Sanity prevails

Saw this ad on a website some time ago and It made me smile.

Totally random headline. Not that I have any idea what it means.

Which is perhaps why it made me smile.

Sadly a bunch of people with nothing better to do complained to the British Advertising Standards Authority about it.

Reckoned it suggested oral sex with a bull.

Luckily sanity prevailed and the ASA dismissed the complaints saying that although some people may interpret suck a bull's udder in a sexual way young children and other 'innocent' viewers would not.

Yes, but...

The day you stop asking why is the day you stop learning. And the day you stop learning is the day you die. So keep your mind fresh and visit the wonderful Learn Something Everyday.

Happy Anniversary George

It's the 75th anniversary of the agency everyone in Aussie adland knows as Patts. George Patterson Y&R.

75 years in business is a long time. But 75 years in the ad business is a seriously long time. Especially in Australia.

It makes Patts older than US agencies like Ogilvy and DDB.

To celebrate their anniversary the team at Patts have put their Top 20 ads on YouTube.

If you grew up in Australia you're sure to recognise many of them. It's a brilliant body of work.

The 'Memories' ad above is a certified classic and was the first Aussie ad to win a Grand Prix at Cannes.

Here's a couple more of my personal favorites.





To see the rest of the Top 20 click here.

Ad after ad afer ad

One of the most annoying things about Australian television is the way that programs never seen to start or finish on time.

I always thought this was some kind of ploy by the networks to stop you switching channels at the end of a show.

Turns out that may not be the case at all.

According to the regulatory authority, networks are allowed to air a maximum of 13 minutes of advertising per hour during the evening.

I think you’d have to agree that’s more than enough ads.

Yet our TV networks are blatantly flouting these restrictions.

According to a survey conducted by the Herald Sun, networks often cram in as much as 19 minutes of advertising during an hour show.

19 minutes!

No wonder the shows don’t start or finish on time.

And no wonder so many people say they hate advertising.

Apple v Microsoft

Interesting comparison of the advertising of Apple and Microsoft.
Well worth five minutes of your time I think.

Theft or fandom?

You know that downloading television shows has become commonplace when there’s a two page article about it in your local newspaper.

Just to clarify - that’s the local paper that gets delivered to your house free of charge. Not an actual daily newspaper.

I couldn’t help noticing the article over breakfast this morning as it featured a photo of a small stack on TV show DVDs. And I owned pretty much all of them.

It was so nice to read something in the mainstream media about downloading that wasn’t hysterical or hyperbolic.

In fact I found myself nodding along as I read.

Bizarrely it seems many of the shows that are popular in Australia, like Desperate Housewives and House, are also amongst the most downloaded.

Why?

Because people want to see episodes as soon as they can. They don’t want to wait. In fact they can’t.

They are not downloading to steal. They are not downloading to burn discs and sell them at flea markets.

These people are true fans of a show.

So why are they constantly tarred with the brush of theft and piracy?

Naughty or not?

I know very little about Islam or its traditions but I would have thought that perving on a half naked woman before she puts on her Burqa is wrong.

Which either makes this a very naughty ad or a highly offensive one.

What do you think?

Around the Blogosphere

The latest issue of Marketing magazine hit the newsagents on Monday. And for some reason my latest column appears to have gotten one young man a little riled up. Read all about that here.

My last column was seemingly a lot less controversial. It looked at how mobile marketing appears to be finally getting mobilised. Click here to read it at my Around the Blogosphere blog.

Farewell Freeman

Just heard one of my favourite little US agencies is shutting its doors. After more than 20 years Cliff Freeman & Partners has fallen victim to the GFC. They leave behind a body a charmingly clever work including this wonderful TV spot for Little Caesers.

I'ma let you finish

Yo, internet memes! I'm real happy for ya, and I'ma let you finish, but theez 2009 internet memes are da best internet memes of all time!

No argument from me