London, we’re depressed. We’re not ones to bitch, but in the space of one issue of Campaign magazine, we’ve come across a lot of reasons to be down in the dumps. Exhibit A - a Letter to the Editor from George Prest, Creative at Lowe, saying that foreign D&AD juries ‘wouldn’t know a decent ad if it jumped up and bit them on the schnitzel’. The reason for his protest? A Nike press and poster ad featuring Wayne Rooney had been cruelly overlooked. THE INJUSTICE.
Exhibit B – new IPA president Moray MacLennan explaining that ‘the UK beat the US to the number one slot in the world ratings for creative excellence.’ Whilst we respect Mr. Maclennan immensely, we also feel the need to point out that the UK’s triumph was in the Gunn Report – TV and print only. As Campaign itself pointed out late last year, in the digital equivalent The Won Report, UK agencies fared terribly, with only Glue breaking the top twenty.
And, perhaps, most infuriatingly, Campaign 2007 ‘Faces to Watch’ Poppy Wilcox and Lauren Benstead (Publicis) dishing out the following gem on a web film for Joost: ‘How is it different to ‘what we already have’ TV? Maybe if we knew exactly what Joost was, it’d work, but we don’t so it doesn’t.’
Oh, girls. Whatever you think about the film, please locate your brains. Go to Google. Learn about the future of your industry. And then – only then – open your mouths.
Joost – for the horribly uninitiated – is DVD quality Internet TV based on a peer-2-peer sharing network. For advertisers (are you listening?)it means longer form branded content with little media spend, and large communities of engaged, connected viewers for more targeted and innovative brand exercises. It’s really important. It means advertising will have to change.
It’s a shame that this apparent obsession with a 50 year-old TV model could leave some of the larger London agencies out in the cold, as clients increasingly turn to nimbler specialists who understand how to engage with people at the warmer, more rewarding end of the media consumption scale. Come on, London. Have your Galileo moment. The net is the new sun, ok?
We caught up with Aaron Hinchon, Senior Creative of Albion London who are the brains behind the Joost campaign and drove the world domination of Skype, to get his take on the controversy. He told Contagious:
‘A lot of these propositions – Skype, Joost, Kazaa – can be tough to understand at first. Technology still scares people – we know that. However, once they get their heads around it, they see it for what it is – really exciting. Joost is not about taking over TV – it’s about celebrating the best things about it.
‘Our web film was initially it was designed to sit on the front page of the website surrounded by additional information, but we’ve allowed it to be seeded on YouTube too. It’s part of an extensive, far-reaching PR campaign – and the more people who are discussing it, the better. Anything that draws attention to an amazing product is fine with us.’
Click on the link below to view the spot. And PLEASE, London – sort it out. Until then, we’ll be over here, having a two-way conversation with a brick wall.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=3IcwG0jUFxU
