Hasta La Creative!

LONDON – Warner Brothers, Match.com, Activision, Renault and Nissan will be the first advertisers to show pre-roll ads on YouTube.

Advertising Agency: DDB, Stockholm, Sweden
Art Director: Fredrik Simonsson
Copywriter: Magnus Jakobsson
Production: Daniel Liljas

LONDON – The National Blood Service, part of NHS Blood & Transplant, is looking for an agency to handle its direct marketing account.

LONDON – Adam & Eve has been hired by the Williams Formula One team to handle communications, brand consultancy and marketing duties.

LONDON – Even adland’s top creatives are happy to act silly for a good cause.

From a small island with a population of only four million, comes arguably the greatest rugby team of all time, the New Zealand All Blacks who have a formidable power to enchant fans worldwide. This year, adidas and 180 Amsterdam have created INSIDE THE BLACK JERSEY, a five-part series that takes you right inside the All Blacks’ private circle.
Instead of focusing on the usual hysteria surrounding the team, this campaign follows them intensely during
their Grand Slam tour and shows an intimate portrait of what it is really like to be on tour with the world’s
greatest rugby team.

Credits:
Inside the Black Jersey
adidas Rugby
ALL BLACKS
This initiative was produced utilizing 180’s production unit U-Turn and 180’s recently founded digital group RIOT.

adidas International: Client
Nicholas Drake: Global Head of Rugby and Cricket
Marine Dussere: Sports Marketing Manager
Jo Vegar: Junior Sports Marketing Manager
Justin Acuff Digital Concept Manager – Sports Performance
180 Amsterdam (180\TBWA): Advertising Agency
Andy Fackrell: Executive Creative Director
Richard Bullock: Executive Creative Director
Stacey Lee: Creative / Writer
Claire Finn: Producer
Lauren Andrews: Account Team
Sam Dempsey: Account Team
Martin Palamarz: Account Team
Jens Jacobsen Jensen: Production Legal
Kindra Schoemaker: Production Legal
U-Turn: Content Production Production Company
Editoral Company: Post Production Company
Stacey Lee: Director
Helena Brooks: Director
Helena Brooks: DOP
Claire Finn: Executive / Line Producer
James McLeod: Editor
Lucy Salter: Post Production Producer
Stacey Lee: Camera
Helena Brooks: Camera
Mark Weakley: Second Camera
Katie Pow: Titles
Kaiser Sound Studios: Sound Mixer / Sound Recording Studio
Original Score by King Kapisi
Teremoana Rapley: Publicity & Business Development
Jessica Hartley
Cedric Gairard
Starring The Legendary NZ All Blacks and their support crew

One month ago, I posted a column regarding Microsoft finally taking a crack at Apple (after two years) in the “I’m a PC, I’m a Mac” war waging on TV. I did take some comments from Apple users regarding how “stupid” PC users were, which is to be expected. I suppose it either shows fierce brand loyalty, or that Apple owners need to take some time off.

The agencies for which I have worked used both…a testament to the strengths of each platform. I do applaud Apple for putting the smackdown on Microsoft regarding customer service. If you’ve ever had the misfortune of trying to get anything out of Microsoft that is not available on their web site, good friggin’ luck. There are a billion steps to go through, and no easy way to do it. In fact, even if you do get through, the answer is usually not the one that fixes the problem. Such is the empire of Darth Gates.

Microsoft didn’t make much of an effort to fight against Apple’s Get a Mac campaign when it launched 2006. Finally in 2008, Microsoft announced a $300 million ad campaign to fire back. The company’s first few bullets shot at Apple appeared ineffective, beginning with some quirky commercials starring Jerry Seinfeld and Bill Gates, followed by a friendly campaign called “I’m a PC.” Microsoft’s latest Laptop Hunter commercials are the fiercest yet, delivering sarcastic lines such as “I guess I’m not cool enough to be a Mac user” that appear to be echoing in the chambers of consumers’ brains.

Wired reports that Microsoft’s “Laptop Hunters” spots are, indeed, hurting Apple.

Based on the chart for A18-34, Apple clearly dominated the race until late March when Microsoft started trending up. However, this information needs to be taken with a grain of salt as it merely shows the “Value” perception of PC’s being higher. Apple still leads on quality and reputation. Microsoft also overtook Apple in “Satisfaction” and “Willingness to Recommend.” Other than that, the needle did not significantly change. Yet, it’s still a bruised Apple.

The best thing to come out of this “war” is that it clearly illustrates that advertising does, indeed, change perception. (Whew!)

Jeff Louis: Strategic Media Planner, Project Manager, and New Business Account Coordinator. His passion is writing. If you would like to get in touch with Jeff, please leave a reply or follow the links: www.linkedin.com or www.twitter.com.

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