How much is too much?
The new VB ad by Droga5 is surely one of the most anticipated ads ever produced in this country.
VB is an Australian icon. And everyone, and I do mean everyone, cares about VB. Even people who don't drink it!
I'm not a big fan of the new ad to be honest. But I'm sure plenty of people are.
My problem, and I believe it is a problem, is with the amount of times the ad is running during The Ashes.
It runs in virtually every ad break.
Over and over and over.
Now I'm no expert in the theory of reach and frequency but surely there there is a limit to how many times you can interrupt a show with the same ad.
Any media planners out there care to explain why VB are doing this?
posted by Stan Lee at 9:11 pm
7 Comments:
You pretty much nailed the answer in your post: in the traditional media model, success was calculated by multiplying the audience reach of each placement by the number of placements (i.e. reach x frequency).
This calculation determines GRPs (or TARPs), and this was the only number that media worried about (and sadly, in many instances, continues to focus on).
But no amount of repetition will make bad creative better. Similarly, you only need to see great creative once for it to deliver its impact.
That's why the traditional media model is broken: it fails to take into account crucial measures such as engagement, saturation, and irritation.
Some more thoughts on the subject here: http://eskimon.wordpress.com/2009/04/14/one-more-time/
They do run it a lot. But nowhere near as badly as KFC or Head and Shoulders on Channel 9 in the summer. At least this ad has different versions but they still run it too much.
Plus there was no anticipation built. They came up with all these great “sections” of the parade but they revealed them all way too early. Now I have seen them all. It would be great if there was a few new ones each test that I could look forward to.
Anyway, I won’t be buying any Vomit Bombs (VB) anytime soon.
Note: Hey Wags, do you read this blog? If so, leave a comment and tell us what one of your international students thought VB stood for!
At least they've tried to mix it up by running different versions in each break. But, yes - I would say they are running it too much, too early. What happens when we finally get to the Aussie Summer? Will they still be running the same stuff??
Daniel raises a good idea though - could they keep introducing new banners to keep it fresh. This would work well in the sports advertising model where there are constant 1-ad breaks, for drinks over breaks and goal breaks in AFL. tp
more importantly.... how long is that guy!!!
Could be victim of sponsorship deal that forces high-frequency onto advertiser at risk of losing space to competitor.. VB probably had no choice but to take it or leave it to Tooheys.
On the other hand MediaCom handle media for Fosters - which means zero thought went into how the campaign would work. Lazy
I was a media planner & I can see a classical case of getting too much within a short time frame albeit the same as drinking too much. Familiar concept to a drinker, probably to instill a sense of comfort :)
The real reason is probably the agency made a lott of money by selling brand association to the Ashes, which anyway is going under the scanner for alcoholic drinks, so make the best before the hammer falls.
Or a case of the TV channel bending backwards to boost the TRP's vis a vis the Masterchef ratings?
Thanx everyone for weighing in with your thoughts. Much appreciated.
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