AD BREAKDOWN The Magazine's Review of Advertising in 2005
AD BREAKDOWN The Magazine's Review of Advertising in 2005
Advertising has again this year shown its power to inspire and infuriate. And while some are predicting the end of adverts as we know them, this is an artform still alive and well.
Advertising has again this year shown its power to inspire and infuriate. And while some are predicting the end of adverts as we know them, this is an artform still alive and well.
One of the most well-known sayings about advertising is that 50% of it is wasted. The problem, as 19th Century US department store owner John Wanamaker observed, is that he didn't know which half.
One of the most well-known sayings about advertising is that 50% of it is wasted. The problem, as 19th Century US department store owner John Wanamaker observed, is that he didn't know which half.
Much has changed in 100 years, but each new technology has given advertising a new version of the same challenge - finding out how to spend clients' money most effectively. Not least is the rise of the internet and intelligently targeted adverts - something which is easier if, like Google Mail and others, you have permission to read millions of e-mails before you decide which adverts to show the authors.
Much has changed in 100 years, but each new technology has given advertising a new version of the same challenge - finding out how to spend clients' money most effectively. Not least is the rise of the internet and intelligently targeted adverts - something which is easier if, like Google Mail and others, you have permission to read millions of e-mails before you decide which adverts to show the authors.
While these matters much concern those who pay for adverts, those who make them, and those whose TV networks, radio stations and websites depend on them, Ad Breakdown makes the most of its liberty to do something different. Instead, what advertising is wasted time from a viewer's point of view? Which of those 30-second slots that punctuate so much of our lives nowadays would you count as having been a waste of time, and which can be celebrated? That is the spirit, then in which to present Ad Breakdown's Pick of 2006.
While these matters much concern those who pay for adverts, those who make them, and those whose TV networks, radio stations and websites depend on them, Ad Breakdown makes the most of its liberty to do something different. Instead, what advertising is wasted time from a viewer's point of view? Which of those 30-second slots that punctuate so much of our lives nowadays would you count as having been a waste of time, and which can be celebrated? That is the spirit, then in which to present Ad Breakdown's Pick of 2006.
BT's new nuclear familyThey're not flashy or hi-tech, but the series for BT Broadband featuring Kris Marshall (of My Family and Love Actually) and Esther Hall (Spooks and Waking the Dead) have a simple charm about them.
BT's new nuclear familyThey're not flashy or hi-tech, but the series for BT Broadband featuring Kris Marshall (of My Family and Love Actually) and Esther Hall (Spooks and Waking the Dead) have a simple charm about them.
The conceit is that Marshall plays the new boyfriend of a woman who has two children. While Marshall's character makes the right noises about being comfortable with his new role of step-father-in-waiting, Hall's character impishly lets him squirm, knowing he's actually not comfortable at all. Thus she proposes using internet banking for their "new joint account" in an early advert in the series. But his character grows in later instalments, and by the end of this year is cool when the children's father comes round, and doesn't freak out when a spotty teenage estate agent suggests a room would make a nice nursery.
The conceit is that Marshall plays the new boyfriend of a woman who has two children. While Marshall's character makes the right noises about being comfortable with his new role of step-father-in-waiting, Hall's character impishly lets him squirm, knowing he's actually not comfortable at all. Thus she proposes using internet banking for their "new joint account" in an early advert in the series. But his character grows in later instalments, and by the end of this year is cool when the children's father comes round, and doesn't freak out when a spotty teenage estate agent suggests a room would make a nice nursery.
Part of the strength here is that we know Marshall as a goofy overgrown kid. Warming to his new responsibilities is the natural extension of the character we've already seen in various guises. And this is certainly no nuclear Oxo family, all sitting round for roast beef like something from central casting. This is a very current picture of modern Britain, and it's a comfortable one. The real star of the piece, though, is Esther Hall's delicious mischief.
Part of the strength here is that we know Marshall as a goofy overgrown kid. Warming to his new responsibilities is the natural extension of the character we've already seen in various guises. And this is certainly no nuclear Oxo family, all sitting round for roast beef like something from central casting. This is a very current picture of modern Britain, and it's a comfortable one. The real star of the piece, though, is Esther Hall's delicious mischief.
One question though: why, in common with dozens of other adverts shown this year, are the colours all washed out? Why do the pictures look like they've come from a magazine which has been left in the sun too long? It might simply be fashion, but is there some other message being sent too? Are these ads trying to make a statement that they are not bathed in the kind of autumnal orange light that so many adverts once enjoyed (think grandad in his chair giving out Werthers Originals)?
One question though: why, in common with dozens of other adverts shown this year, are the colours all washed out? Why do the pictures look like they've come from a magazine which has been left in the sun too long? It might simply be fashion, but is there some other message being sent too? Are these ads trying to make a statement that they are not bathed in the kind of autumnal orange light that so many adverts once enjoyed (think grandad in his chair giving out Werthers Originals)?
Rise up
Rise up
Most controversial advert of the year might, once all the year's complaints are in and verified, turn out to be Burger King's defiant anti-PC message.
Most controversial advert of the year might, once all the year's complaints are in and verified, turn out to be Burger King's defiant anti-PC message.
Want one of these bad boys?The schtick is that men, who have been hollowed out into husks by society insisting they eat salads, rise up, singing "I'm way to hungry to settle for chick food", and demanding to eat meat. Marching as one, all classes, trades and professions finding a sense of meaty brotherhood, they go to Burger King and buy a Double Whopper. Singing their "manthem", they blockade a flyover, liberate a fellow man from a people carrier and push the vehicle off the bridge, with the refrain: "I am hungry! I am incorrigible! I am MAN!"
Want one of these bad boys?The schtick is that men, who have been hollowed out into husks by society insisting they eat salads, rise up, singing "I'm way too hungry to settle for chick food", and demanding to eat meat. Marching as one, all classes, trades and professions finding a sense of meaty brotherhood, they go to Burger King and buy a Double Whopper. Singing their "manthem", they blockade a flyover, liberate a fellow man from a people carrier and push the vehicle off the bridge, with the refrain: "I am hungry! I am incorrigible! I am MAN!"
So why was it controversial? It was quickly pointed out by the media that this burger contained more than 900 calories. So while the advert is fun, and will appeal to a certain constituency which refuses to be cowed by warnings about fitness, good diet and the dangers of obesity, is it a sustainable position for Burger King? Probably not - as was reflected in the chain's subsequent decision to withdraw from advertising in children's programmes (announced just two days before media regulator Ofcom said it was banning it all anyway).
So why was it controversial? It was quickly pointed out by the media that this burger contained more than 900 calories. So while the advert is fun, and will appeal to a certain constituency which refuses to be cowed by warnings about fitness, good diet and the dangers of obesity, is it a sustainable position for Burger King? Probably not - as was reflected in the chain's subsequent decision to withdraw from advertising in children's programmes (announced just two days before media regulator Ofcom said it was banning it all anyway).
So good you'll watch it twiceOne advert which turned the whole obesity debate on its head was Nimble bread. The scene: a building site. The cast: a bunch of builders in trademark un-belted jeans. The twist: their jeans keep falling down, making them drop bags of cement, and trip with their trousers round their ankles.
So good you'll watch it twiceOne advert which turned the whole obesity debate on its head was Nimble bread. The scene: a building site. The cast: a bunch of builders in trademark un-belted jeans. The twist: their jeans keep falling down, making them drop bags of cement, and trip with their trousers round their ankles.
It's only when one of the builders is shown inspecting this new loaf of bread his wife has bought that it dawns on him what's happened: his traditional builder's sarnies are LOW CALORIE! Look how much is left unsaid in this advert: no pictures of stereotypical builders' bums, no hectoring about losing weight. But you still get the message, and for that it receives this year's Ad Breakdown gold award for being an advert you are glad to sit through.
It's only when one of the builders is shown inspecting this new loaf of bread his wife has bought that it dawns on him what's happened: his traditional builder's sarnies are LOW CALORIE! Look how much is left unsaid in this advert: no pictures of stereotypical builders' bums, no hectoring about losing weight. But you still get the message, and for that it receives this year's Ad Breakdown gold award for being an advert you are glad to sit through.
Train travel the Virgin wayOther contenders for this accolade have included Virgin Trains, whose Apaches on horseback try to chase a Pendolino train. It garnered 83 official complaints from people saying it played on racist stereotypes - one reader of Ad Breakdown asked "What's next? Will Virgin Trains help deliver the smallpox-infected blankets to the Iroquois?" - but the ad escaped a ban after it was ruled to be tongue-in-cheek.
Train travel the Virgin wayOther contenders for this accolade have included Virgin Trains, whose Apaches on horseback try to chase a Pendolino train. It garnered 83 official complaints from people saying it played on racist stereotypes - one reader of Ad Breakdown asked "What's next? Will Virgin Trains help deliver the smallpox-infected blankets to the Iroquois?" - but the ad escaped a ban after it was ruled to be tongue-in-cheek.
Also on the shortlist would have been Sony's explosion in a paint factory, in which a Glasgow housing estate was covered in a rainbow of paint, judged by another reader like "putting Mr Bean in charge of urban renewal". For all the effort and cost involved, however, it wasn't quite the match of the Sony advert it followed - the "bouncy balls in San Francisco".
Also on the shortlist would have been Sony's explosion in a paint factory, in which a Glasgow housing estate was covered in a rainbow of paint, judged by another reader like "putting Mr Bean in charge of urban renewal". For all the effort and cost involved, however, it wasn't quite the match of the Sony advert it followed - the "bouncy balls in San Francisco".
Also notable: Honda's assembly of a choir which by voice alone tries to replicate the sounds of a car.
Also notable: Honda's assembly of a choir which by voice alone tries to replicate the sounds of a car.
Keepy-uppy
Keepy-uppy
On the downside, however, there was a tiresome glut of football-related adverts during the World Cup, most of which had some variation on people kicking things around outlandishly. In one awful case they were kicking an empty tube of crisps. And noticeable (but also pretty awful) was that Nike poster of Wayne Rooney, arms outstretched like Jesus, with a St George's Cross painted on his torso.
On the downside, however, there was a tiresome glut of football-related adverts during the World Cup, most of which had some variation on people kicking things around outlandishly. In one awful case they were kicking an empty tube of crisps. And noticeable (but also pretty awful) was that Nike poster of Wayne Rooney, arms outstretched like Jesus, with a St George's Cross painted on his torso.
A friend indeedBut least likely to make it to the top was the advert from the AA in which its roadside teams sing You've Got a Friend. The right song can often make an advert, but this one grated on every listening, because each line in the song comes in a half-beat before it should, presumably to cut the total length of the advert. It ruins the song and the advert as a result.
A friend indeedBut least likely to make it to the top was the advert from the AA in which its roadside teams sing You've Got a Friend. The right song can often make an advert, but this one grated on every listening, because each line in the song comes in a half-beat before it should, presumably to cut the total length of the advert. It ruins the song and the advert as a result.
All these likes and dislikes are, naturally, subjective. It's possible there's someone somewhere who has been persuaded to buy a sofa because that nice one from EastEnders who used to be in that band was endorsing the brand. Therefore, your suggestions for best and worst adverts of the year are welcome below.
All these likes and dislikes are, naturally, subjective. It's possible there's someone somewhere who has been persuaded to buy a sofa because that nice one from EastEnders who used to be in that band was endorsing the brand. Therefore, your suggestions for best and worst adverts of the year are welcome below.
Ad Breakdown is compiled by Giles Wilson
Ad Breakdown is compiled by Giles Wilson
Send your nominations using the form below.
Send your nominations using the form below.
The worst must be the Orange ad with the clockwork figures arm in arm. Everything about the ad is cheap. It is to the advertising world what the Turner Prize has become to art. Adam Baldwin, London
The worst must be the Orange ad with the clockwork figures arm in arm. Everything about the ad is cheap. It is to the advertising world what the Turner Prize has become to art. Adam Baldwin, London
The worst has to be the truly dreadful one for M&S. Every word given heavy emphasis so that the whole thing drowned. It was not just a sickening advert - it was M&S sickening advert.Janet Ames, Coventry
The worst has to be the truly dreadful one for M&S. Every word given heavy emphasis so that the whole thing drowned. It was not just a sickening advert - it was M&S sickening advert.Janet Ames, Coventry
