£1.20
Pay As You Get Ripped Off
This blog is for everyone who has ever been just about to eat a piece of food and the second before you put it in your mouth, it falls on the floor. This blog is for everybody who has been walking around their home and has suddenly banged their toe, banged it so hard that you want to cry. You really want to cry. This blog is for everybody who has seen somebody they know from a far and waved at them, you think they have seen you, you’re pretty sure... they don’t wave back. This blog is for anybody who has two lungs. But this blog is for especially for anyone who has ever run for the bus; the bus driver can see you running, he senses your commitment, but for some reason unknown to any person who isn’t a jackass they drive off.
Do they get paid more money if they do this? Is there a weekly bonus for the most inconsiderate bus driver? These all remain ramblings. What we are gathered here to speak about today is a figure, £1.20, which in regards to this note represents TFL’s twenty percent increase in the oyster card pay as you go bus fare. £1.80, there’s another one for you. Just threw it in there. This is the 12.5 percent increase in the oyster card users’ single tube fare.
Hot tamale! That sounds a bit outrageous doesn’t it! I’m going to be honest, I heard something about a recession on the news the other day and as far as I’m aware the cost of living isn’t getting any cheaper, pay isn’t generally on the increase. So why the 20 percent hey Mr.SpeedofandleavemestandingtherelookingprettystupidsoIjuststart stretchingouttopretendIwasn’trunningforthebus?
Don’t you dare answer inflation! Don’t you dare!
Does my bus get to its destination 20 percent faster? Does it have 20 percent less hoodlums playing Tinchy Strider’s new hood anthem? Does it make me wait for 20 percent less time in the snow? Has it even been 20 percent more effective at coping with the snow? Do the buses stop to change drivers for 20 percent less time? Do the buses have 20 percent less chicken bones on the floor? Does it do anything new at all that even remotely warrants a 20 percent increase in the fare that I pay for the service? No. No it does not. You just ripped me off didn’t you? You just sold me some Taste The Difference cake, I got home, I opened it, and it was basics. It wasn’t even basics; it was full, and it wasn’t on time, and the people smelled, and everybody stepped on my shoes, and all I could hear was ‘are you gonna bang doe!’ Playing from Catherine Tate’s phone in the background for half an hour.
You just ripped me off.
Applying this same rationale to the tube you can still never use the Victoria, District and Circle or Metropolitan lines on the weekend and absolutely nobody I’ve seen in 2010 has been 12.5 percent less cold.
So where does this leave me? The working man. Just trying to get some money to feed my wife and kids. What about me? What do I get.
I’ll tell you what I get. Cross rail. Wohoooo! Sound the bells. Call up your mother and tell her the good news. Jump in to a bath tub full of jelly and let the good times roll. If I live in Essex, (which I don’t) I can in 10 years time (it’s going to be late) get in to London using the tube. Let me just tell you now by the time they finish Cross rail teleportation will be old news.
Yesssss. That is awesome but there is only one problem I DONT LIVE IN ESSEX AND I DON’T WANT TO WAIT ANOTHER 10 YEARS FOR ANOTHER SERVICE BORIS JOHNSON SO YOU TAKE YOUR DEFICIT AND STICK IT UP YOUR 20 PERCENT WHICH I HOPE IS 20 PERCENT WIDER AS IT WILL NEED TO BE TO FIT THE AMOUNT OF CRAP YOU HAVE JUST DISHED EVERYBODY WHO LIVES IN LONDON.
You messed up.
You need to stop doing what you’re doing.
You were doing so well man. No major mistakes. Yeah everybody had their doubts. Even David Cameron looked a bit worried. But you were doing pretty well. But then you go and do that. You charge me first class fares to sit with the baggage.
Stop it now you silly little man.
Monday 26 April 2010
Selling stuff on the internet
Selling Stuff On The Internet
Digital Advertising and how it’s bigger than Jesus
The average UK adult spends thirteen hours a week online. The average UK teenager spends thirty-one.
Adverts have long been a source of joy, boredom-spawned channel-flicking, controversy, conversation and catchphrases for the entire world. As a medium, advertising is one of the most universal modes of mass communication on the planet, close to impossible to escape. Whilst you are probably well aware of this, you may not be aware that advertising on the internet is fast becoming brands’ most valued way of interacting with consumers.
The average UK adult spends thirteen hours a week online, the UK teenager spends thirty one. I have definitely not done the research on this but I am quite sure that the average thirteen hours spent online is a lot more than the average time spent reading the Bible. In saying this I am not trying to denounce Christ our lord saviour, what I mean to do is draw light to the fact that the communication landscape has changed greatly. The way we interact with the world has changed considerably and business is adapting to capitalise to the fullest on this: last year alone gross online advertising spend grew 4.6% whilst TV spend shrank 16% simultaneously. Digital is now encroaching on print and television advertising just as how the ‘trendy’ compact disc began to challenge vinyl in the nineties.
The rise of digital has been helped along a great deal by the recession; with a lot of companies cutting back on marketing spends, they turned to more cost-effective ways to mass market. As television and print can often be very expensive at the most effective times and locations, online seems like a cost-effective way to maintain brand presence whilst not spending more challenging higher amounts. This has had the effect of raising digital’s already growing market share, and validity as an art form in advertising.
Digital offers brands another chance to try and sell you something; the NHS another way to engage teens with anti-binge drinking messages; ITV another source of revenue through advertising before online shows. Digital however is not just banners or pop-up messages telling you to blow torch fat off your body in two weeks. It is everything from becoming a fan of Converse on Facebook , to viral advertising on YouTube, to films and bands having Myspace pages. Applying the concept ‘time is money’, if we are spending a seventh of our waking life online, that might explain why Facebook is valued at 15 billion dollars. The transference of value to digital marketing is a natural step, just one that is easy to overlook because it happened so quickly. Many still hold the view advertising is just what happens in commercials and on posters. A recent study claimed that one in every five pounds will be spent online by 2020 - it’s things like this that really underline that digital is the new rock and roll.
The internet is largely about the transference of information. It’s opened up a wealth of potential and sharing that wasn’t half as accessible five years ago. A prediction I make in advertising over the next five years is that we will see adverts online become more and more targeted, perhaps even scarily so. Platforms like Googlemail and Facebook enable marketers to map out who they are targeting: they have the capacity of knowing your sex, age, hobbies, frequently used words, and advertise products and services that might appeal to you accordingly. Imagine logging in to Facebook and watching an advert that said ‘good afternoon’, your name out loud, told you to drink Coca Cola and a shop nearby where you could buy it. This is no longer advertising science fiction - it’s a real possibility. How quickly and to what extent this does happen I cannot tell you but it is very possible to map an internet user’s interests, social habits, likes and dislikes from observing what they do or don’t do online. If you were Richard Branson and you could use that information to sell more flights, wouldn’t you?
Digital Advertising and how it’s bigger than Jesus
The average UK adult spends thirteen hours a week online. The average UK teenager spends thirty-one.
Adverts have long been a source of joy, boredom-spawned channel-flicking, controversy, conversation and catchphrases for the entire world. As a medium, advertising is one of the most universal modes of mass communication on the planet, close to impossible to escape. Whilst you are probably well aware of this, you may not be aware that advertising on the internet is fast becoming brands’ most valued way of interacting with consumers.
The average UK adult spends thirteen hours a week online, the UK teenager spends thirty one. I have definitely not done the research on this but I am quite sure that the average thirteen hours spent online is a lot more than the average time spent reading the Bible. In saying this I am not trying to denounce Christ our lord saviour, what I mean to do is draw light to the fact that the communication landscape has changed greatly. The way we interact with the world has changed considerably and business is adapting to capitalise to the fullest on this: last year alone gross online advertising spend grew 4.6% whilst TV spend shrank 16% simultaneously. Digital is now encroaching on print and television advertising just as how the ‘trendy’ compact disc began to challenge vinyl in the nineties.
The rise of digital has been helped along a great deal by the recession; with a lot of companies cutting back on marketing spends, they turned to more cost-effective ways to mass market. As television and print can often be very expensive at the most effective times and locations, online seems like a cost-effective way to maintain brand presence whilst not spending more challenging higher amounts. This has had the effect of raising digital’s already growing market share, and validity as an art form in advertising.
Digital offers brands another chance to try and sell you something; the NHS another way to engage teens with anti-binge drinking messages; ITV another source of revenue through advertising before online shows. Digital however is not just banners or pop-up messages telling you to blow torch fat off your body in two weeks. It is everything from becoming a fan of Converse on Facebook , to viral advertising on YouTube, to films and bands having Myspace pages. Applying the concept ‘time is money’, if we are spending a seventh of our waking life online, that might explain why Facebook is valued at 15 billion dollars. The transference of value to digital marketing is a natural step, just one that is easy to overlook because it happened so quickly. Many still hold the view advertising is just what happens in commercials and on posters. A recent study claimed that one in every five pounds will be spent online by 2020 - it’s things like this that really underline that digital is the new rock and roll.
The internet is largely about the transference of information. It’s opened up a wealth of potential and sharing that wasn’t half as accessible five years ago. A prediction I make in advertising over the next five years is that we will see adverts online become more and more targeted, perhaps even scarily so. Platforms like Googlemail and Facebook enable marketers to map out who they are targeting: they have the capacity of knowing your sex, age, hobbies, frequently used words, and advertise products and services that might appeal to you accordingly. Imagine logging in to Facebook and watching an advert that said ‘good afternoon’, your name out loud, told you to drink Coca Cola and a shop nearby where you could buy it. This is no longer advertising science fiction - it’s a real possibility. How quickly and to what extent this does happen I cannot tell you but it is very possible to map an internet user’s interests, social habits, likes and dislikes from observing what they do or don’t do online. If you were Richard Branson and you could use that information to sell more flights, wouldn’t you?
Battle of the memorable ads
Battle of the memorable ads
A meerkat, dancing news presenter, opera tenor and haggling Iranian walk into a bar.....They all start to sell car insurance (punch line). There are amazing adverts and there are not so amazing adverts, the funny thing about the adverts in this blog is most of them can be termed as either. Comparison websites make their profit almost entirely from commission on sales; it is paramount for them, that you use their site instead of the competitions. Because of this they have become increasingly ‘adventurous’ in finding ways to get us to remember their web address. This is going to be a quick break down and recall score of the companies in the battle for the memorable ad. And why although they all mostly make people frustrated they can be viewed as decent ads.
The adverts are going to be marked on recall: - the realms of marks for a decent advert do not apply here, so don’t be surprised if you see the go compare man being awarded an Oscar for best actor in the blog. For the most part the ads aren’t great but every car that drives in the UK must be insured, these companies are part of a multi million pound business and they have to make ads. Its only unlucky for us they aren’t briefing agencies to make excellent ones.
We Buy Any Car
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MXiJBp7HK5o
Any. Any. Any. Any.
One of the most annoying, stupid but undeniably catchy advert songs I can remember of the last year. Coupled with a ridiculous dance in the video it has a candy floss effect of instant pleasure but very little nutritional value. Unfortunately for webuyanycar the ‘instant pleasure’ is also highly debatable. But even if you love the ad or you hate it, it is very hard to feel nothing towards an ad that is so flamboyantly ridiculous. As such, you do remember it. In my opinion this ad is a success.
4/5
Money Supermarket
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7FMp2yNTM0g
Omid Djilali is the actor in this advert and is a well liked British Iranian comedian. Fortunately for money supermarket he also currently stars in a film ‘the Infidel’ out at the moment. The varying ads see him as a tough haggling middle-eastern who avoids the English cringe factor to get the best deal for insurance. Whilst lacking the strong character branding of Alexander the meerkat the adverts do work. This is mostly down to the comic performance of Djilali and the good casting in that he is well liked. Ironically, the adverts do lack the hard sell of their own product- the actual website www.moneysupermarket.com....which could feature much more prominently as part of the advert.
3/5
Go Compare
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F_-9QFvhQWo
I will struggle to comment on this advert without bias because it is the one I find the most annoying out of all the comparison site adverts. Long story short an opera tenor sings go compare for thirty seconds. One hundred percent certified annoying, the truth is though it does conjure a reaction and a place burned deep in your memory reserved for things you would rather forget. On the side of Go Compare it can only be seen as a triumph, we remember the site. For me and you though it does remain the hard part of the day that we have to push through as these youtube comments might suggest.
lonestar2779 if the People of Go Compare are reading this... get rid of that fucking annoying advert you silly mother fuckers
stefevr If I saw that guy in real life I'd kick him in the nuts...twice
colsh1690 @carliboy908 ha ha mate you should hear my dog everytime he hears this song he goe's ape and starts whining for the next 5 minutes and nothing else gets him like this not even when he sees other dogs, they need to bin this advert or they will lose there viewers
3/5
Confused.com
(link unavailable)
This advert doesn’t really deserve a place in a blog titled battle of the memorable ads. Because it isn’t, in fact the new campaign ‘of those are the jeans/guitar I could have bought with the money I saved’ is a terrible failure. What would be more fitting is ‘this is the rubbish advert I made with not spending the time to think about a decent one’. Whilst looking over at Alexander the meerkat flexing his Russian biceps. Bad advert, poor concept and as such poor recall.
1/5
Compare the market
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t0AKC3wZdw4
The rare exception to the rule; an advert that works on both levels, just the right blend of branding, humor and selling. This is an advert I look forward too rather than cringe at. Alexander the meerkat is a loved character who even has his own toy in Harrods, his own song, his own dedicated meerkat comparison site and thousands of fans on facebook. This is a great ad that shows how both parties can gain from a good piece of advertising. Simples.
5/5
A meerkat, dancing news presenter, opera tenor and haggling Iranian walk into a bar.....They all start to sell car insurance (punch line). There are amazing adverts and there are not so amazing adverts, the funny thing about the adverts in this blog is most of them can be termed as either. Comparison websites make their profit almost entirely from commission on sales; it is paramount for them, that you use their site instead of the competitions. Because of this they have become increasingly ‘adventurous’ in finding ways to get us to remember their web address. This is going to be a quick break down and recall score of the companies in the battle for the memorable ad. And why although they all mostly make people frustrated they can be viewed as decent ads.
The adverts are going to be marked on recall: - the realms of marks for a decent advert do not apply here, so don’t be surprised if you see the go compare man being awarded an Oscar for best actor in the blog. For the most part the ads aren’t great but every car that drives in the UK must be insured, these companies are part of a multi million pound business and they have to make ads. Its only unlucky for us they aren’t briefing agencies to make excellent ones.
We Buy Any Car
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MXiJBp7HK5o
Any. Any. Any. Any.
One of the most annoying, stupid but undeniably catchy advert songs I can remember of the last year. Coupled with a ridiculous dance in the video it has a candy floss effect of instant pleasure but very little nutritional value. Unfortunately for webuyanycar the ‘instant pleasure’ is also highly debatable. But even if you love the ad or you hate it, it is very hard to feel nothing towards an ad that is so flamboyantly ridiculous. As such, you do remember it. In my opinion this ad is a success.
4/5
Money Supermarket
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7FMp2yNTM0g
Omid Djilali is the actor in this advert and is a well liked British Iranian comedian. Fortunately for money supermarket he also currently stars in a film ‘the Infidel’ out at the moment. The varying ads see him as a tough haggling middle-eastern who avoids the English cringe factor to get the best deal for insurance. Whilst lacking the strong character branding of Alexander the meerkat the adverts do work. This is mostly down to the comic performance of Djilali and the good casting in that he is well liked. Ironically, the adverts do lack the hard sell of their own product- the actual website www.moneysupermarket.com....which could feature much more prominently as part of the advert.
3/5
Go Compare
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F_-9QFvhQWo
I will struggle to comment on this advert without bias because it is the one I find the most annoying out of all the comparison site adverts. Long story short an opera tenor sings go compare for thirty seconds. One hundred percent certified annoying, the truth is though it does conjure a reaction and a place burned deep in your memory reserved for things you would rather forget. On the side of Go Compare it can only be seen as a triumph, we remember the site. For me and you though it does remain the hard part of the day that we have to push through as these youtube comments might suggest.
lonestar2779 if the People of Go Compare are reading this... get rid of that fucking annoying advert you silly mother fuckers
stefevr If I saw that guy in real life I'd kick him in the nuts...twice
colsh1690 @carliboy908 ha ha mate you should hear my dog everytime he hears this song he goe's ape and starts whining for the next 5 minutes and nothing else gets him like this not even when he sees other dogs, they need to bin this advert or they will lose there viewers
3/5
Confused.com
(link unavailable)
This advert doesn’t really deserve a place in a blog titled battle of the memorable ads. Because it isn’t, in fact the new campaign ‘of those are the jeans/guitar I could have bought with the money I saved’ is a terrible failure. What would be more fitting is ‘this is the rubbish advert I made with not spending the time to think about a decent one’. Whilst looking over at Alexander the meerkat flexing his Russian biceps. Bad advert, poor concept and as such poor recall.
1/5
Compare the market
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t0AKC3wZdw4
The rare exception to the rule; an advert that works on both levels, just the right blend of branding, humor and selling. This is an advert I look forward too rather than cringe at. Alexander the meerkat is a loved character who even has his own toy in Harrods, his own song, his own dedicated meerkat comparison site and thousands of fans on facebook. This is a great ad that shows how both parties can gain from a good piece of advertising. Simples.
5/5
The Bank Job
As a London cyclist I’m always happy to see adverts on TV that tell people not to run me over. It makes me happy. This blog is about a great ad that keeps all us planet savers alive and jumping red lights. Hurrah. The concept of the bank job continues the Department for Tranport's theme of perception, what you notice and what you don’t. I must admit maybe the concept is slightly too high brow or I’m an idiot (most likely the second is true): because I didn’t know the why some objects in the advert were bigger than others until I’d watched the advert around five times. This is embarrassing please forget it and continue reading as if it never happened.
The things the robbers are looking out for are bigger, the things they aren’t stay the same size and unnoticed...until they run over a cyclist. The moral of the story? Running over cyclists is wrong. A great advert continuing the concept of making motorists second guess themselves, made more relevant than ever by the widening of the cycle London scheme and cycle hiring which will soon be in place. A slightly lengthened run time of 41 seconds is crucial to building the story and ultimately making you remember. Whilst it might not fill the bracket for a water cooler moment ad; it will definitely make many drivers think before pulling out into the road. All in all a great piece of communication, I’m waiting for the new ad telling white van men to be friendly.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=64T319-PhDI
The things the robbers are looking out for are bigger, the things they aren’t stay the same size and unnoticed...until they run over a cyclist. The moral of the story? Running over cyclists is wrong. A great advert continuing the concept of making motorists second guess themselves, made more relevant than ever by the widening of the cycle London scheme and cycle hiring which will soon be in place. A slightly lengthened run time of 41 seconds is crucial to building the story and ultimately making you remember. Whilst it might not fill the bracket for a water cooler moment ad; it will definitely make many drivers think before pulling out into the road. All in all a great piece of communication, I’m waiting for the new ad telling white van men to be friendly.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=64T319-PhDI
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