News
The seedy underbelly of online marketing efforts was apparently exposed this week after Taiwan authorities announced an investigation into Samsung regarding online reviews that criticised HTC products and were allegedly paid for. Samsung issued an apology that also painted the episode as a local aberration due to "insufficient understanding" of the brand's principles (which may be true).
Questionable behaviour is also at issue in the case of F5Digital, which ceased operation recently in Singapore. Founder Gregory Birge claims to be the victim of fraud, although comments posted on the article we published indicate (not surprisingly) that there is likely more to the story. (By the way, please don't shoot the messenger on this one: We've reported what we've been able to establish according to standard journalistic practice—Birge's allegations. We welcome additional input.)
In other news this week:
- Spotify launched in Hong Kong, Malaysia and Singapore, with the support of a number of advertisers. We can confirm that the service is addictive, and we'll have much more on how brands can take part in the Spotify universe next week.
- Sony called not only a media review for its consumer-electronics business, but also a PR pitch for its mobile business in Southeast Asia and Oceania.
- Football fans in Vietnam will enjoy Fifa matches, including the World Cup, through MP & Silva, which acquired exclusive Fifa media rights in the country.
Catch up on all the week's news -->
Analysis and Data
We spent some time this week looking at:
- How brands can play along with mobile crazes such as Candy Crush
- Targeting captive audiences in the region's airports
- The money two-thirds of parents in the region spend on supplemental education classes for their kids (which at least so far doesn't seem to result in much marketing spend)
- The dos and don'ts of beer marketing in China
We also debuted the first of a series, in conjunction with Nielsen, which will provide a country-by-country look at economic trends across the region. The first instalment focuses on Vietnam.
The Work
In a busy week for campaigns, the standout effort—and probable future award winner—in most people's minds is Dove's latest online film, a social experiment involving a forensic sketch artist.
Other work we showed you included:
- Watsons' Singapore brand revamp
- Psy's Facebook contest for Korean food company Bibigo
- Coke's high-concept film about the sounds a Coke bottle hears
- Magnum ice cream's 'Pleasure hunt' game, which left us lukewarm because, while it features an active female protagonist, disappointingly makes her quest all about securing kisses from, you guessed it, a handsome prince.
- British Airways' attempt to glamorise an airport terminal.
- The amazing power of lamb to turn a burly biker into, well, a gentle lamb.
And finally
On the lighter side this week:
- Our Emily Tan looked into toilets in India (not literally!) and came back with this retrospective story on how one brand transformed the category with a door-to-door approach.
- Malaysian agency BW Creative used Malaysia's elections as a promotional initiative by creating cereal boxes.
- Saatchi & Saatchi Fallon in Tokyo had a lot of fun with an homage to Japanese horror films in a promotion of the upcoming Portfolio Night.
As always, please follow us on Facebook for more of the random ads and other stuff we encounter.
And we'll leave you with this inevitable spoof of the Dove video discussed above, which flips the genders to amusing effect before it wears out its welcome.
Thanks for reading Campaign Asia-Pacific. Have a fabulous weekend.
