B&T’s Campaigns of the Month for October failed to wow punters, but got some love from fellow creatives.
System1 ran the rule over ads by Superloop, the ABC and Meat & Livestock Australia, while two leading creatives in M&C Saatchi ECD Emma Robbins and BMF creative director Harry Stanford had down their own verdicts.
In September, Telstra, Uber Eats and Toyota produced strong efforts. B&T’s next Campaigns of the Month – which will cover November – will be a Christmas special.
Superloop, ‘Planking’, Leo Burnett
Superloop takes a clever play on the internet sensation of ‘planking’ to illustrate how slow Australian internet speeds have been since 2011 and how it unshackles internet users from inertia.
The creative scores just below the average for Aussie ads on System1’s star rating, which measures the long-term market share growth based on the ad’s creative effectiveness and emotional response. The face tracer below shows that references to planking throughout improved happiness.
The ad’s spike rating, which determines how the ad would drive short-term results, was low while brand fluency rating was modest.
Viewers either enjoyed, or were confused by its ‘weirdness’, but once they got the reference to slow internet speeds found it amusing. One viewer found humans lying on a supermarket shelf, ‘disgusting’ treatment.
M&C Saatchi’s Emma Robins liked the comparison of 2011 internet to today.
“In 2011 I was recovering from a 28 labor so I didn’t really have the time or the pelvic floor for planking,” she said. “But if I could have, I would have. A refreshingly, new way to express a problem many others have already have.”
BMF’s Harry Stanford also enjoyed the “ throwback to a more innocent time online”.
“I admire the single-minded focus on just one old fashioned, internet thing, instead of going overboard with Harlem Shakes, Ice buckets and flash mobs. It’s a fun bit of imagery, with some quirky casting and with a cheeky creative leap from the brief,” he said.
Stanford would like to have seen a little bit less explaining throughout the creative.
“Could we trust the viewer to enjoy the ad with just a clever couple of lines at the end, and ‘close the loop’ themselves? I’d like to live in a world where we do,” he added.
Meat & Livestock Australia, ‘The Greatest’, The Monkeys
The Monkeys have produced some iconic campaigns for Meat & Livestock Australia over the years, but this one simply didn’t resonate with System1’s panel.
It scored low marks across star (1.9 vs 2.4 Aussie average), spike (0.77 vs 1.12 average) and, especially, fluency (31 vs 81 average).
The spot is a play on the Titanic, with a captain of a sinking ship refusing to desert the boat in order to enjoy a beef steak. According to System1’s FaceTrace, the ad scored relatively high levels of sadness, fear and contempt despite solid happiness scores throughout. Although it had a high ‘amusement’ score, it was below Aussie ads on feelings of ‘excited’, ‘contented’ and ‘pleased for others’ and ‘proud’.
Some viewers found it happy, others said there was not enough focus on product and that it was silly and long.
M&C Satchi’s Robbins paid credit to the execution and client bravery.
“Those Monkeys must lick their lips every time the next meat brief lands,” she said. “The storytelling is great. The writing is tight as. And a client who’ll let their final food shot slip out of frame deserves a place in a lifeboat for sure.
BMF’s Stanford “loved” the slow burn – even rating it ‘medium raw’ – but again called out too much explanation towards the end
“Just adding layers to the same gag made it feel like a luxurious 60 seconds which is a rare thing these days. So, I’m sure the 30 that everyone sees will not lose its charm. Again, a dead simple strategy – It tastes great – leads to some straightforward, funny work. And Captain Birdseye meets Russel Crowe is a wonderful bit of casting,” he said.
“I only wish we didn’t have to explain the whole thing at the end. Let the man eat his beef in peace without telling everyone what’s been happening for the past 55 seconds.”
ABC iView, ‘Proper Upset’, Howatson+Co
Howatson+Co has been winning awards for its series of video ads promoting the ABC’s iView, including at the recent B&T Awards.
In this latest spot, which channels shows like FBoy Island and Love Island to promote its free streaming service, ABC iView.
And while it proved a hit within the B&T newsroom (which is half British and partial to reality trash, to be fair), the general public were not so sure.
Scoring a low star rating of 1.0 and a low spike rating 0.80, it fared well in brand fluency (75) despite one of the actors unable to pronounce the ‘ABC’.
Being based on a reality dating format, some viewers found the affair ‘cringe’, another viewer said the acting was too aggressive. On the flip side, several thought it was hilarious by “sending up the kind of show I wouldn’t find on the ABC”.
Our creative panel were fans. “I bloody Turtle Dove this,” said M&C Saatchi’s Robbins. “It’s Easter Bunny, and Lemon Tart by hanging Horse and Trap on everything the ABC isn’t. (Thank you Geezer translate).”
BMF’s Stanford also liked the humour and “classic bants”, even though he has never watched an episode of FBoy Island (much to the disappointment of his wife).
“I feel I’ve got the gist after these 30 seconds. A satire on modern reality content with a knob joke thrown in is good, but mispronouncing the brand name (twice) is peng, and any client who will let you do that is worth hanging on to,” she said.
“Strategy is a little on the nose – cancel your expensive streaming service ‘cos ours is free, but its simplicity allows for the freedom to ‘just have fun with it’ as us CD’s like to say.”
