PRIVATE VIEW: Gary Tranter, head of creative at Ogilvy & Mather Hong Kong

<p>At first glance, my job was simple. Brands like Playstation, </p><p>Budweiser, Heineken and Durex have always produced such great </p><p>advertising and this would simply be a matter of watching the ads, </p><p>scribbling down, "great work, love it" and then off to lunch. But this </p><p>wasn't the case. Now I find myself in the uncomfortable position of </p><p>loving the brands, being loyal to these brands, loving the past work and </p><p>sadly not being too impressed with this lot. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Being a huge fan of previous Playstation work, I found the Wolfman ad </p><p>disappointing. It's hard to view it without comparing it to previous </p><p>brilliant work. It falls short in delivering the double life idea </p><p>powerfully and seems to ignore the Playstation tribe that previous ads </p><p>made me feel like a proud member of. I get the sense it's aimed at a </p><p>younger target market as my son rather enjoyed it (he's five), and he's </p><p>a brand loyalist. Unfortunately for me, however, it's not that funny, </p><p>and unlike other Playstation ads, the story is predictable. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>The Budweiser, Mr Foot-long-ten-inch-wiener ad, was also disappointing, </p><p>and again, probably in light of the ads this brand has produced over the </p><p>years. The spot is entertaining enough, with some funny moments and is a </p><p>faithfully-produced send-up. But it just seems to be trying a little too </p><p>hard to point out it's a piss-take and therefore becomes very </p><p>obvious. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>The Durex 100 million reasons spot had hold of me from the minute it </p><p>began. I love the idea of a hundred million sperms walking around with </p><p>you like a loaded gun waiting to fire at any opportunity. This is a </p><p>genuinely interesting spot that one enjoys watching. What is depicted is </p><p>a refreshing change from other reasons given by other condom makers and </p><p>is based on a funny, relevant insight. Unfortunately the punch line is </p><p>watered down by showing the giant condom at the end. A shot the ad </p><p>simply doesn't need. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>The Red ad certainly got my attention but left me once again </p><p>disappointed. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>While clearly not being in the target market, I am, nevertheless </p><p>suspicious of a big, mainstream brand trying so desperately hard to </p><p>appear cool. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>I am presuming this ad is for a service paid for by Nokia as their </p><p>phones are featured (albeit getting smashed up). I'm actually confused </p><p>as to why the phones need to be smashed up at all, as the purpose of </p><p>having a pre-paid phone service is to give the youth market an </p><p>alternative to expensive price plans. If they can afford to smash up </p><p>their phones they probably don't need this service. By the end of this </p><p>spot one feels that while the idea of young people having a voice is not </p><p>necessarily bad, it may be better if they had something to say. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>The Heineken, 'blackmailing your viewers into buying your product' idea </p><p>is a nice one and seems to be in the spirit of the brand. The blackmail </p><p>part is suitably annoying, so the message is appreciated. I assume </p><p>there's a break where other ads run in between before you see the </p><p>pay-off, giving people a chance to drop everything and dash out to buy a </p><p>pint or two. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>The little treat is a nice touch. I like the lions. I like how they </p><p>quietly ascend behind the singers, licking their lips. The ending is </p><p>unconvincing; the screams and the cut back to the piano player do not </p><p>look real. I think the average Heineken drinker would have appreciated </p><p>some reality here. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Fortunately the ESPN SportsCentre ads are consistently great to </p><p>watch. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>They give you a laugh while delivering a very clear message about the </p><p>brand. This one puts a smile on your face from the opening line, 'Like a </p><p>lot of organisations, ESPN was having trouble with their carpet ...', </p><p>which grows through the little touches like the bumble bee nodding in </p><p>agreement when 'grass stain' advice is given. The production is </p><p>excellent, I hope there are many more to come. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>PLAYSTATION </p><p>Project: Wolfman </p><p>Client: Sony Playstation </p><p>Brief: Reinforce PlayStation's core brand value </p><p>Agency: TBWA/ London </p><p>Creative director: Trevor Beattie </p><p>Production house: Passion Pictures </p><p>BUDWEISER </p><p>Project: Mr Foot-Long-Hot-Dog-Inventor </p><p>Client: Budweiser </p><p>Brief: Underline Budweiser's strength in the marketplace </p><p>Agency: DDB Chicago </p><p>Creative directors: John Immesoete, Mark Gross </p><p>Copywriter: Bill Cimino </p><p>Art director: Bill Cimino </p><p>Production house: Propaganda Films </p><p>DUREX </p><p>Project: Square </p><p>Client: Durex </p><p>Brief: Promote the concept of safe sex to 16 to 24-year olds </p><p>Agency: McCann Erickson, UK </p><p>Creative director: Dave George </p><p>Copywriter: David Price </p><p>Art director: Neil Lancaster </p><p>Production house: Spectre </p><p>RED </p><p>Project: Express Yourself </p><p>Client: Islandssimi </p><p>Brief: Build brand awareness of Icelandic telecom company Islandssimi </p><p>Agency: DBT Adhouse, Iceland </p><p>Creative director: Thorhallur Arnorsson </p><p>Copywriter: Thorhallur Arnorsson </p><p>Art director: Thorhallur Arnorsson </p><p>Production house: Saga Film Productions </p><p>HEINEKEN </p><p>Project: Treat </p><p>Client: Heineken </p><p>Brief: Continue building on the brand's core values </p><p>Agency: Lowe Lintas & Partners, UK </p><p>Creative director: Charles Inge </p><p>Copywriter: Tony Barry </p><p>Art director: Damon Collins </p><p>Production house: Gorgeous Enterprises </p><p>BRAND </p><p>Project: Turf </p><p>Client: ESPN </p><p>Brief: Underline ESPN's leading position in sports broadcasting </p><p>Agency: Wieden & Kennedy NY </p><p>Creative directors: Ty Montague, Amy Nicholson </p><p>Copywriter: Jeff Bitsack </p><p>Art director: Ted Royer </p><p>Production house: Hungry Man </p><p><BR><BR> </p>