Jun
05
Special K States The Obvious
Posted in: UncategorizedWomen are amazing. Agency: Leo Burnett
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Feb
06
David&Goliath Drench Jack in Butter
Posted in: UncategorizedJack rides his motorcycle into the sunset, like so many outlaws before him. Except this time something savory happens. Jack smells garlic butter. Post by AdPulp. According to Ad Age, David&Goliath and lead agency Secret Weapon both created regional Super Bowl ads for Jack in the Box. David & Goliath’s spot (shown above) is […]
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Oct
25
Levi’s Walks On, Wieden Staffers Dump Their Pants
Posted in: UncategorizedLevi’s and Wieden + Kennedy parted ways this week.
Ad Age reports that people familiar with the business said that differences over creative direction were at the core. Uh, okay.
James Curleigh, who left Keen Footwear (in Portland) to become president of Levi’s in July 2012, said in a statement, “We would like to thank Wieden+Kennedy for their creative energy and engagement over the past five years. The team supported us through a significant period in the Levi’s brand evolution.”
Blah, blah, blah. No one wants to air their dirty laundry. It’s not professional to say W+K is hard to work with, they don’t listen well and that TV is only “so important” to brands these days.
Speaking of TV’s importance, let’s take a look at the following Wieden-made spot for Levi’s.
It’s a nice piece of stand alone creative, but it doesn’t stand alone, does it? No, it feels a lot like Nike’s “Just Do It.”
What’s wrong with looking and feeling like Nike? Simply put, you do not want your agency’s work to follow or emit a certain style. You do want the work to be consistently intelligent and flawlessly rendered. But style belongs to the client.
Maybe W+K is paying the price this time for putting their stamp on Levi’s. Luckily, for the masters of The Pearl, the price isn’t too high, as Levi’s is not a big spender on advertising.
It occurs to me to ask why an agency develops a style in the first place, and how to best guard against it.
We can start by understanding that the people who make award-winning TV commercials are part of a very small circle. In reality, it’s a cozy little club that meets once a year in Cannes. Win a Lion, work in Portland. The catch to this creative elite-only routine is obvious enough; insular recruiting leads to “same think” and “same think” begets an agency style.
Maybe this is the takeaway for all of us: Disrupt thyself to save thyself. Even if you already rule.
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May
24
Halls Unceremoniously Dumps JWT for Younger, Prettier Agency Partner
Posted in: UncategorizedJWT was thrown under a bus this week by Halls, which Mondelez International (formerly known as Kraft Foods) counts as one of its “power brands,” thanks to a 24.7% share in the medicated confectionery category globally.
According to Ad Age, Mondelez shifted its global Halls creative business to Wieden & Kennedy, abruptly ending its four decade-long relationship with JWT.
For reference, here’s a Halls’ TV spot from JWT’s reel:
“A pep talk in every drop,” is a good line. It may even be a great line. But we all know it takes more than a great line to sustain a client’s interest, trust and business, day-to-day, much less decade-to-decade.
Ad Age also notes that earlier this year, W&K was handed Trident’s U.S. business just 18 months after Saatchi & Saatchi had won it. W&K also has the marketer’s Stride gum brand. Halls, Trident and Stride are similar, reasons Ad Age, because they are typically sold at the front of stores and rely on impulse purchases.
One thing is for sure, W&K isn’t shy about going after packaged goods brands these days. Given how shoddy much of the work in the CPG category has been over the years, I’d say this is a positive development, creatively speaking.
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