Weekly wrapup: ANA's fake-nose fail, Gome's talking box FTW

FTW or fail

Each week we select one campaign or marketing move that we agree is 'FTW' (for the win) and one that...isn't.

FTW: Chinese retailer Gome, with JWT, for giving people an opportunity to embed heartfelt messages into gifts sent to their distant parents for Chinese New Year. A gimmick? Sure, but effecting nonetheless.

Fail: ANA for indicating a western person in stereotypical fashion by attaching a fake big nose (video above). Please note, some controversy exists over whether this is actually racist. Answering that question is not our purpose here. Clearly, the brand would have preferred to avoid the hullaballoo, so it's a clear fail.

Top stories

The most-read items on CampaignAsia.com for the week of 17 through 23 January.

• Dentsu, Aegis integration brings management restructuring
• Draftfcb China hires new CEO from Ogilvy, plans new direction
• ZenithOptimedia China promotes Steven Chang to president; Mykim Chikli to CEO
• McCann tipped to pick up Wyeth Nutrition brief for Greater China
• DATA POINTS: The impact of online storytelling
• I don't like the term social media: SAP's Jonathan Becher
• UK creative agency Love closing Shanghai office after three years
• Arlene Ang replaces SiewPing Lim as OMD China CEO
• Under Singapore's 'fair consideration' rule, employer branding gains importance
• Can Novartis recover from a PR nightmare in Japan?

Distractions

Random items that caught our attention this week, most of which are at least tangentially related to marketing.

1. Isaiah Mustafa intervenes to save guys from poor decisions in this clever Old Spice campaign using a series of delightfully fake websites. It's good fun whether you actually try to prank a friend (as the brand suggests) or visit with full knowledge of what's happening—or just want to gawk at Mustafa's freakish physique. Click below for one of the sites offering a dubious product; you'll find the links to the rest of the phony sites after the video plays.

 

2. Sainsburys carried on a punny Twitter conversation with a customer regarding seafood. The tweets below kicked of a back and forth so long and pun-tastic that it seems a bit fishy, though the participants swear it was not premeditated.

 

@TeaAndCopy Were there no other packs in the plaice, or was that the sole one on the shelf? Floundering for an explanation! David.

— Sainsbury's (@sainsburys) January 10, 2014

 

3. Subaru proves you can't go too wrong with dogs, in this series of ads starring a canine family called the Barkleys. See their website for more videos and, yes, backstory.

 

4. A hipster version of the American Psycho business-card scene? Yes, please, although perhaps they didn't need to go all the way through the resulting murder. We suggest you exit at the 4:45 mark if you don't like gore.

Thanks for reading Campaign Asia-Pacific. See you next week.