INTEGRATED: REVIEW (IN ASSOCIATION WITH ROYAL MAIL)

It’s hard to control the first point of contact a consumer has with a

brand (be it a TV ad, direct mail or word of mouth) so it’s vital that

the brand has the right conversation at the right time with the right

person. Brands shouldn’t be schizoid, wooing you one minute with a TV

commercial then bludgeoning you the next with mail.

Orange has spent millions on its brand positioning, so doubtless

awareness is high. Its identity, typographic style and tone of voice in

press and TV have been very consistent.

The ‘free yourself’ mailing seems to continue the story - but

unfortunately, as soon as you get into the envelope a sledgehammer takes

over from the rapier and I feel as if I’m being bribed and forced to act

- it’s a bit hard sell. Free car phone (if I buy a Nokia Orange before 4

August). Free Talk for one month (if I subscribe to Talk 60 before 4

August). What if I want to subscribe to Talk 15 or Talk 360?

I don’t seem to be in control of the relationship and consequently it’s

put me off.

I’ve just taken delivery of three tons of pea shingle and spent most of

the weekend spreading it on my drive. I’ve now got the biggest litter

tray in the world - so cats are not my favourite subject. But an

intriguing mailer for Spillers Purrfect, with the envelope representing

the reassuring ‘purr’ you get from a cat, will score highly with its

target audience. I immediately get to the point of the purrfect

promotion - to find the ‘purring’ can and the chance to win a holiday

(or runner-up prizes of catfood). Everyone is also guaranteed a pounds

100 travel voucher for every ten labels collected.

The ‘guide to purring’ leaflet, cat plate offer and questionnaire all

help develop the relationship with Purrfect at the recipient’s pace. All

in all, a purrfect piece - it seems a shame to go on holiday and leave

the moggy behind.

The current ‘no nonsense’ TV campaign for John Smith’s, with Jack Dee

walking through speeding cars, stepping off girders and strolling out of

a penguin’s mouth while being reassured that adland is not making the

ads ‘more exciting’ and that someone will ‘put the pub background in

afterwards’, is a stroke of genius. It’s a shame that the same finesse

and production values have not been transferred to the point-of-sale

material (it may be a budget thing). Also, the ‘no nonsense’ metal logo

on TV has been reduced to a red rubber stamp. Why?

The Channel 5 campaign is all about getting ready for the launch of

Channel 5. It’s bright, it’s got street cred (‘Give me 5’) but,

unfortunately, it’s very confusing. Apparently, people need to have

their video recorders retuned before they can receive Channel 5 (it

seems some areas of the country won’t be able to receive the channel

anyway).

I want to know what will be on Channel 5 TV, but, because it doesn’t

want its competitors to know what it is planning, it can’t tell me

either. Well, I still want to know. When I rang the number on the ads I

got an automated system. When I rang another number, the switchboard

didn’t open until 8am. It’s hard to find out what’s going on. And, if

all its communications are so bright, why are the retuners kitted out in

dark blue? Bring back the test-card tuners.

To cut a long story short, I’ve rented TVs and video recorders from

Granada for years and I’ve got a nice letter from my local contact

saying they’ll retune my video recorder whenever I want, no rush...

Golden Wonder Wotsits’ ‘free footy’ strikers promotion is aimed at

eight- to 11-year-olds and uses Alan Ball’s and Alex Ferguson’s voices

dubbed over two lads imitating football managers haggling over a

‘transfer deal’ in the school changing room - Bergkamp and Gazza for

Giggs.

Alex relents and lets Giggsy go (then reveals he has another three up

his sleeve). The casting is superb and this will appeal to parents and

kids alike. The support material of footy file and a collector’s album

gives youngsters lots to do and have fun with.

Just one small gripe - the art direction of these items is a bit

laboured and doesn’t have the charm of the TV ads.

Mike Cavers is the creative director of Limbo

ORANGE

Agencies: WWAV Rapp Collins, WCRS

Client: Orange

Objective: Fulfil all enquiries generated by the above-the-line

advertising

Account handling: Angus Wrixon, Nish Lad (Rapp Collins), Will Harris

(WCRVS)

Copywriters: Claire Huddart (Rapp Collins), Larry Barker (WCRS)

Art directors: Lynne Casey(Rapp Collins), Rooney Carruthers (WCRS)

SPILLERS PETFOODS

Agency: Geronimo

Client: Spillers Petfoods

Objective: Build Purrfect into a brand that will appeal to cat owners

who are particularly close to their cats

Account handling: Sharron Stayt

Copywriter: Rufus Yells

Creative director: Julian Dodds

JOHN SMITH’S

Agency: GGT

Client: Scottish Courage

Objective: Extend the John Smith’s ‘no nonsense’ message into pubs

Account handling: Keir Cooper, Helen Skates, Vanessa Gibbin

Creatives: Jack Dee, Robert Saville, Jay Pond-Jones, Steven Williams,

Simon Hardy

CHANNEL 5

Agencies: Wolff Olins, Saatchi and Saatchi

Client: Channel 5

Objective: Generate a positive anticipation for Channel 5 and make

retuning easy to understand

Account handling: Jeanie Bergin (Wolff Olins)

Copywriters: Jeanie Bergin (Wolff Olins), Peter Wallach (Saatchi and

Saatchi)

Art directors: Doug Hamilton, Robbie Laughton (Wolff Olins), Nick Dark

(Saatchi and Saatchi)

GOLDEN WONDER

Agencies:Logistix, Bartle Bogle Hegarty

Client: Golden Wonder

Objective: Increase volume and brand share with the hottest promotion in

the playground this term

Account handling: Liz Taylor, Liz King (Logistix), Gwyn Jones (BBH)

Copywriters: Ian Madeley (Logistix), David Bryant (BBH)

Art directors: Rod Burton (Logistic), Mark Hurst (BBH)

This article was first published on Campaign