DDB’s Post

If you know me well enough, I'm sure you would agree that I have a twisted sense of humour, be it dad jokes of the standard variety to dark comedy 😬 This means I appreciate good humour in all forms and respond to it very positively. Having said that, I’ve never pondered upon the impact of humour on the effectiveness of the campaigns that we do up until yesterday. Of course it goes without saying that humour is not for everyone, but why not embrace it more often especially when statistics have shown a positive correlation between humour and business results for brands? Here are some interesting insights on humour, sourced from Kantar's 2022 edition of "Who's Laughing Now" as presented by Mandie Van Der Merwe, CCO of Saatchi & Saatchi Australia at the 4A’s Sri Lanka Advertising Festival 🔵 90% of the respondents said that they are most likely to recall a funny ad 🔵 91% of those surveyed want brands to be funnier 🔵 80% say they are most likely to recommend a funny brand 🔵 72% say they would choose a humorous brand over competition 🔵 11+ pts increase on Kantar's Distinctiveness measure I think we could all do with a little more laughter in our lives, so as marketers why not bring it back to the work that we do? 😊 #marketing #humour #4aaf

Save the date for this upcoming panel conversation with Havas Media Network North America CEO Greg James and Havas New York CEO Sarah Collinson! As consumer attention grows increasingly elusive, how can brands navigate through a sea of distractions to genuinely engage with their audience? Register below: #CannesLions2024 #HavasAtCannes

Matchweek 4, advertising league. A sunny Thursday turned footy fantastico. Here's how it went. The highlights 📸 VML v McCann Worldgroup Whistle blows, game on. A slightly slow start to the match saw equal blows for both sides, however McCann began to dominate. Milo and Alex lead the charge with some great two piece passes. VML didn’t have an answer - McCann lead by two at the break. As we progress into the second half, it begins to feel a bit like de ja vu. More goals from Luke keep VML pinned 📌 Luke and Timothy battle desperately to respond but every goal is answered with two from McCann. Final Whistle. McCann takes the points 3️⃣ POTM: Alex Passingham Platform Media v Ogilvy Ogilvy looking to bag their 3rd win in 4, platform needed the win to stay afloat. Instant action as Bill scores just 5 seconds into the game with a second followed closely from Mark Upton. Ogilvy? Rattled? Never. Quick response from Kieran settles the nerves and the reds are back in form. Mark cannot be tamed,  With support from his co-star Alfie, the chances keep on coming. His strikes were unstoppable. The sound of his shots still ringing around the cages of Shoreditch. However dream link up between Luke and Owen and some great pressing at the back from Raffaele keeps Ogilvy firmly in the driver's seat. Half time whistle blows, Ogilvy are leading. Kelsall became the target for Platform as it looked like they were out to end his career with back to back fouls. Should’ve known better - back up on his feet, Josh bags two more 💪 Another SECTA classic, just shy of 30 goals - ultimately Ogilvy bagged some very well deserved points. VCCP and WAS are gifted 3 points and 5 goals due to no shows from Momentum and Saatchi. At least Saatchi wern’t late this week 👀 POTM: Josh Kelsall That’s all she wrote. VML 4 - 9 McCann Worldgroup VCCP 5 - 0 Momentum Worldwide Platform Media 11 - 16 Ogilvy We Are Social 5 - 0 Saatchi & Saatchi Want to play football with your company? Get in touch to take part in our leagues. Until next time, SECTA. #football #london #advertising 

British Airways going against grain to restablish and breakthrough! Delivering precisely what you want from an OOH campaign, where you have 1-2 seconds to attract viewers' attention. Evoke emotion, establish the brand, and resonate with the audience! It accomplishes precisely that. Every viewer's mind drifts to a past or future holiday, sparking excitement; sandy toes, Pina Colada’s on the beach - my emotions! Now, everyone knows who BA is, granting them creative freedom similar to Coca-Cola, McDonald's, Heinz, etc., enabling them to execute an ad like this successfully. However, as BIC, OOH needs to be simple, easy to digest, and consistently achieve the campaign's objectives. Personally I love this ad - it sparked my emotions straight away! What do you think? #campaigns #ooh #britishairways

Long-term brands and agency relationships WORK BETTER.

🔎 It’s no mystery on who kept us in suspense this Christmas… Waitrose & Partners' 'Sweet Suspicion' campaign broke the mould with its short series of secrets, suspicion, and... pudding!   With a star-studded line-up led by Detective David (aka Succession legend Matthew Macfadyen), the brand used a suspenseful cliffhanger to reveal the mystery behind who stole the delicious Red Velvet Bauble Dessert.   Viewers eagerly waited for part two to uncover the ‘whodunnit’ mystery, following festive clues scattered across out-of-home, and digital ads featuring the Line of Duty cast 🥸 This ad series was loved by us here at Kantar, a personal favourite for many, but what did consumers think? Our data found that 84% of consumers were happy with the final announcement of the pudding thief, and 90% felt the campaign fit together very or quite well.   👇 Follow along below for the campaign's LINK+ scores on the doors... Saatchi & Saatchi UK More than just ad testing. Expertise you can trust from the industry's most connected view of campaign effectiveness. Kantar Marketplace: insights at the speed of business for year-round success. #KantarChristmasAds #ChristmasAds #Advertising #KantarMarketplace

Using a celebrity personality in branding can be highly effective. I assume that was the focus for NBC when they included Snoop Dogg as an announcer for the opening of the The Olympics 2024 in Paris. Snoop has had great success over the years and has reached a broader audience through collaborations with Martha Stewart and more recently Solo Brands and others. Celebrity endorsements can provide value - broaden appeal, enhance image, drive engagement, etc etc etc. But, when is leveraging celebrity endorsements not the best strategy? For brands with a strong identity and core values, standing on their own can reinforce authenticity and trust. For value-oriented brands, like those promising affordability, spending heavily on celebrity endorsements can contradict their message. Sometimes, focusing on your unique selling points, innovation, and values rather than relying on high-profile endorsements can be a better approach. Authenticity and genuine customer connections drives loyalty! Ultimately, the best strategy depends on the brand’s unique positioning, target audience, and marketing goals. What is your approach to effectively communicate your brand message? #MarketingStrategy #BrandIdentity #Authenticity #CelebrityEndorsements #CustomerLoyalty #ValueProposition #Branding #RetailInsights

🧠 OOH is an industry full of bright and creative people. 🧠 👉 One of them is Laura Principessa, Investment Manager at Initiative. In the latest article of our #TheFacesBehindOOH series, Laura spills the beans: 🗯 What inspired her to enter the advertising industry. ❤️ What she loves about working in media.  👌 Her favourite OOH campaign. Read all this and more in the blog post below. 👇 

Why did this unknown grandma appear everywhere in the Madrid subway? Campaign of the Week #9: Meet Marina Prieto / JCDecaux / DAVID Madrid / Spain Everyone in Madrid had the same question: Who is Marina Prieto? In 2023 subway ad investment went down by 7%. JC Deacaux is the biggest outdoor ad company. They wanted to prove that subway ads work. So they put up social media posts of an unknown 100-year-old lady all over Madrid's subway stations. She only had 28 followers and now has 10K! The bookings for JCDecaux reached an all time high, doubling their business. “Nowadays, anyone can become an influencer, but not everyone is capable of transmitting a substantial and inspiring message to society. We wanted to demonstrate the potential and effectiveness of outdoor media through transformative action, and when DAVID discovered Marina, it was immediately clear to us that she was a voice worth amplifying,” said Ricardo Pérez Valcárcel, Marketing Director at JCDecaux España. #advertising #marketing #creative #strategy #awareness #outdooradvertising #ooh #advertisingandmarketing #brands

Let's unpack this "18-month long pitch" (there's almost no one that should be celebrating). Lego's Marketing Team cannot make a decision and clearly is horribly aligned internally. There is no reason why it should take this long to select a media agency. Especially when so much of the budget is digital (~75%). My guess is the regions couldn't agree, the CMO couldn't pull them together and the CEO should be wildly concerned about how much time and money was wasted on this review. Publicis probably gave away the farm to win this. An 18-month pitch is not a battle of titans trying to edge each other, like the famous 11 hour Isner/Mahut Wimbledon Match. This is likely painful negotiations both internally at Lego and with Publicis/the other agency participants. It also sets a horrible precedent for future reviews and agency employees should be concerned. Also don't forget, the best of the best get staffed on these reviews... participating in a pitch like this risks your best talent. Every Publicis client should be concerned. Since Publicis likely gave away the farm to win, they are going to look for it somewhere else. Every client of the losing agencies should be concerned. They spent millions in aggregate to pitch this, they are going to look for it somewhere else. Lego's HR team should be concerned. Their new office in Boston is attracting quite a bit of interest from talent. If it takes this long to make a decision, it's going to be a concern for new applicants. This kind of pitch process is a big part of what is destroying the ad agency model. These Lego clients should be ashamed of themselves and the rest of the ad community should hold them to task. There is only one winner... the pitch consultant. And they should be grateful they are not listed in this press release. No brand client should ever hire them again. (and if you're curious... I've won pitches this big on the agency, held reviews this size as a client, and managed some as a consultant.) #adagency #mediaagency #RFP #Lego