The Plot Thickens

I learned something rather interesting the other day.

Gavin, our ECD here at Ogilvy, was asking me about this little mission of mine.

When he enquired to what my first step was to be to win this lion, I told him that it was to submit my work from a good agency, in this case, Ogilvy and Mather Hong Kong. The idea was that work is judged by the agency first, or it at least had some sway with the judges’ opinion.

He was quick to inform me that when the judges receive ads, there is no information attached to them that links them to an agency.

The work must stand entirely on its own.

In other words, it is judged without bias, which I found somewhat surprising (although looking back on it, I’m not entirely sure why).

So. The next step is to make a formidable ad…and I have just the client in mind.

English Copywriter Pick of the Week

Advertising and Mind Manipulation

I have always had an enormous curiosity about advertising. I used to wonder what was the great formula that made it so effective. So I became a copywriter to find out for myself.

The other day an old friend asked me what I had learned.

I suppose it boils down to one question:

Q. Is advertising messing with my brain as much as I think it is?

A. Yes. But mostly no.

Advertising is like this: It is mostly business. So you have to cater to the whims of the clients who are paying for it in the first place. This means that powerful emotional sway is immediately at risk because the more people involved, the more likely it is to get watered down to bland, tepid familiarity. Just imagine how Shakespeare would have turned out with a dozen editors. That’s one of hundreds of obstacles as to why advertising is not as effective/dangerous/mind manipulating as one would think it actually is.

Here are some other reasons:

English copywriter link

However.

The ideas produced in agencies are done so by some of the smartest, most creative and most cunning people I have ever met. They have a strong idea of what makes people tick and how to move them. They are excellent salespeople and keen observers of human nature. Their ideas work. They are intuitive, yet logical, and artistic, but their ideas click with people through a combination of experience in identifying what will work, and a natural ability to use words/images/ideas in a way that has a resonating effect.

This includes everyone from the writers to the client by the way.

Basically, these are people who have put an enormous amount of thought into how ads work. They understand the process, and in turn, they have a talent for messing with your brain.

So there is no set formula, just a lot of gut instinct from a few people.

Of those few, there are hundreds of others with opinions. And everyone with an opinion also has a fingerprint that they want to put on someone else’s concept. Sometimes this helps the idea. Most often, it doesn’t.

Suffice to say. Advertising is persuasive. But only at its best. And only because of the talent usually found in the halls of the biggest shops. In the same way a great book can move you, or an incredible song – there are a few people out there that are artful at creating sway. But in advertising, there are a lot of people who think that they have this capacity, but they actually don’t. This is why there are so many casualties. And this is why there are so many terrible ads out there. One part is having the ‘touch’ and the rest is fighting to prove it. Those that make careers out of this game are either really talented, or really aggressive, or both.

The great ads are what clients pay the big money for. They pay the big money to big agencies because big agencies have the resources to hunt down the top talent. It’s like a sports team.

Everything else out there is pervasive media. A repetition effect. And this is just mindless plastering to foster familiarity. Of course repetition works. Of course repetition works. Of course repetition works. Familiarity works! But that’s only half the game.

Sophisticated brands demand more. And they pay more. And that is why creative agencies exist in the first place.

But who’s to say if you’ve got the touch or not? Only time and consistent good ideas/work will tell.

The Subliminal Effect of Advertising

Food for thought:

I'm Famous

Well, not really, but I have people contacting me from Singapore in regards to social media and PR in Asia.

Check it out here: English Copywriter link

Awards! Uh! What is it Good For?

I’ve had people inquire as to how I plan to document my steps to get into Cannes when you can’t really disclose anything along the way.

This is a problem, I admit, I’ll have to mull this one over a bit first.

Why would I want to win an award in the first place?

Let me tell you, it isn’t about money – which can be a driving factor.

It’s about license.

With some letters behind my name (as in agencies) and awards under my belt, I will have the credibility I need to put some of my theories into action without seeming completely like a mad scientist.

Excellent!

English Copywriter Pick of the Week

Disneyland Summer Blast TV Shoot

Visually delicious.

Anticipation

The TV ad we’ve been working on is now out. It’s my first big-budget TVC for a major client at a major agency.

With that stage complete, I’m onto the next phase.

I was up all night trying to figure out where to go from here.

I can really stretch out in a lot of different directions, but my plan now is to sink my teeth into three major clients’ projects and produce something award-worthy.

Anticipation. This is the key, I figure. I want to produce something that will be anticipated.

The Bar Has Been Set

The Cannes Lions 2007 winners are out.

Well, they’ve been out for a while, but anyway.

As usual there is some stuff out there that blows my mind, as well as some stuff that makes me just go, ehhh.

If you were to ask me, ads that present a unique product benefit, framed in an insight about our culture, or behavior are the most powerful ads.

Sometimes you see stuff that you think was just rehashed from a comedy club somewhere. It’s a funny observation, or idea, shoved into an ad format.

I don’t why these win awards.

You also see the rehashed strategies from the previous year. If the award went to a cool idea, then why award that same idea for a new execution?

Pssah.

Anyway, here are some of my favourites from this year.

In regards to highlighting a unique product benefit in an insightful way, nothing beats this Burger King ad: English copywriter link

However here are some great ones:

I love this one.



For dropped calls by Cingular. (I have yet to see a concept this parodied on Youtube).



Bahamavention is a brilliant concept.



The Altoid Fruit Pants ad wins for the so-bizarre-it's-good category.



And you've never seen anything like this:



I like ads that hit emotional chords as well. I really like this Nike spot, because it takes something as universally regarded as superficial and cheap as an interruptive advertisement and it marries it with a profound emotion…without crossing over into the realm of cheese through immaculate execution.

By focusing on the pain of defeat, this ad, I feel, has the most emotional, and thus the greatest connection to a brand of all this year’s winners.

There are other things to keep in mind. I have an attention span of four seconds. If it doesn’t engage me in that time, or hold my attention for that long after, I am changing the channel. Also, I’m seeking these ads out. If I don’t want to see them, they won’t work at all. This combines with the whole attention-grabbing-cut-though-the-clutter ideology as well.

Needless to say, this year had a few gems that reminds me why I get such a kick out of this industry, and why I work so hard at something that seems so ridiculous sometimes.

Advertising and the Elaboration Likelihood Model

My favourite communication theory (don’t we all have one?) is the Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM). I’ve been thinking about this one quite a lot lately.

The ELM dictates how information is stored in your brain.

In a nutshell, there are two types of memory (recollection and recall) that stem from two modes of persuasion (central and peripheral).

But before we get carried away, let’s talk about memory.

Recall is when you can regurgitate a piece of information off the top of your head, such as your phone number. Recollection is when you can’t remember something just then, but you ‘know it when you see it,’ such as your license plate number.

This is very important for advertisers to know.

What is more important, however, is how information gets to the ‘tip of your tongue’ vs. the ‘top of your mind’ in the first place.

This is where the ELM comes in.

Basically, it’s a very straightforward theory: the more you have the ability and desire to elaborate on something, the more likely you are to develop a lasting determination (either for or against the information presented, depending on how much you like it). In other words, if you take time with something, you will be more persuaded, for a longer period of time, because in essence, you are persuading yourself.

This is called central processing.

If information is thrown at you quickly and you only have a second to process it, you will make a determination on whether you like it, or believe it or not, based on an emotional response. This persuasion is ephemeral, that being, it doesn’t last too long or penetrate too deeply.

This is called peripheral processing.

Centrally processed information gets shuffled over into your recall part of the brain.

Peripherally processed information gets shuffled over into the recollection part of the brain.

In other words, if you want something to have a lasting recall effect – be logical, write a book (or blog). If you want to go for immediate response, pull at the heartstrings and write a fancy jingle.

English Copywriter Pick of the Week

This is fun.

Whiskas - Only cats can be cats

Five Reasons Why Your Business Could Use an Award-Winning Advertising Campaign

1. To make money

There is a direct correlation between good creative advertising and sales. It’s like a recipe. If you don’t believe me, check out the Gunn Report.

2. For the talk power

People talk about good ads. They bring them up in dinner conversations and on the bus. They email them to their friends. They become a part of our culture. The more people like the ad, the more free advertising you get, and the more you save on your media costs, the closer we get to point 1.

3. For the press

Awards get a lot of press. Full-page articles are written about good campaigns and great campaigns become the stuff of textbooks, annuals and magazines. Press beats advertising any day, mostly because it’s free. And the more you save, the closer we get to point 1.

4. For the bragging rights

That’s right, having a wicked ad campaign is cool. Your friends will think you are cool and even better, they’ll think your product is cool. The cooler people think your product is, the more they buy it, and the closer we get to point 1.

5. To get better staff

This works for advertising agencies and I’d bet good money that it works for outlets as well. People take pride in working somewhere that is cool. Just look at Diesel, or Nike, or Mini. An award-winning ad will bring you better staff. And the better, and happier, your staff, the more they sell and the closer we get to point 1.

One Dash of Insight, One Dollop of Luck

I’ve been keeping an eye on my Google ranking. Basically I want to do the same thing with this English copywriter blog as I did with my Freelance English Copywriter blog. That being, I want to get to the top. Oh yeah.

I’m at #60 now for English copywriter, but she’s slowly growing.

The major difference between the two was that my last one offered a step-by-step on how to get a job, while this one is more organic at the moment. I’ll need to figure a way around this, as it is awfully hard to wrangle opportunity and idea generation into measurable steps.

English Copywriter AKA Octopus

What does an English copywriter at an ad agency do anyway?

An English copywriter is an octopus.

There are always eight things on the go.

I break it down into the following:

1. Concepting – this is the stuff you are constantly switched on to do. To find the BIG IDEA, something you can hinge an entire campaign on. This is the most fun part of the job. It is also the most harrowing, as you can’t force an idea, you can only coax it out of its hole with promises of a better life and scraps of cheese and bread.

2. Headline writing – as an English copywriter you have to write copy for your ads, obviously, but as the English copywriter, you also need to help write copy other people’s ads as well. That’s a part of the job.

3. Body copy – there are always articles, press releases, brochures, direct mail pieces, websites, etc. All the below-the-line stuff. As an English copywriter, this is also a part of what I do.

4. Drawing – you need to be able to draw to get your ideas across. I’m not much of an illustrator, but I had to learn the basics to convey an idea.

5. Polishing – This is where you take something that is already written and smooth it out to sound a bit nicer. At Ogilvy the standard of English is very high, so it’s no problem.

6. Proofreading – this is going through every word with a fine-tooth comb to check everything from spelling, to commas, to kerning.

7. Transcreating – this is similar to polishing, but you need to add your own flair. Basically this is a back-translation from a pre-existing ad. Back-translations can sound a bit strange sometimes, so you need to inject the idioms and colloquial nature of English into the pre-existing idea.

8. Sales – advertising, bottom line, is about selling things. So you need strong salespeople all along the line. So when I come up with an idea, I need to sell it. First to the creative directors, then to the accounts and strategy folk, and then the client. If you can’t sell things in this game, you are in trouble.

That said, how do I like being an octopus writer? I like it. It suits me just fine.

English Copywriter Pick of the Week - Take Two

Stop press.

For I hadn't found this yet.

This truly is the best thing related to advertising this week.

Armwrestle the Most Interesting Man in the World

English Copywriter Pick of the Week

English Copywriter in Hong Kong

Here's my latest listing in the Hong Kong, China Copywriter, Copy Writer Directory

Why Strive for Awards?

Advertising isn’t like any other industry.

Awards in most jobs are few and far between, and when they are granted, they are rare, momentous things.

In advertising they are milestones.

In my years of writing I have had a grand total of 3 emails from clients saying how they liked my copy or ideas.

I imagine it is a lot like being a locksmith, or a chimneysweep, or a dentist.

You are invisible and forgotten unless something is wrong. And you almost never get praised for a job well done.

That is the hardest part about being a copywriter actually, the persistent negativity.

It is one of the most ironic things about advertising. Here is an industry filled with all these happy, fun and youthful people sparking up happy, fun and youthful ideas all day long - only to have them systematically destroyed.

You need really thick skin to do this job.

So how do you keep yourself from going mad? You strive for award-quality work, constantly.

Mind you, very few of these award-worthy ideas ever get published.

I’ve seen this in every agency I’ve worked at. I’ve seen some brilliant ideas, but they just weren’t right, just then, for that particular client, or brief.

They end up the Idea Graveyard, to hopefully be exhumed one day for another shot in this life.

So don’t get me wrong, when I say I’m shooting for a Lion, it isn’t like I’m downplaying the significance of it all.

Quite the opposite.

I think it’s the most worthwhile pursuit of my career at this moment.

The Plan

It may seem something of an audacious goal, to rush out and win a coveted Cannes Lion juslikedat.

For one, you need a brilliant, yet simple idea. For two, you need to know a little about the politics of such things. And for three, you need a name for yourself to merit that second look.

Right now, all I’ve got is the name of my ad – ‘Uno Violet’. Hmm.

So I have my work cut out for me. To get started, I’ve made the barest skeleton of a plan.

There are six ways I can go about this:

1. I can make an ad about something like glue, or quick dry paint, or a yoga store, and run into a MTR station late at night, stick it on the wall, photograph it and submit it as an ad that ran. Even though the ‘client’ has never seen it.

2. I can make an ad about something like a steakhouse, or a chip shop, or a tattoo parlor, find the client and sell it to them, so they run it on their own. This is what Kristian and I did in Australia with Jox and Sox. (I'll post it again here because I still get a kick out of it).

3. I can come up with a simple-to-execute ambient idea for a client currently at Ogilvy and run it through them.

4. I can come up with a great one-off for a client here at Ogilvy that they would be happy to run at least once.

5. I can come up with a brilliant ad that the client loves, the consumer loves, hell, everyone loves it, and have it run constantly.

6. Same thing as five, but as a campaign.



Of course #6 would be ideal, but at this juncture, I’ll keep all my options open.