Topping the charts again!

This may give you a slight sense of déjà vu, but no, we're not repeating old news! Very.co.uk have made it to the top of the Marketing magazine chart of the 'Top Ten Ads of the Week" for ads with the highest recall by viewers this week.

This comes only two weeks after two of our Shop Direct brands occupied the top two spots in the same  chart. With Very taking the top spot, and Littlewoods still sitting pretty at number 4 we're the only fashion retail brands in the top 10 and show that our ads resonate well amongst their audience.

Here's to more Very stylish ads to come!

PEGGY TAKE A BOW

What better way to reward the nations favourite landlady than with a nod of recognition from Strongbow. For all her hard working graft behind the bar at The Queen Vic and pulling through in countless family trials and tribulations, we think she has definitely earned her bowtime! We will all be tuned in tonight for her final departure...

Jo

one for the litter tray...

You cannot escape the myriad of World Cup campaigns out at the moment...one that put a big smile on our faces was the tactical print ad for Felix Cat food.

They have sweetly replaced the iconic three lions with, well, Felix the cat, a true ambassador of English football...or not.



Which World Cup ads have caught your eye??

Cx

G20 brand stuff

I am looking out for any other brand activity around the G20. The only other thing I have seen besides our Eggapolitician game for Divine is the Schweppes campaign. It certainly stopped me in my tracks when I saw it in the papers. Not your usual drinks ad. Anyone spotted anything else?

A little known band

Although it's not 100% functional yet, I thought I'd share with you with my brief foray into web design.
www.lunariot.com
(In view of the current economical climate it may be of interest that to date I've spent £100 in total on getting it to it's current state.)
Any feedback is more than welcome, as long as it's primary function is telling us how great we are.
you may also be interested to hear that we'll be performing this Friday at 8pm at the Monto Water Rats Theatre. All welcome.

Simon

ps, many thanks to my secret Santa for the Rock Bible!

Magic more good than bad according to top blogger

Seems Russell Davies enjoys his Magic FM. That brands credibility just grows and grows. Also worth checking out Daytum, a place where you can measure your life.

Microsoft embracing social networking

Microsoft has announced the introduction of a new version of its Windows Live software, offering similar features to social networking sites such as Facebook.

Microsoft said the new software will offer greater integration, as email, instant messaging and photos will be collated together on one page.

The most notable difference, however, is the new software's ability to show updates from other social networking sites, allowing users to aggregate information from the various sites they may have accounts with.

The news follows research by e-Dialog that showed 19 per cent of 18 to 24-year-olds cite their social networking email as their primary account, with the same number preferring marketing messages to be targeted there.

The new Windows Live Services is due to be rolled out in the US over the coming weeks, before being made available worldwide early next year.
Nimi

Gates and Seinfeld Ad

what do you all think?

Phil

The new old monster munch are back

Apparently as a result of conversations going on online by crisp lovers, monster munch have re-introduced their old style packets and reverted to the larger crisp that we all apparently used to know and love. Another perfect example of the power of consumer conversation...

Tim R

Somers Town

Interesting article about this new Shane Meadows film. You may know some of the local haunts featured, but what not many people know, is that it's been funded by Eurostar...look out for the subtle (and apparently some not so subtle) signs throughout.

Click on the title to link to the article.

Liz

Postconsumerism 2

What kind of tipping point will 2008 be?

With the seismic shifts of the credit crunch and escalating oil prices hitting us just as public concerns for the environment reach an all time high, 2008 is beginning to be seen as a crunch year heralding in fundamental social changes. I was wondering if 2008 will have anything in common with earlier tipping point years and what we should do in response.

Will 2008 be 1929 again? The Wall Street crash was the most devastating economic crisis in the history of the US, triggering the Great Depression, mass unemployment and a decade of decline across the world’s industrial nations. If this is what we’re in for get your cash out of the banks before they collapse.

Will 2008 be ’45 again? Britain came out the war on the winning side but skint. A decade of austerity followed. People grew their food, made do with what they had and wasted nothing. We came out of it with the Welfare State. Get your name down for an allotment.

Will 2008 be ’73 again? The OPEC oil crisis led to increasing price of petrol and the (temporary) end of the big American car. In Britain, escalating cost of living intensified industrial strife over the following decade. Power cuts, strikes and 3 day weeks defined the 70’s. Buy some candles.

Will 2008 be ’98 again? For months the media whipped up fears of a recession but it turned out to be a storm in a tea cup. The economy kept going and was ultimately buoyed by the dotcom boom. Stop reading the papers.

Or will 2008 be nothing like any of the above yet just a little like all of them? People trade down to more eco-friendly cars not only for environmental reasons but because petrol is just too expensive; people start growing their own food because food prices skyrocket; people stop betting everything on the housing market because the banks can’t afford to give anyone a mortgage so there is little growth in value; and then the banks start offering better saving rates because they need to raise capital and so people achieve a healthy level of personal savings.

OK, making forecasts like this is just asking for it but here’s one that seems likely: the big cultural debate of the next decade will be between the advocates of sustainable living in the broadest sense and those who still encourage conspicuous consumption.

Maybe.

Phil

Postconsumerism

Funny old thing, serendipity. There I was reading an article from last weeks Campaign predicting the end of conspicuous consumption, when one of our clients called to ask what I thought the implications of long-term economic slowdown would be for his brand.

So what do we think? Are we about to enter a long decade of austerity? Will people have to pare down their desires and aspirations? Will we all be growing our own veg and learning how to mend stuff again? Will an economic downturn be a blessing in disguise for the environment as, for example, rising petrol prices pushes drivers towards non-petrol cars? What implications will all this have for the lifestyles people chose for themselves and for the brands that we work with?

These are big questions, let’s see if we can pool our collective brainpower and come up with some bright insights.


Phil

Cake cake cake

The people over at Magic have picked the best cakes from the whole of the good mood archives and this St Luke's one has been praised. That's good branding for you.

luxury brands not using online

a report by Forrester Research has revealed as many as two thirds of global luxury brands are not utilising the internet to sell their products online. The report, which was commissioned by Walpole, showed many brands are not cashing in on double-digit online sales growth, despite eight out of 10 global affluent consumers using the internet daily.
Furthermore, of those luxury brands which don't sell online which don't sell online, over half have no plans to join the online market. Reporter Victoria Bracewell Lewis stated responders who don't sell online argues it was "inappropriate" or that customers preffered the physical retail experience. However firms surveyed which sell online reported booming business, with internet sales up 17 per cent this year. Bracewell Lewis said brands such as LVMH, Orient Express and Net-a-porter are leading the luxury sector online. However, many lag behind. "Executives need to stop trying to duplicate the in-store experience online with poorly functional albeit glitzy sites; they should instead look for opportunities to help customers save time, research and order goods and services, and get assistance online," the author said. Executives working at 178 luxury brands from across the world were questioned, as published in City A.M. on Monday.

Read more here ...

by kathryn