The first ad I watched involved a pub, a banjo and some reasonably robust Irish signing. No it wasn’t for Guinness or any other beverage that was trying to tempt us during the Christmas party season. Oh, no. The twist in this was that it included a canary that looked and sang like Ronnie Drew. The bird was reminiscing about the passing of his long lost Uncle Pat to carbon monoxide poisoning. Creative Bord Gáis Networks, now known as Gas Networks Ireland.
Maybe it is the time of year where people make life choices about starting the new year differently, as there was a general theme that emerged which can only be described as “screw it, I hate my job and I’m off to do urban knitting” (is there really such a thing) as suggested by 7Up, or the equally enticing red chair that was carted around Dublin by the Budweiser team where people were asked to give their own version of “screw it, I want a new job”. One guy in the ad says “I wanna be a dancer” but the reaction from his two mates suggests he should be thinking of something a little different.
And where would all of us marketers be if it wasn’t for the it’s-so-old-it’s-cool excuse for dusting off something that was made 20-odd years ago. Thanks Kelloggs Cornflakes, you are now a key foundation of my business cases with your ad. I can now legitimately tell my finance colleagues the cost of my new ads can be spread across the next ten years.
The famous face. Nothing like a glowing celebratory endorsement to drive up the interest levels and just make you want to drive your Astra (I like German too, Claudia) to the airport to fly Turkish airlines with Lionel Messi and that prima donna from Chelsea, to a hotel beside Lake Como where apparently George Clooney is such a nice guy he’ll give you his shoes for a Nespresso. On a sad reflection of my complete lack of French cinematic experience, I did not know the other guy who’s wearing Clooney’s shoes is also a famous French actor.
Other nuggets I learnt reviewing the reel? I never realised I looked like the Sudafed guy, nor that I had the B&Q in me to unleash in the first place, but I’ll give it a go… since you ask.
Gary Disley is marketing director at Eircom Business; contact him at gdisley@eircom.ie
