "The PR value, passion-building and rising up of South African gees has been enormous. It has become a symbol, locally and internationally, that represents the rising sentiment against perceived bullying and heavy handedness of the organisation that promised to bring positive world focus and economic growth to SA".

kulula's cleverness and quirkiness doesn't stop at their advertising. I love how they have branded their planes.







kulula's airline attendants also make an effort to make the in-flight "safety lecture" and announcements a bit more entertaining. Below are overheard and reported responses from kulula flights:

• On a kulula flight, (there is no assigned seating, you just sit where you want) passengers were apparently having a hard time choosing, when a flight attendant announced, "People, people we're not picking out furniture here, find a seat and get in it!"
• On another flight with a very "senior" flight attendant crew, the pilot said, "Ladies and turning down the cabin lights. This is for your comfort and to enhance the appearance of your flight attendants."
• On landing, the stewardess said, "Please be sure to take all of your belongings.. If you're going to leave anything, please make sure it's something we'd like to have."
• "There may be 50 ways to leave your lover, but there are only 4 ways out of this airplane."
• "Thank you for flying kulula. We hope you enjoyed giving us the business as much as we enjoyed taking you for a ride."
• From a kulula employee: " Welcome aboard kulula 271 to Port Elizabeth ... To operate your seat belt, insert the metal tab into the buckle, and pull tight. It works just like every other seat belt; and, if you don't know how to operate one, you probably shouldn't be out in public unsupervised."
• "In the event of a sudden loss of cabin pressure, masks will descend from the ceiling. Stop screaming, grab the mask, and pull it over your face. If you have a small child travelling with you, secure your mask before assisting with theirs. If you are travelling with more than one small child, pick your favourite."
• Weather at our destination is 50 degrees with some broken clouds, but we'll try to have them fixed before we arrive. Thank you, and remember, nobody loves you, or your money, more than kulula Airlines."
• "Your seats cushions can be used for flotation; and in the event of an emergency water landing, please paddle to shore and take them with our compliments."
• "As you exit the plane, make sure to gather all of your belongings. Anything left behind will be distributed evenly among the flight attendants. Please do not leave children or spouses.."
• And from the pilot during his welcome message: "kulula airlines is pleased to announce that we have some of the best flight attendants in the industry. Unfortunately, none of them are on this flight!"
• Another flight attendant's comment on a less than perfect landing:"We ask you to please remain seated as Captain Kangaroo bounces us to the terminal."
• After a real crusher of a landing in Johannesburg , the attendant came on with, "Ladies and Gentlemen, please remain in your seats until Captain Crash and the Crew have brought the aircraft to a screeching halt against the gate. And, once the tire smoke has cleared and the warning bells are silenced, we will open the door and you can pick your way through the wreckage to the terminal.."
• Heard on a kulula flight. "Ladies and gentlemen, if you wish to smoke, the smoking section on this airplane is on the wing. If you can light 'em, you can smoke 'em."
• A plane was taking off from Durban Airport . After it reached a comfortable cruising altitude, the captain made an announcement over the intercom, "Ladies and gentlemen, this is your captain speaking. Welcome to Flight Number 293, non-stop from Durban to Cape Town , The weather ahead is good and, therefore, we should have a smooth and uneventful flight.. Now sit back and relax... OH, MY GOODNESS!" Silence followed, and after a few minutes, the captain came back on the intercom and said, "Ladies and Gentlemen, I am so sorry if I scared you earlier. While I was talking to you, the flight attendant accidentally spilled a cup of hot coffee in my lap. You should see the front of my pants!" A passenger then yelled, "That's nothing. You should see the back of mine!"

Our national carrier can learn a lot from kulula - Mart

BELIEVE IN YOUR DREAMS

Yesterday while watching Top Billing (shock, horror, GASP) I was introduced to Emily the Ostrich, the star of the new Cadbury's advert. I instantly fell in love with the feathery bird.

This advert aims to create a moment of joy and was created by Saatchi & Saatchi Johannesburg, who came up with the innovative concept of a flying Ostrich.

"The brief was to make people feel the same joy they experience when they eat Cadbury Dairy Milk, so we came up with the idea of using an Ostrich and thought that an Ostrich , being a bird, would find the ultimate joy in flying, so our Ostrich goes sky diving," says Saatchi & Saatchi Johannesburg's Executive Creative Director, Adam Wittert.

For the full press release click here - Mart

LIFE IS GOOD

I must say that I am fan of people-centric advertising. I think it might have to do with putting a face behind the brand that appeals to me. Although these adverts for LG with Matthew Booth and his beautiful wife, Sonia are old I still wanted to share them with you. This couple resonates LG’s brand pillars of stylish design, smart technology - Mart

SOLE ADVERTISING

These adverts are for Red Tape Urban Wear vibrant, fun and make me want to slip my feet into those shoes - Mart

BE COVERED

Publicis, Switzerland offers us an imaginative and humourous print campaign for condom brand, Ceylor.

The strength of this campaign lies in creating situations where the use of a condom would not be appropriate and could possibly get someone into trouble, whether it’s with the law or your best friend at his wedding. The campaign’s slogan reads, ‘Don’t just think about it.’

Regardless, whatever situation it is that gets that condom thought bubble (blown up condoms. very clever!) to pop up in front of you, if you have a Ceylor condom you’re pretty much covered - Mart

HITCH HIKE IN STYLE

It's not often that one comes across a car advert that does not feature the car it is advertising and that is why I love these adverts from Land Rover SA by Young & Rubicam. The adverts gives the viewer the impression that with Land Rover you can reach any corner of the globe whether it be the Sahara or the South Pole. Also what I think is clever is the use of the female models - for me they are an updated version of the pin-up girls that were used to advertise cars in the early days - Mart

MY WORLD MY WAY

I came across these adverts by Ogilvy for the clothing brand Allen Solly. Fantastic advertising for a great clothing brand, pity it's not available in South Africa. I love the use of mix medium (illustration and photography) to create a visually striking adverts.

Allen Solly's website is also worth a look. Check it out here

The adverts remind me of the picture I did for Garth on Tuesday. Check it out here

CREATIVE ADVERTISING

Nando's advertising always makes me laugh. For me, the success of their advertising campaigns lies in its ability to pick up on current consumer conversations. Their latest campaign (left) pokes fun at Paris Hilton who was removed from one of the FIFA World Cup matches as she allegedly was in possession of dagga. The advert on the right makes reference to Joost and his affair.

Trend Analyst, Dion Chang argues, "In a distracted world the only things we really find memorable are things that are entertaining, or make us laugh and therefore want to pass on."

Nando's has hit the proverbial nail on the head with their advertising- Mart.