All Aboard the Bandwagon

Yes I’m jumping on the bandwagon.

The bandwagon whose name I won’t mention because that’s what they want me to do. But you all know the one I’m talking about. The one with women playing sports and eating crisps.

I’m jumping aboard because it pisses me off.

Not because it’s offensive to women or anything like that.

But because it’s just stupid, and cheap, and easy, and it gives advertising a bad name.

And God knows it already has a bad enough name as it is.

Advertising is exploitative, manipulative, lowest common denominator stuff.

Or that’s what people tell me anyway.

But it doesn’t have to be.

When it’s done properly, when it’s genuinely creative and engaging, advertising can come up with some of the most powerful and impressive stuff you’ll see.

Sure, the objective is to sell stuff. But at the end of the day we’re all trying to sell something.

It’s a bit like in school when it’s always ‘a few of the bad kids that ruin it for everyone else.’ Easy, cheap and crap advertising like this just perpetuates the bad image that advertising has.

Sure the advertising world is populated by twits and tossers just out to make as much dough as possible, but you get people like that in all walks of life.

It’s also full of genuinely creative and ambitious people who want to make something new, worthy and interesting. Guys who want to do amazing stuff like the spectacular ‘1984’ ad to launch the Apple Macintosh, Bing’s brilliant Decode Jay-Z campaign from last year or the Voyeur Project from HBO in 2007, stuff that’s about much more than just encouraging people to put their hands in their pockets and splash out on your latest moneyspinner.

I’d like to think that most people get into advertising to be a part of really cool things like these. Using a hot model with digitally enlarged knockers to sell crisps just makes it harder for everyone else to get some credit and respect for the great work they do.

Selfish gits.

But what do I know eh? I’m just a noob. This whole business could chew me up and spit me out before I’ve had a chance to use sex to sell anything. All I'll have then are my naive ambitions and a packet of crisps (come on, I had to buy the crisps, did you see that girl's chest?).

Touch, Pause...Engage: It's Rugby World Cup Time

September is just beginning and for the rugby fanatics among us that means that the long awaited Rugby World Cup is almost here. At last.

A month ago I was bursting with excitement in anticipation of this competition but after spending August watching Ireland splutter and fumble their way through four frustrating warm up losses my excitement has been slightly dampened.

But I’m not here to vent and rage about dropped passes and knock-ons. And anyway, no-one cares what a guy who gave up playing rugby when he was 13 because training clashed with Eastenders (No, I’m not proud) has to say.

But I am here to talk about ads and with a global audience of over 4 billion people advertisers are wetting themselves with excitement, not at the thought of watching six weeks of scintillating rugby, but at the opportunity to capitalise on people’s passion for the sport and its premier showpiece.

So over the past few weeks we’ve seen more and more rugger related ads grace our screens. And if you couldn’t give two hoots about 30 men putting their heads between each other’s legs and chasing an egg shaped ball around a field for 80 minutes then unfortunately September is only going to get worse for you.

So what kind of ads are people putting out there?

Well, the New Zealand company Telecom, who sponsor the All Blacks, put their heads together and came up with a foolproof plan to encourage people to get behind the competition and their team – they asked people to abstain from sex to show their support.

No really, I’m serious.



It won’t come as much of a surprise to discover that the campaign was cancelled before it even launched. What, you mean New Zealanders found the idea of abstaining from sex to support their national rugby team to be stupid and embarrassing? What’s wrong with these people?

Across the water O2 and our auld enemy England have come up with a nice little idea to encourage people to get over the early kick-off times and get behind their team – free breakfasts.



Now I actually quite like this ad and the free breakfasts idea. Sure it’s nothing special and it won’t have awards juries picking their jaws up out of their Cornflakes or grinning from ear to ear, but it’s a nice idea and it’s well done, even seeing the big happy heads on Martin Johnson and Chris Ashton doesn’t make my blood boil too much.

My only qualm would be the line ‘Get up for England.’ Maybe I’m being childish and juvenile but it just feels like there’s more than one way to interpret it, and one of those interpretations is the complete opposite to what the folks down in New Zealand were being asked to do.

Or do I just need to grow up?

Over here O2 have enlisted the help of a few of the players for their RWC campaign too and have offered fans the chance to play them next.

I’m not really sure when or where you get to play them but if you do then it’s quite a nice idea to get people involved. People always like seeing their sporting heroes in contexts other than on the pitch and of course plenty of people would sell their granny’s false teeth for a chance of a kickabout with Messrs O’Driscoll, O’Connell and Sexton.

Possibly the best ones I’ve come across are from Sky TV in New Zealand. Unlike Telecom they’ve managed to have a bit of a larf without making complete tools of themselves in the process.



No need to reinvent the wheel when you’re trying to be funny. Just take a bit of a sideways look at things and you’ll usually be onto something. There’s another one of these here.

We could go on and on here folks. Everyone wants to join the party. Mastercard have done a series of short videos celebrating rugby traditions in Samoa, New Zealand and South Africa. Quite nice they are too if you’re a rugby fan. Probably just more noise if you’re not.

Toshiba have covered your walls in crayon and colouring pencil but don’t worry, they’ve much better drawing skills than your little 4 year old terror. Powerade and Heineken have gone down the passion route. Fine, if that’s what you’re into.

And of course it wouldn’t be a global tournament without Coca Cola getting in on the act.

I’m sure there are tonnes of other RWC ads out there so feel free to share any others you find.

In the meantime I’ve got to go catch up on recordings of Eastend…eh…Britain’s Toughest Gangs. Yeah, I only watch the manly stuff me. Innit!