Hasta La Creative!

Step aside, cupcake fad. Little Debbie wants muffins to be the cool new snack.

At the office, the other creatives and I were working on some concepts for a potential client, bouncing witty to wacky ideas around when someone rained on the parade with “let’s be sure not to get too smart or clever for the general public,” and then sighs and “aww man”s filled the office because we all knew the glum-chum was right. There, the creative juices no longer flowed but leaked, the witty banter withered, and the beautiful minds were bound.

But, I ask you, where is the bar set when it comes to the general public’s “clever threshold”? When is clever too clever? How much wit can a creative expend before going over the heads of said general public? And who constitutes the “general public”? So that you have a better idea of where I’m coming from, we were working on  an online video for a workout product. Should we run with stereotypes and assume our target audience is nothing more than meatheads whose I.Q. is far less than the dumbbells he curls? Or the ditzy blondes who wear open toe shoes so they can count up to 20?

That seems rather unfair. I’ve met individuals who are plenty smart and capable of bench-pressing me for a warm up as well as individuals who’ll count my fingers when the weather’s cold. A tricky game this advertising business is. Here are a few demonstrations of clever advertising that the “general public” may have missed:

Did you get them all? Are you an advertising maven? On a scale of 1-100 where does the “general public’s” “clever threshold” rank? I’m just full of questions in this post, so maybe I’m just not as smart as I think I am. Damn it, what’s my clever threshold?

Tommy Liu, the man, the legend (to be) wields his pen of creativity against the injustice of mediocriety plaguing the world as the Creative Officer at Supercool Creative where he also manages the blog. Click here to view some of his battles (he doesn’t always win).

LONDON – The hunt is on for a media agency to handle the consolidated £5m media business for Help the Aged and Age Concern, following the official merger of the two charities in April.

LONDON – Rangers and Celtic football clubs are in talks to acquire the live UK rights to air Scottish Premier League football, although the league insists such discussions are not taking place.

LONDON – ITV has signed a two-year deal with Littlewoods through which the retailer will sponsor one of its flagship TV soaps, Emmerdale.

LONDON – The Financial Times today announced the launch of its iPhone application, which will be a free download initially for UK users, funded by its advertising partner Siemens.

LONDON – BBC Worldwide, the commercial arm of the BBC, posted a 12.8% decline in pre-tax profits to £102.6m in the 12 months to 31 March 2009, although revenue passed the £1bn barrier for the first time.

LONDON – Clothing retailer H&M has secured an alliance with Clear Channel to ensure maximum impact for its outdoor spend.

I like hot leads and I cannot lie!

Advertising Agency: Saatchi & Saatchi, Cape Town / Geneva
Executive Creative Director: John Pallant
Creative Director: Anton Crone
Art Director: Larissa Elliott
Copywriter: Alice Gnodde
Illustrator: Am I Collective
Photographer: Jillian Lochner
Published: April 2009