Sunday, September 30, 2007

Genre-Bender

Every ad needs a twist. Something unexpected to hook the audience's attention or memory. Like a joke, this usually takes the form of a surprise at the end.

My favourite twists come from swapping moods. For instance, you set the stage for horror, and then deliver comedy. Or even more harrowing: you do the opposite.

Scandinavians do this very well...which is probably why I work so well with Swedes and Norwegians.

Here are a few examples:

This one reminds me of those train safety videos they made us watch as kids.



Here's a nature documentary on the world's hungriest animal.



A good twist on 'reasons to give'.

Thursday, September 27, 2007

English Copywriter Pick of the Week

Some excellent Amnesty ads brought to my attention by my friend Brian.

The tagline is: It's not happening here but it is happening




Vancouver Transit Advertising

My friend Jon just informed me that the blog I made for him almost a year ago: Vancouver Transit Advertising is still on the first page of a google.ca search, even though he has hardly done any maintenance.

And the calls are coming in.

In my experiments with SEO copywriting over the last few years I have been able to pick and choose which words I want to shoot to the top of Google and keep them there.

I do this the hard way: through blogs. But so far, I’ve been on a roll.

Of the six blogs I’ve made, they are all doing well:

Freelance English Copywriter - #1 worldwide, with four links on the first page

English Copywriter - #1 worldwide, and four links on the first page

Sustainability Advertising (for Creative Wonders) - #1 worldwide, with four links on the first page

Copywriter in Asia - #1 worldwide, with three links on the first page

Vancouver Transit Advertising - #12 worldwide, #10 in Canada, with one link on the first page

Native English Teacher - #3 worldwide

The nice things about blogs, too, is you get shot up in the ratings for words you weren't even banking on.

For example, I am on the first page for SEO copywriting Hong Kong without even planning on it.

Is it just as simple as making a blog? Not exactly. But if you would like to know more, let me know.

Wednesday, September 26, 2007

Mid-Autumn Festival

Today is a family holiday for those in Hong Kong, much like Christmas is for us.

They get together with their loved ones and worship the moon. It's much cooler than putting out milk and cookies for a fat dude in a red suit when you think about it. They go to Victoria Park, sit under the big bright full moon with their lanterns and munch on, what else, but mooncakes.

Here in Hong Kong they don't have a 'man in the moon' but rather a 'woman in the moon'. According to Howard the story goes something along the lines of:

'There once was an Emperor that wanted to live forever, so he had a magical pill made that would give him immortality. One day, his wife came along and ate it on him, so she got to go up in the moon to live forever, and not him.'

I'm sure ther's more to it than that, but either way, Causeway Bay is nuts right now.The place was packed last night. It was like milling through a concert. With hour-long waits at the restaurants and traffic cops on every corner.

I am imagining today will be just as intense.

One of the drawbacks of being in a frantic industry like advertising, in a frantic country like Hong Kong, is that you need to work on the weekend sometimes, and your holidays as well. Ugh.

So, it's off to work I go.


Tuesday, September 25, 2007

Massive Media Buy

One of the nice things about working on big accounts is the amount of media you get.

Our Halloween stuff for Disneyland is everywhere right now. They bought the front and back cover of almost every metro newspaper and the TV buy is incredible. It’s a good campaign. I like it.

Friday, September 21, 2007

English Copywriter Pick of the Week

Two of my all-time favourites from way back.






Oh, I like this one too.

Advertising and Public Relations

Agencies always talk about seamless integration between their advertising and public relations. But it’s quite rare to actually see it in practice.

The new ebay campaign does it well.

The campaign is about all the gripes people have about Hong Kong, such as dripping air conditioners and how it is next to impossible to ride a bike around here, and stuff like that.

If you ask me there is too much of a disconnect between griping and buying something on ebay. But that’s not the point.

The point is, if you open HK Magazine, there is the ad about the bike lanes, and right next to it is an article in the paper about bikes.

It’s unobtrusive. It’s believable. It’s the perfect marriage of advertising and PR.

Why this doesn’t happen more often, I don’t know, but it sure is an effective way to drive home the message.

I think this eBay ad from New York is absolutely brilliant, it takes forever to load though.

eBay ad

Thursday, September 20, 2007

Gimme Gimme Shock Treatment

Naomi Klein is an interesting cat.

She wrote No Logo a few years ago, and it's some serious food for thought.

It's something that everyone in advertising should read.

Now she's onto the dangers of capitalism brought about by disaster and crisis. Hong Kong, being the freest market in the world, may find this thought-provoking.

Check it out

Shock Therapy

Tuesday, September 18, 2007

Put 'er There

It’s good to have a partner.

I have been a lone wolf most of my career, so it’s a nice change.

Working with Howard reminds me of when Kristian and I first started out with PDP in Australia.

We were constantly coming up with wild plans. In fact, we even had a notebook that we called the ‘Book of Schemes’ that we would break out whenever we were on a roll.

We documented everything. And as a result, we came up with some great ads.

Howard and I are on the same page, awards-wise. At this point in our careers, we need that zoo (filled with lions and pencils – for lions to draw with). Only with that zoo will other agencies take us seriously enough for us to do what we actually want to do.

We want to make earth-shaking work for a client big enough to have an earth-shaking budget and media buy.

We want to make stuff that will get seen. And to do that, we may have to start by doing stuff that is basically invisible to all but other creatives. So it goes in this crazy biz.

However, as Howard reminds me, like, every day, we are working on two of the biggest clients in Ogilvy, in Hong Kong, in Asia for that matter, with some top-notch CDs, ECDs and super-suits....so here goes...

Saturday, September 15, 2007

Honey, Quick, the Polaroid

Here are two campaigns that I think are fantastic.

They are both hinged on a fun, new big idea. They both have the potential for a lot of mileage. And both of them are ownable by their brand alone.

Doritos - these spots remind me of the Dead Kennedys.








Carlsberg - A fun, clever angle, that only they could pull off.



Hmm..I can't find the others, either way, you get the idea.

English Copywriter Pick of the Week

The music is what gets me on this one.


Friday, September 14, 2007

Tough Crowd

I’ve been in Hong Kong for a year now, so I’m pretty much used to the way Hong Kongers react to presentations. But if you are from the West, and it’s your first time pitching, it can be rather unnerving.

Hong Kongers show no reaction. After doing your song and dance, they will sit, without expression, and give a single head nod and an ‘mm.’

This could mean they like it, this could mean they don’t.

Who knows? Either way, it’s not easy.

Copywriting, English Copywriting and SEO Copywriting

A few people have been inquiring about the differences between copywriting, English copywriting and SEO Copywriting.

Copywriting is one part coming up with ideas, one part crafting the words for execution.

An English Copywriter both a copywriter and an editor. As an English copywriter in a foreign country, my greatest obstacle is to produce idea-driven work that transcends language barriers. An English copywriter needs to have solid ideas to be recognized on an international stage.

SEO Copywriting is an entirely different kettle of fish. As opposed to being idea-driven, SEO Copywriting is more about bringing a site to a higher ranking in the Google search engines. It requires craft, but also a working knowledge of how pages are ranked. But of course, solid ideas have never hurt anyone.

Quick quiz – what kind of writing is this?

Thursday, September 13, 2007

Trent Bright R.I.P.

Trent was a great friend and a noble, fun-loving and exceptional person. He will be missed.

Friday, September 7, 2007

English Copywriting in the Modern Age

I grew up in a town in the middle of nowhere. It's in the mountains of Canada, with a population of just over 4500 people. It's about 4 hours from Kelowna, where my friend is, so I'll pay my parents and brother a visit as well.

Even from there I can write, receive emails and fax comps to Howard and, hopefully, not even miss a beat while I'm away.

This is the joy of the modern age and the curse of the Hong Kong work ethic.

Thursday, September 6, 2007

Life’s Cruel Twists

Four of my friends back in Canada were in a serious car accident yesterday. One of them is now in a coma.

Maria and I have decided to go to see him. We will be back on Wednesday evening.

Tuesday, September 4, 2007

Initiative Comes to Those That Wait

I read a great quote the other day:

"A lot of people never use their initiative because no-one ever told them to."

With the plan still in check, despite the odd ramblings, I start each day coming up with initiative ideas with Howard.

Essentially, this means we think of ideas for our existing clients before they have a chance to ask.

It's only a matter of time now until something really resonates.

Mike or Michael?

One of the most frustrating things in the world is having two names in a foreign country. For some reason banks, landlords, customs officials, and just about everyone else refuses to acknowledge that these two names are the same.

This means I have this endless back and forth between all of my documents because they all say something different…ugh, so annoying. Okay, I’m done. Thanks for listening.

But word to the wise: change your name to something simple.

Monday, September 3, 2007

English Copywriter Pick of the Week

This is too good. They take stuff and put it in a blender to see if it gets destroyed or not.

Will It Blend?

And another fun ad.

Baskin Robbins - Peas