Steve Vizard’s company, Cornerbox, is making a new comedy show for the Ten Network. It’s called The Wedge. Some poor promotional thinking from Ten on this. They’ve been running a teaser campaign which mentions the web site; don’t bother going… Continue Reading
Of all the major forms of media, the simplest seems the worst understood. Outdoor advertising involves looking at an ad while you’re a substantial distance away and driving at high speed. Most viewers are driving a car; so they can’t… Continue Reading
On Friday I attended a conference on the future of the Australian wine industry. Some terrific presentations but some just awful. It amazes me that 18 years after the product was invented, people still don’t understand the basics of giving… Continue Reading
A campaign is a series of ads with some recognisable consistency between one ad and the next. Seldom done in education advertising here. Each department seems to have its own ideas. This is the only print campaign I’m aware of… Continue Reading
Continuing a series looking at print ads for tertiary institutions; today, Edith Cowan University. Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear… another tertiary education ad featuring people and lifts. Very aspirational, I’m sure. It’s not just your eyesight; the text in… Continue Reading
WA’s iconic white wine, Houghton’s White Burgundy, is to be renamed Houghton’s White Classic. This is necessary because of the 1994 Agreement between Australia and the European Community on Trade in Wine, and Protocol (Wine Agreement). In signing this, Australia… Continue Reading
Just watched the World Cup qualifier against Uruguay in a sports bar in Northbridge and became a soccer fan. It reminded me of some thoughts I had on International Rules Football. The AFL and the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) should… Continue Reading
A magazine called Food Companion is running a food industry competition for the best new name for kangaroo meat. Why a new name? Obviously they believe that the cute animal thing interferes with the eat fleshy thing. The argument is,… Continue Reading
This is the sign which announces the charming little town of Gingin, where I currently live. The sign is conspicuously positioned on the Brand Highway. Visitors to Gingin and residents of Gingin drive past it in great number. What signal… Continue Reading
The Western Force, Australia’s newest RU team have signed up 18,000 members, more than any other club. If you’d like to join up, you can get a diamond, gold, silver, nickel or iron membership. Here is the membership brochure. A… Continue Reading
Continuing a review of print advertising by West Australian Universities … Well, unlike the Curtin ad, this seems sound strategically. Reinforces the institution as high achieving. Clearly branded. Murdoch name is prominent so they’re not wasting money. Criticisms: Doesn’t really… Continue Reading
The first in a series of analyses, trying to understand advertising by educational institutions. I’m struggling to even imagine the nature of the brief given to the advertising agency for this ad. Was it: “We want you to tap into… Continue Reading
OK, so you can buy an episode of Desperate Housewives for your new video iPod for US$1.99. And various free-to-air execs in Australia think that this is a great opportunity to “monetise content” by allowing time-shifted viewing. Are you sure?… Continue Reading
A member of my family recently bought a piece of jewellery at a store called Secrets shhh, a new franchised retailer with stores all around Australia. The business offers cubic zirconium jewels (diamond simulants) in quality settings at a fraction… Continue Reading
Banks go to some trouble these days to make their branches welcoming. Less effort seems to go into their web sites. I want to contrast three experiences I had trying to get some documentation off a bank; Westpac in this… Continue Reading
I can’t say I’ve listened to a lot of podcasts but I’ve listened to some. We can only hope that people improve over time. People are used to listening to well-produced programs on radio. They are the quality benchmark. If… Continue Reading
