Does advertising have to be annoying to be memorable?

July 2nd, 2010

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Go Compare and Compare the Market. I know which one I’d prefer knocking on my door

Go Compare is launching its 2nd TV campaign featuring their opera singer ‘Gio Compare’ and according to Technology Weekly, the first round of ads raised brand awareness by 450%. Not bad for an advertising campaign that has annoyed more people in the UK than England’s World Cup performance (OK, slight exaggeration).

This got me thinking about advertising that makes people wince; stuff that’s so bad, you just can’t help singing along and wandering along zombie-like into the high street to buy one. Remember ‘Shake ‘n Vac’. My guess is that 99% of you can still sing the jingle.

A poll on www.mirror.co.uk lists the ads that “make you want to put your foot through the telly”, and no surprise, Go Compare comes top. Interestingly, out of the top ten, there is one other insurance comparison site, Confused.com and two insurance companies, Churchill and Swift Cover. Personally the Swift Cover ads featuring Iggy Pop don’t make me angry, they just make me wonder whether I’m actually asleep and having a bad dream.

Back to GoCompare. OK, brand awareness is up, but do we have to offend people to get noticed? I don’t want people just to remember a brand, I want them to remember it fondly. Go Compare’s number one competitor, ComparetheMarket.com is completely bonkers and everyone has fallen in love with Aleksandr the meerkat. This campaign is witty, it’s memorable and it gives you a nice warm feeling about the brand. Everything that decent advertising should be –  simples (sorry, couldn’t resist)! And if you haven’t already seen it, check out comparethemeerkat.com, it almost makes me like insurance companies. Enjoy.

Posted by Jonathan in advertising | 3 Responses

Carry On up the golf course in aid of Pepenbury

June 22nd, 2010

“All I need is a long-range bat and a short-range one”. So spoke Fergus Ross, Business Development Director of Warners Solicitors. And this pretty-much set the tone for the rest of the day.

This is the third time we’ve donned our plus-fours for the annual Pepenbury Golf Day and we’ve just about worked out which end to hit the ball with. We’ve worked with Pepenbury since 2006 and re-branded them in 2007 to celebrate their 80th birthday. Pepenbury help adults with learning disabilities and the golf day is a fundraiser to support their work throughout West Kent.

Remedy’s team this year was: Charles ‘Hacker’ Simpson and Kevin ‘Sand Wedge’ Gillard from children’s charity, I CAN; Steven ‘In the Rough’ Rodgers, Director of Rodgers and Rodgers; me driving the buggy Dukes of Hazard-style and the inimitable Fergus (who else do you know who uses a driver to tee-off, chip and putt with? No, seriously!).

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Fergus, Charlie, Kev and Steven (look out Tiger, we’re on your tail)

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The only course record we broke was the speed record!

We looked shambolic, lost dozens of balls and the scores were dreadful; all-in-all a great success!

A big thank you to everyone at Pepenbury and Woodlands Manor Golf Club for organising a fantastic day. See you next year (in the bunker, in the trees and occasionally on the fairway).

Posted by Jonathan in remedy | 1 Response

How to nurture creativity - the John Cleese method

June 14th, 2010

Creativity – I would argue that you’ve either got it or you haven’t. But even if you have got it, it can be nurtured or stifled depending on your environment. Check out what John Cleese has to say on teasing out the creative beast within. This lecture was given at the Creativity World Forum in Belgium, 2008. It’s well worth 10 minutes of your time (however, if you’re expecting silly walks, you’ll be bitterly disappointed):

Posted by Jonathan in interesting | Add a response

We’ve moved into our new home

June 7th, 2010

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After six fantastic years at The Southborough Centre, Remedy has upped sticks to central Tunbridge Wells. It’s been a cathartic experience; binning old copies of The Creative Handbook, Alf and BRAD. Even though we were sad to say goodbye to our old space, we’re really excited about our new home. Next time you’re in the area, call in for a coffee (we might even be persuaded to pop down the road for a shandy in Sankey’s).

Our number’s still the same and the postcode’s almost the same, but this is our new address:

17, Mount Ephraim, Tunbridge Wells, Kent, TN4 8AE

Posted by Jonathan in remedy | Add a response

Extra-curricular creativity pt.2 - The Green Party

June 4th, 2010

If you saw our blog post of 30th April, you’ll understand the premise of this. If not, please check out ‘Extra-curricular creativity pt.1′ here
Anyway, brief number 2 was nice and tricky:

A new logo and slogan for The Green Party.

Aimed at young and first-time voters, the brief was to raise the party’s profile as a real contender. ‘The only party that has a real environmental agenda to help make everyone’s future better. A force for positive change’. Sam came up with three cracking logo concepts…

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OK, so it’s a visual cliché, but it’s spot on for the message of positive change.

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Is it a key hole? Is it a tree? There’s a smart idea in here and it’s bold and simple.

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A little more sophisticated, and we loved the lotus flower analogy – it grows in muddy water and rises above the surface to bloom, untouched by the impurity of its environment… (who says you can’t have graphic design AND philosophy).

The second part of the brief was even trickier – a slogan that ‘passes the T Shirt test’. Not just a strapline, but something that could be the party’s rally cry.

There are a few strong contenders:

ONE WORLD, ONE VOTE

Conveys the idea that The Green Party is more globally focused than other parties. It also underlines how important your vote is ie. use your vote to make a difference to the whole world.

GREEN NOT GREED

After the shambolic mess that the banking crisis has left the country in, there’s a whole section of young voters who think politics is all about fat cats getting fatter. The implication here is that The Green Party is the only party that bucks the trend. Not to mention the fact that it would sound great shouted at a political rally!

GIVE A DAMN, VOTE GREEN

A line to shake the young voter out of their lethargy. If you give a damn, get off your backside and vote for a party that gives a damn too.

Out of the shortlist of slogans, came a couple of lines that felt more like straplines than slogans, but both feel like they’re worth a mention:

SUSTAINABLE POLITICS and COLOUR YOUR FUTURE

Both snappy, both seriously on-brand and in our humble opinion a bit punchier than their current line – ‘Fair is Worth Fighting For’.

And we just keep piling on the pressure; Sam’s next brief is to create viral ideas for insect repellent, Jungle Formula!

Posted by Jonathan in agency, branding, copywriting, design | Add a response

Working with animals and children - Remedy loves a challenge

May 25th, 2010

We have been working with Pet Works since October ‘09 on a major re-working of their brand and marketing communications. A key part of the new messaging is communicating the special bond between people and their pets. So some bright spark came up with the idea of photographing pets with their owners on location.

Over the years we’ve photographed all sorts of exotic creatures – ostriches, panthers, bees, swans, piranhas, koalas… But this shoot was different – pets with amateur models including kids. This was going to be more challenging than photographing an 8 foot crocodile and not getting eaten (which we have managed)…

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Either Sam and I were helping to set up shots or our pets have escaped!

We organised a three day multiple-location shoot in Sussex with photographer, Nick Parker with 4 labradors, 2 spaniels, 3 rottweilers, 2 terriers, 3 bull dogs, 2 boxers, 2 retrievers, a husky, a cavapoo (no really), various cats and kittens, horses, rabbits, donkeys and even an alpaca.

It was good fun, challenging and exhausting, but the end results made it all worthwhile. Pet Works now has a large bespoke image library, and we have a very happy client!

The images feature on the new Pet Works website, literature, exhibition stands and point of sale materials – take a look in our online portfolio.

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A big thanks to all at Pet Works, and all the wonderful pet owners and (mostly) well behaved pets – we had a great time.

Posted by Jason in branding, photography | 1 Response

High Street Dreams - Design Nightmares?

May 20th, 2010

We’ve been gripped by the BBC’s latest Apprentice-style series ‘High Street Dreams’. If you’ve not seen it, the basic idea is that Jo Malone (fragrance entrepreneur) and Nick Leslau (secret squillionaire investor) help wannabe successful businessmen and women to launch new products onto the market.

So far we’ve had Mr. Singh’s Hot Punjabi Chilli Sauce cooked up by a Sikh family in their shed in the East End; posh ‘Muddy Boots’ beef burgers made by equally posh Roland and Miranda from Daddy’s Aberdeen Angus herd; ‘Nutriyum’, a healthy milk drink, from newlyweds Paul and Maria and a children’s ‘Den Kit’ designed by teachers, Jo and Kay.

The show is by no means an original idea, but it’s absolutely fascinating watching home-grown ‘brands’ being given a million dollar makeover, ready for presentation to retail buyers. And this is serious stuff, we’re talking giants like Asda and Waitrose.

After pulling the products to pieces, London branding agencies are wheeled in to apply the necessary gloss and this is where it gets really interesting. No doubt the branding work is slick and visually impressive. However, because the agencies don’t have the time to really get under the skin of what the brand’s are really all about, so far none of them have got it quite right. The proof of this is when it comes to the big pitch. Every time, the buyers have been impressed with the passion of the people behind the brands and the products themselves, but the packaging and branding have invariably come in for a pasting.

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Mr Singh gets the minimalist treatment

Design aesthetic is massively important and the consultants that the programme have called on, have it in spades. But unless your design agency has the time to understand you, your brand and the marketplace, inevitably you will end up with a beautiful looking lemon.

We’ll definitely be tuning in for the next spicy installment - BBC1 24th May 9pm.

Posted by Jonathan in TV | Add a response

Email legalities and absquatulation

May 12th, 2010

Legal sign-offs at the bottom of emails have become the norm in all B2B communications. Mostly they are ignored, but they do provide a level of protection for when you accidentally send a confidential email to the wrong person in your address book. If you have never experienced that horrible sinking feeling after hitting the send button,  it’s a bit like the ‘doh’ moment you get when you refer to the non-existent ‘attached’ - but about a million times worse.

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The following is a genuine email sign off that I spotted on an email sent to me last week. Would it hold up in court? I doubt it very much, but it made us smile. Warning - you may need to have your dictionary handy for this one.

IMPORTANT: This email is intended for the use of the individual
addressee(s) named above and may contain information that is
confidential privileged or unsuitable for overly sensitive persons with low
self-esteem, no sense of humour or irrational religious beliefs. If you are
not the intended recipient any dissemination, distribution or copying of
this email is not authorised (either explicitly or implicitly) and
constitutes an irritating social faux pas.

Unless the word absquatulation has been used in its correct context
somewhere other than in this warning, it does not have any legal or
grammatical use and may be ignored. No animals were harmed in the
transmission of this email, although the Dachshound next door is living on
borrowed time, let me tell you.

Those of you with an overwhelming fear of the unknown will be gratified to
learn that there is no hidden message revealed by reading this warning
backwards, so just ignore that Alert Notice from Microsoft. However, by
pouring a complete circle of salt around yourself and your computer, you can
ensure that no harm befalls you and your pets. If you have received this
email in error, please add some nutmeg and egg whites, whisk and place in a
warm oven for 40 minutes.

Posted by Lisa in amusing | Add a response

Choosing the right media can make all the difference

May 7th, 2010

The idea is king, but the right media choice can really drive the idea home.

If you don’t believe us, check this out…

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Posted by Lisa in advertising, amusing | Add a response

A premium re-brand for AMA Insurance

May 4th, 2010

When you’ve lived with the same brand identity for 20 years, it takes a brave client to change. So we were really happy when Ashleigh Mackay and Associates asked Remedy to give their brand a total overhaul.

AMA are high-end corporate insurance brokers and risk management specialists. Their key customers are large corporate clients such as architectural glaziers and electrical contractors with bespoke insurance needs. They also work with high net-worth individuals including premiership footballers.

At our first meeting, Managing Director, Gary Mackay, summed up the company’s ethos very simply: “We don’t sell policies, we buy them on behalf of our customers”. Understandably, he was still quite attached to the old logo that had worked well for them since 1980. However, they had decided it was “time for change” and that they were looking for a “sharp and clean” new brand identity.

With this as the brief, we presented four routes which were all loved by the client.

After some deliberation and a minor tweak, the new AMA logo was born and we are just about to make a start on their new website.

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OLD LOGO                                                                SHINY NEW LOGO

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This is what Marketing and New Business Manager, Anne-Marie Dickinson had to say:

“We were impressed with the way in which you approached us as new clients; you took the time to understand our current business whilst considering our future aims and presented a perfect pitch. It wasn’t easy to decide which of the four options we liked the most but once we did, you were happy to make a tweak to the design, with which we are now delighted. We look forward to seeing designs for our new website – we know it will reflect our business perfectly.”

Here’s to great looking brands and brave clients.

Posted by Jonathan in branding, design, remedy | Add a response

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