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Blog II: Electric Boogaloo

Keith McArthur, 05/07/06 at 6:02 PM EDT

Cannes is long finished so we've rebranded the blog as a more general discussion of marketing trends, ad campaigns and industry gossip.

I won't be posting to this site anymore, but you can read the new blog here.

If you've signed up for RSS feed, you'll need to to paste the new link in your RSS feeder.

Thanks for reading.

Keith

Tastes like Chicken

Keith McArthur, 04/07/06 at 5:26 PM EDT

I was sent this by accident by a PR flak trying to drum up some publicity for Canadian director Aleysa Young of Untitled.

I've not heard of the product and there's no media behind it yet, but it's an interesting campaign nonetheless.

Honk if You Are Not Happy

No free lunch at Cannes

Keith McArthur, 29/06/06 at 4:02 PM EDT

When you spend a week among the big and quirky personalities in the ad business -- as I did last week in Cannes -- you hear some good stories.

Here’s my favourite:

I’m told that on Thursday night, a dozen or so of Canada’s top creatives broke bread together at a restaurant outside of Cannes. Among those present were Alan Gee of GJP Advertising, Alan Russell, creative director at DDB Vancouver, Elspeth Lynn and Stephen Leps of Zig, Paul Lavoie, Zak Mroueh and Jane Hope of Taxi and Shawn King and Paul LeBlanc of Extreme Group. The night got off to a festive start when Alan Gee, partner and creative head at Toronto-based GJP Advertising, ordered a few bottles of fine champagne.

After more wine, fine food and good conversation, the bill landed with a thud. The $3,000 bill sat awkwardly for a few moments. Stephen Leps suggested that Zig could pick up the meal. Then Paul Lavoie -- the very tall, very bald Taxi founder -- took over. "I propose that we split this bill, three ways," Lavoie said slowly and authoritatively. "Between Taxi, Zig and GJP." Paul LeBlanc, the CEO of Halifax-based Extreme Group, felt slighted. Extreme Group is a strong regional shop eager to burst onto the national scene. "What about Extreme Group?" he offered a little too keenly. "And Extreme Group," Lavoie allowed.

The bill was split four ways. Playing with the big boys, it turns out, doesn’t come cheap.

Starkman may zag from Zig

Keith McArthur, 29/06/06 at 3:09 PM EDT

Headhunters will tell you that Aaron Starkman and Stephen Leps of Toronto-based Zig are the most sought-after creative team in the country.

But after turning down jobs around the world, Starkman is poised to accept an offer from Miami-based Crispin Porter Bogusky. Apparently the financial terms and title are still being negotiated, but the deal is close enough to reality that Zig has informed Molson -- Starkman's key client -- about the possibility of his departure.

Starkman and Leps, you will recall, became instant stars in the ad world two years ago when they won a gold Lion for their "Prison Visitor" spot for Unilever's Vim Cleanser with Bleach. The spot narrowly lost out on the 2004 Grand Prix.

Starkman declined to comment on the discussions with Crispin but Zig president Andy Macauley suggested there's about a 50 per cent chance Starkman will leave.

Because Zig and Crispin are both affiliated with Toronto-based MDC Partners, Macauley was kept in the loop throughout the discussions.

Taxi wins bronze, but not for Canada; Guinness takes Grand Prix

Keith McArthur, 24/06/06 at 4:48 PM EDT

It will be a long trip home for the Canadians.

I started writing about advertising and marketing just before the 2004 Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival. That year, 54 Canadian ads were shortlisted in the film (TV) category and Canada won eight medals including three golds. One of those golds – the Zig spot for Vim Cleanser with bleach – narrowly missed out on best-of-show honours.

It was a breakthrough year for Canada, everyone told me, and I couldn’t help but get caught up in the excitement.

Last year seemed like a poor showing by comparison: 44 on the shortlist, and three medals including one gold for Taxi's Viagra campaign.

But 2005 was nothing compared to the trainwreck I witnessed at tonight’s award ceremony. None of the 10 Canadian ads on the shortlist managed to pick up a medal. The closest Canada got was a bronze for Taxi’s New York office for a campaign for Amp’d mobile phone.

For the record, the Grand Prix went to the Guinness “Noitulove” spot. I’m featuring that ad in Tuesday’s “Hard Sell” feature, where you’ll be able to read about what the judges liked about the spot.

Canada's prospects improve ever so slightly

Keith McArthur, 24/06/06 at 5:57 AM EDT

A correction of sorts: There are 10 Canadian ads on the TV shortlist, not nine. The one that was missed is "Puck Dodging," a Nike spot by Taxi Advertising and Design. The spot was incorrectly listed on the shortlist as a U.S. commercial.

Ten of course is still a dreadful performance and well below the 44 spots that were on the list last year. But it's better than nine.

Taxi's New York office also has two spots on the shortlist: "bus" and "family function" for Amp'd Mobile.

Speaking of Canadian connections, Crispin Porter Bogusky has done very well at this year's festival, especially in the Internet category. The agency, which is 49% owned by Toronto-based MDC Partners, was named interactive agency of the year and took grand prix in the cyber category.

The Grand Prix debate

Keith McArthur, 23/06/06 at 2:49 PM EDT

We've been silenced.

Last year, journalists got to vote on the year's best TV ad for a special journalist's prize. I forgot to vote, and came to Cannes this year determined to exercise my democratic right. After sitting through the entire Clio shortlist last month in Miami, I felt that qualified enough to make an informed vote. I was going to make my mark.

But it turns out they've eliminated the award.

Before I tell you how I would have voted, let me talk about the five spots that most people see as the ones with a shot at the top prize.

  • "Big Ad" a Australian spot for Carlton Draught beer was the early favourite. The commercial is a parody of a big expensive ad, featuring a chorus of people in colourful dress who create a scene that -- from a bird's eye view -- looks like beer flowing into a mouth.
  • "Noitulove" a British ad for Guinness, which begins with three men drinking Guinness in a pub, then traces them back through their ancestors to show a prehistoric animal drinking swamp water. The message is that good things come to those who wait. (Spell Noitulove backwards to understand the spot's title.)
  • "Choir" or "Impossible Dream" a pair of ads for Honda. One spot shows a choir of men and women making eerily realistic sound effects to go along with the visuals of the cars getting rained upon, driving over cobblestone roads and blowing past leaves. The second shows a man traveling across New Zealand using a variety of vehicles, from race cars to motorbikes, that Honda has created over the years.
  • "Balls" a spot for Sony's Bravia TV, in which thousands of colourful balls tumble down the streets of San Francisco
I like the Guinness spot a lot, but would have given my vote to "Balls." It's the kind of visually beautiful commercial that's more like a film than an ad. But unlike many such spots, it has been credited with selling a huge number of televisions. When I first saw the spot at the Clios, I couldn't help but buy the suggestion that the colours on this TV were better than anything that had come before.

Check here tomorrow afternoon to find out what won the Grand Prix -- and if anything from Canada made the list.

Shortlist depresses Canadian contingent

Keith McArthur, 23/06/06 at 12:11 PM EDT

Canada’s poor showing on the TV shortlist was a major topic of discussion last night at the annual Thursday night Canada party here at Cannes.

Last year, Downtown Partners alone had 11 ads on the shortlist. This year, there was a grand total of nine spots from Canada, and no agency got more than one nomination. I'm told that's down from 44 on last year's shortlist and 54 the year before.

After a few beers, creatives were happy to gripe about the sorry state of Canadian TV ads. Some grumbled that marketers are importing too many ads from the U.S. and aren’t willing to take enough creative risks. Others said the embarrassing results have them fired up to go home and create the kind of work that will conquer Cannes next year.

How does Canada’s showing so far compare with other countries? With 14 medals and just nine commercials on the TV shortlist, we’re far behind industry heavyweights like the United States and England. Canada’s showing compares more with India’s. I know this because I just had a chat with an Indian reporter who was upset that her country has earned just 12 medals and has only five spots on the TV shortlist.

Later this weekend, I speak with Judy John, the lone Canadian judge on the TV jury. You will be able to listen to that interview in audio form at www.globeandmail.com/cannes.

That’s also where you can listen to several other feature interviews, including one with controversial adman Neil French. Eight months after controversial comments about women in advertising led to him leaving his job as worldwide creative director for WPP Group, French isn’t backing down.


Whistling means they hate you

Keith McArthur, 23/06/06 at 7:38 AM EDT

I love the whistling.

Since I'm here at the Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival and all, I figured I might as well catch an ad or two. I'm sitting in one of three theatres at the Palais de Festivals where the hundreds of TV and movie theatre ads that made the shortlist are screened throughout the day.

This is the smallest of the three theatres, but there must be 200 people watching and interacting with the ads. When they like something, they applaud. When they hate it, they whistle.

A few minutes ago, they showed an ad in which the very last moments of several Walt Disney films -- the part where the words 'the end' flash up on the screen -- were shown in quick succession. The kicker? This, we are told, is a reminder of what could happen when people download pirated movies.

Dozens of people immediately began whsitling -- a reprimand to the jury that put the spot on the shortlist.

I'm told that a couple of years ago, a spot from Asia was selected to win a gold Lion. When the ad was screened at the award ceremony, the theare erpupted into whistling from all corners. When the young woman behind the commercial walked up on stage for what should have been the highlight of her career, tears were pouring down her face.

Nine Canadian agencies on TV shortlist

Keith McArthur, 22/06/06 at 9:06 AM EDT

It was mayhem in the press room a few minutes ago as the shortlist for TV ads was handed out.

Here's what's in the running for Canada:

  • "Magic Sword," a Snickers ad by BBDO
  • "Son," a Volkswagen spot from Palm Communications
  • "Police," an ad for Sears Optical by LG2
  • "It's not a mistake," a Zig spot for Ikea
  • "Lion," a DDB ad for Royal Ontario Museum
  • "Sign Post," a Taxi ad for the World of Comedy Film Festival
  • "Punching In," a ACLC commercial for Paramount Canada's Wonderland
  • "R.A.T." an ad by Rethink for 1-800-GOT-JUNK
  • "Hand," a Scotiabank spot by Bensimon Byrne

Canadian agencies entered 194 ads into the film category.

NOTE: Due to an error on the shortlist, one Canadian spot was accidentally left off this list. It is "Puck Dodging," a Nike spot by Taxi Advertising and Design.

 

 

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