It's a sad day when one of the industry's wits - there are simply
too few to begin with - finally decides to pack up and head off.
Gregg Ainsworth, he of the eminently quotable quote, will be leaving
Asia after nine years for Melbourne to consult. A principle of AinsCorp
Marketing Solutions, he did his time with beverage giants like United
Distillers and Allied Domecq. Ever one to see the lighter side of
marketing, Ainsworth poured forth with some gems on hits and misses on
the campaign front, including his facetious take on grey marketing:
"Courvoisier Cognac - classic European luxury which prevents brittle
bone syndrome too!"
On launches that should never had been: Singapore's English-language
station, TVWorks. "It's a bit like giving the UK another National Health
Service."
On campaigns that didn't translate well in Asia: a Citroen print
campaign in Taiwan in the early 90s. "The English copy was written by a
local and approved by a French client. The core proposition was the
vehicle's aerodynamic design, but the copywriter referred to it as
'wind-breaking'. It later emerged that the model was fitted with one of
the first catalytic converters.
It produced a sulphur-based emission that smelled like rotten eggs." Is
quiet Melbourne ready for Ainsworth?
