The failure of these series of ads to engage me may be attributed
to several reasons: Intense market competition among the products and
services offered, cuts in production budgets but the necessity to
communicate even more information to maintain awareness and a
competitive edge and depressed creatives. Or, I may now be so numb from
the bombardment of too many ads by credit cards, mobile phones, etc all
competing for market share with almost minimal product
differentiation.
Sephora: Fun, cheeky print ads that communicate choice although the
market might be a bit hard pressed to find out where the seven stores
are located in Tokyo, which these print ads are purported to
promote.
Nevertheless, the images of an eight-armed goddess with
beautifully-coloured fingernails and a male body covered in colourful
kisses is at least for a second, entertaining.
Nokia: The effectiveness of the metaphor is sadly missed on the first
take. For a print ad, it requires too much time to decipher the
disparate components of the image - a large cinema, sad faces of the
audience and Kleenex offered by the usher. A pity as the consumer is
expected to relate to the aspirational core message of Nokia's Care
services, which is only fully communicated when you read the body copy.
It would probably be more effective as a TV commercial.
Bank of China: 'Make every day an opportunity' is institutionally sound,
but conservative creatively. If BOC's objective is to instill confidence
back to Hong Kong's seven million people, it's missed the creative
opportunity to inspire and bring out the competitive edge that may be
required. And that's not because of a weak concept and message. Its
attempt to present three tales of the city in 60 seconds may have been
too ambitious. A pity as the message has its merits and deserved a more
focused treatment for each execution.
Wellcome's new Super Store launch ad aims to bring out nothing more than
all the necessary information in one creative execution. And it manages
to achieve this objective by fitting in everything to its target
audience: locations, parking, sandwiches, convenience, choice, etc. But
it's too ambitious for one execution, resulting in information overload
which has a tendency to kill rather than capture my interest level and
recall. The trolley(s) spinning around does the job though.
Manhattan Card: A very simple but clever ad to launch a new credit
option.
Its use of a marathon female shopper is sexist and cliched but achieves
the appropriate dramatic effect. Nicely executed. The only turn-off is
the self-conscious effort at humour (we can't help with financing the
broken glass) even though it seemed to have been intended as a clever
twist. And once again, information overkill to squeeze in the message;
the tag-on premium offer of a fan at the end may easily be missed by the
audience.
Tampax: 'Discreet' comes to mind for the series of print ads to launch
the 'sleek and discreet' new packaging for Tampax's whole new look. The
design and transformation of the female gender sign into the Tampax logo
to mimic the actual usage of the product is clever. But in this day and
age, isn't the use of shadowy images of a naked woman to convey her
confidence conservative? It's clean and tasteful. Or is it simply
old-fashioned when you consider its target market is female, aged 12 to
16 in Australia and New Zealand?
Margaret Leung is founder of Hong Kong's Get Smart agency
1. SEPHORA
Project: Goddess/Kisses
Client: Sephora AAP Japan K.K.
Brief: To highlight the range of cosmetics available at the retailer
Agency: Bartle Bogle Hegarty
Creative director: Steve Elrick
Copywriter: Steve Elrick
Art director: Kelly Pon
2. NOKIA
Project: Cinema
Client: Nokia
Brief: To emphasise Nokia's care service
Agency: Bates
Creative director: Iris Lo
Copywriter: Terry Cheng
Art director: Francis Hung
3. BANK OF CHINA
Project: Find a place to grow
Client: Bank of China
Brief: To restore Hong Kong people's confidence
Agency: Saatchi & Saatchi
Creative director: Francis Wee
Copywriter: Vincent Ho
Art director: Grover Tham
4. WELLCOME
Project: Wellcome Westwood Superstore launch
Client: Wellcome
Brief: To announce the accessible location of Wellcome's new superstore
and to communicate its various attributes which will appeal to both
expatriates and westernised Chinese
Agency: McCann Erickson-Guangming
Creative director: Martin Lever
Copywriters: Martin Lever, James Reeves
Art director: Andrew Foung
5. MANHATTAN CARD
Project: Manhattan credit card
Client: Manhattan Card
Brief: To launch the new credit card which cardholders can use for
installment on any purchase, anytime and anywhere
Agency: BBDO
Creative directors: Brian Chu/K.C. Tsang/Paul Chan
Copywriter: Eveyln Chan
Art directors: Brian Chu/Bobby Chiu
6. TAMPAX
Project: Tampax
Client: Procter & Gamble
Brief: To launch a new look for the Tampax feminine care brand
Agency: Leo Burnett
Copywriter: Dana Holder
Art director: Fiona Hellyer
Interested in having your campaigns reviewed? Send submissions to Alfred
Hille in the form of trims, transparencies or video printouts for TVCs
plus the TVC itself, and proofs for print ads and posters.
Please send all material to media, 28/F, Dorset House, 979 King's Road,
Quarry Bay, Hong Kong.
